Warning: this is biased to the US market...

The problem is not what Nokias phone are able to do, it is how they are percieved. Nokia is not seen as being innovative. They do a piss poor job of marketing themselves, apple on the other hand does a brilliant job. They are probably the best marketing company other there right now. Somehow they managed to make 'cut and paste' new and innovative.

The US, which for good or bad drives global pop culture, Nokia is regarded as a provider of cheap,low-end, low-function phones with minimal cache. If you want a mid-high end phone from nokia you have to pay multiples of what it costs for a similarly speced HTC, LG, Motorolla, Apple phone.

The well it is unsubsidized argument is dead and stupid to consider in the US. The facts are:
- There is a financial penalty to a consumer who gets an unlocked phone.
- consumers do not know that a subsidized phone may have its functionality castrated, and assume that is just how the device works.

If Nokia refuses to get into bed with US carriers and gather some mindshare they will fail.

People who state that apple does not compete in the business world... well thats changing and quickly. you get all your corporate email on your iphone and you get your salesforce.com etc.