"Most analysts agree the future is web based apps and services. Where is Apple in these areas? I'll tell you. Setting themselves up for dependence on Google, Ovi, and Microsoft for services, where the real money will be made for decades to come. "

So are you saying that the thousands of developers who currently develop for the app store are going to switch to developing for the Ovi store? I see no shortage of software for the iPhone, but where are they for the N900? Even porting a similar previous version maemo sw is not trivial.

"Apple looks to be repeating this error by focusing on gouging consumers by crippling the browser to force the need for patches/apps to cover up its absence."

This very same gouging is what Nokia does as well. This is the whole point of this thread.

"Apple has a music and media services, but so does everyone else."

Really? And how do they compare to iTunes? Playing some catching up for 2 years and still nowhere?

"They are in the top two spots in every market but the US..."

Which is the reason why the Beatles eventually came to USA to become stars and not to some third world countries to become market leaders there. No real company can underestimate the size of the US market.

"Apple seems to be repeating the same mistakes it did with the desktop. Know your history, and be wise enough to notice when it is repeating itself."

One ironic thing is that Nokia's market share can only decline and Apple's can only go up. The same with the iMac/PC argument. Do you think that Apple investors are stupid to currently have over 150B+ invested in the company if they think that it leads nowhere?

"The evil carriers and acquiescent US consumers are to blame for that, and it is only to our detriment that most of the really powerful smartphonesdon't make it Stateside."

Examples of so smart phones? Even the N95 got here only to be pushed to the sidelines. And N95 is not smart phone as I said before.

"Consumers have always complained about device choices and prices compared to Europe and Asia."

I don't know about that. The N900 costs less in the US than it does in Europe.

"Nokia was unwilling to allow the carriers to cripple their flagship models, and chose to walk away in support of consumers and the Nokia Nseries and Eseries brands."

Typical European arrogance. Had they given more flexibility to carriers here they'd done much better. Ignore the realities of the US market and be marginalized.

"Like F-150, CTS-V, G4, Z28, PSP, PS3, 151, N95, S2000, MR2, GT-R, 760Li, M3, TR-808, etc. You sure are digging a hole here."

Leave the cars out of this. We're talking about phones. Examples of models in the US that go by their model number? N95? Noone knows what it is. We like names like lg chocolate, apple iphone, sony experia and not some weird model number.

"Your POS American made car (I prefer German) made a Navi system able to sync with mobiles, not the other way around."

My POS NA car is a 2009 Toyota Venza, made in the States, fully loaded that is top of the line of its segment. It has no problem connecting to ANY other phone via BT but nokia. It turns out that Nokia BT stack is NOT backwards compatible with earlier versions. Typical Nokia.

" My N95 connected to every bluetooth factory system it ever came across. I'd be willing to bet the issue was with the system and not the device. "

I've had the N95 8GB NAM model. It did not work with my Venza (or Acura TSX). Care to try and report your results?