There are three ways of looking at this issue:

 1.  The common one is to see the No1 handset manufacturer in the world.  They started first, they conquered the No1 position and they are still there.  They have plenty to gain in developing countries.  I think only the last argument holds any promise, short term,  for the future.

2. The second thing to look at is their technology.  Well, they don't actually own much!  Sure, economies of scale on the various parts that make up a phone, just like Apple is trying to squeeze (more effectively).  Oh yeah and they buy other companies with interesting ideas every so often.  But do they DEVELOP technology?  Not really, nothing to write home about.

3. Most importantly this company lacks vision.  It is so old fashioned it is scary.  I don't expect them to surprise us like Google or a start up but they are boooooring!  Nothing really interesting coming out of them, not even on a marketing level.  This is most obvious in their total failure to do anything interesting with the cell phone operating system.  You would expect the world leader with 40 or more percent of the market to have a strategy here.  Symbian is a pretty good illustration of just how screwed up and confused Nokia is.

For anyone who doesnt appreciate this...well go work for Nokia.  Look at Android.  I am sure the guys at Google didn't spend more than a nanosecond figuring out how to enter the cell phone market.  Make the OS!  At the same time the mega corporate wisdom in Nokia probably is "who cares about the operating system?  We sell lifestyle..."  Wake up call guys!  Anyone can sell lifestyle and you are not the best at it, probably not even very good.

People bought Nokia just because their previous phone was a Nokia.  Back when you only did three things with a mobile phone (and for those who still only do three things - the majority for the time being) Nokia WAS the OS.  People bought another Nokia to do those three things in the way they knew.  Which sort of proves how important ease of use is really.  Even for just finding a contact and calling it, people wanted the easiest route.  Anyone that has spent more than 5 minutes with an amazing interface like the Neonode, knows that there is PLENTY room for improvement.  But only for those people willing to spend 5 minutes trying a totally new UI experience.  We are a select minority.

But now people want more.  Apple can run circles around them with their marketing machine (and loyal customers) in terms of lifestyle selling.  Even a cripple Sony can outdo Nokia in terms of tech wizardry.  No, Nokia sucks big time.  And they have never shown any flair at well...anything really, so I wouldnt expect them to develop it now.  They are too fat, too conceited and well, just not smart enough to make the difference.

And of course for anyone living in Greece, their tech support is so absilutely terrible that no sane person would even consider buying a Nokia from Alpha Copy-Nokia.  The fact that Nokia has willfully disregarded thousands of letters of complaints about this major issue in a country and still left this incapable rep in place all these years also proves my point.  They CAN'T improve themselves.  Just not built to improve.  They were lucky when the mobile tornado phase was at full action and now they are just riding that first wave.

Watch them fall.