that's been ripping you limb from limb for the past three-and-a-half years.
Even though Nokia was never really popular in America, they had and still have an incredibly strong presence in other regions - especially Asia which has a robust mobile market.
Sure, their smart phones don't compare to what iOS or Android offers, but there's a ton of people out there who aren't using phones like those.
I carry an iPhone 3GS and friends/family are always ribbing me because my 'smart phone' can't do basic things like send ringtones or songs to others via bluetooth or even contacts via sms.
I'm just saying that there's a whole world of people out there who have a completely different use-case for their mobile phone and Nokia still dominates that market.
I think your point is a very good one. But I think there are some important parallels to consider here.
Even though Windows was less popular with designers, Microsoft still dominated the business computer market in other areas. Sure, until recently their desktop OS didn't compare to what OS X or Linux offers, but there's a ton of people out there who aren't using OS like those.
I use a Macbook and friends are always ribbing me because I sometimes need to jump through hoops to read Word Docs and Excel Spreadsheets.
I'm just saying there's a whole world of people out there...
Come to think of it, Microsofties also ridiculed their competition.
Nice one. Obviously there are parallels with Microsoft. Both were big entrenched companies that got their lunch money stolen by Apple, but in both cases I reject the notion that Apple has been 'tearing them limb by limb'.
As if "funny" nicknames weren't almost the norm all around the globe. Would you be surprised to learn that Apple employees call Nokia the log makers from Finland or something like that? I wouldn't.
Sorry, I don't find "The California Fruit Company" to be substantial enough to constitute disparagement or mocking. I think it's cute. That isn't to say that Greenfield doesn't know what he's talking about, but, alone, it's certainly not enough to corroborate the claim, nor to logically lead to the sentiment it apparently stirred within you (as apparent from your comment).
I am afraid they mean it. I think it's about the perception how the mobile phone should be like. Not everyone considers the iPhone+iOS to be the best concept. I personally know people who think that nokia dumbphones are the best mobiles, or that Win 6.5. is currently the best mobile OS, etc.
I don't believe that most of the Nokia people perceive the situation as being surpassed by Apple.
> I personally know people who think that nokia dumbphones are the best mobiles
If voice calling is your main and only application, they win hands down. Good sound, easy to use even with one hand and without looking at it, one week use on a single charge...
I wonder if Nokia is in a position to blur the lines between smart phones and feature phones? This could be done with only a moderate increase in the resources in each phone. The hard part would be establishing the software ecosystem and getting the carriers to follow.
As pointed out elsewhere in these comments, Nokia has a huge chunk of market in the rest of the world. If they could blur the lines between smart phone and feature phones, they could easily disrupt the smartphone market in developing markets, before it can even come to being. Think about it, people in Africa are using SMS services the way we use Apps. Even though this is uglier, it works great in their situation, because the vehicle fits the terrain much better.
The time lag between the developed world and the developing world is like having a telescope that can look into the future. If Nokia can't capitalize on their position and this kind of foresight, then it's a damn shame. (My money is that someone in India and/or China will see the same opportunity and disrupt all of Apple/Android/WP7/Blackberry/Nokia in this way.)
Classy. Nothing quite like mocking one of the companies that's been ripping you limb from limb for the past three-and-a-half years.