@AC: "sack the designers"? sack you lot, more like (and the suits)
if Nokia's departments, and projects, were run by people who are "UX-savvy" - who understand user experience, who understand that the sole output is the "user experience", like Apple understand that - then Nokia would be just as good.
Sadly, despite the fact that almost any one of the "user experience designers" who work at Nokia could design and deliver you a brilliant phone, "UX" is just "a bag on the side", while senior techies, senior marketing people and senior project managers decide what actually happens on the project, and thus what finally comes out.
You said:
> They need to sack the morons that design these things.
which is a typical techie response, and just shows your cluenessness as to the reasons why large organisations fail to deliver. Do you really think they have truckloads of clueless designers saying "er, put the jack on the side, er, don't have a full stop on the keyboard, er, leave internet on overnight and the battery's dead"? Duh-huh?! Nonsense:
- the jack ends up on the side because some engineering students squeezed it in there. And no-one above them thought it was a dealbreaker (cos no-one above is UX-savvy).
- the full stop isn't where it should be because some project manager said "we haven't got time for another review of the proposed layout (ps my bonus depends on the date)". And no-one above them thought it was a dealbreaker (cos no-one above is UX-savvy).
- the whole "overnight internet means dead battery" happens because some bearded friendless software muppet thinks "well there's a setting you can set if you want to change the behaviour". And no-one above them thought it was a dealbreaker (cos no-one above is UX-savvy).
Until such time as you put the UX-savvy people in charge (like they are at Apple, from the board down), you will get crap products like this.
Just don't blame the "designers". You techies could design a half-decent device, for crying out loud, and us designers, well, we can design these things in our sleep. but we're a bag on the side: we do our stuff, and then you techies, and managers, and marketers, and project managers, you take over, and your destroy the project with your UX-ignorant control, and your deadlines, and your bonuses.
UX-savvy people need to be in charge, and you'll get fabulous user experiences. You want us as a bag on the side, you reap what you sow.