Symbian OS and the Linux Desktop

A frequent counter argument against the iPhone comes from folks touting Nokia's various flagship phones. No one using an iPhone points to a Nokia phone as a better or more capable device, mind you. (That should be telling.)

So, this is interesting. From The Symbian Guru:

If you recall, when the Nokia N97 was announced, we all drooled over it endlessly. We marveled at its features, its monstrous internal storage, sliding hinge assembly, 1500mAh battery, and more. We waited a disturbing 6 months for it to actually be available…only to actually get it. The launch firmware on the Nokia N97 was so bad, I sincerely hope that whoever gave it the A-OK to be released has been fired from Nokia. It took them another 6 months just to release a firmware that wasn’t rubbish, and now, the ‘flagship’ languishes behind other devices, frustrating owners like myself more and more each day.

Their sentiments remind me of when I gave up on the Linux desktop. While Vista a few months later was a major stumble for Microsoft (to put it mildly), Apple has continued to charge along and Microsoft has regrouped with Windows 7. Meanwhile GNOME remains relatively stagnant (though superior to KDE) and KDE managed to out-Vista Vista.