I've seen this, or similar "Google would never allow a similar app" arguments, at least a couple of times on here before. I don't understand where this comes from. Where did you read that Google would never allow that? Where have you seen such a trend? I can point out to you at LEAST a few examples of exactly the opposite: Verizon replaces Google search/maps/etc with Bing, Amazon's Kindle Fire replaced the Android Market/Play store with their own, Nook's devices (even my eInk Nook Touch) all run on Android and NONE of them have the Android Market/Play store, etc. So far, I haven't seen Google make even a PEEP about it much less try to stop that behavior. In fact, near as I can tell, they're quite happy to let anybody customize their operating system.

Is there a reason why Nokia couldn't have their own crappy store for Android and put out their own customized maps application? Hell--any reason why they can't just make both of those available to ANYONE's devices, even not their own, just to profit from store sales and ads on their Navteq map application? I'm pretty sure Android would save their butts *AND* it wouldn't exclude them from doing other things as well *AND STILL* even then make a profit (as Amazon did even before the Kindle Fire) with their own app store on devices they didn't even make.

Please, share what you know. As far as I can tell, Nokia are myopic, mental midgets for not at LEAST considering Android in addition to, or instead of, Microsoft's offering but I get the feeling that was the whole point of putting Balmer's poop-eating grinning lapdog in as the new CEO.

It's called 'product placement' and Nokia likely helped to pay some small part of the film's production for that placement. Similarly, you can prominently see 'ATARI' in the background of the epic classic Bladerunner. It hardly stands as much reason to think that ATARI made it that far into the future when we all know the company that Nolan Bushnell created back in the 70's pretty much disappeared sometime in the early 90's and what's left are bits and pieces here and there owned by various companies with the Atari Corp name sold to Infogrames Interactive and the Atari Games name sold to WMS (Williams/Bally/Midway). That company, the one that made it into Bladerunner, is gone. Dispersed out into component pieces somewhere out there in the world. I suspect, at this rate, the same might be said for Nokia soon.