I wish I could go to PR1.2 because ovi (unlike WP) allows PR1.2 phones and the reps fail my app because it doesn't start on an os I can't possibly have and check on.

So flashing to an older version on the N9 is indeed a valid request while I cannot see why this is needed on WP (as older versions are banned by the market). So in my book, as always Nokia has the right features on the wrong phone.

Apart from that, "debranding" in the N9 terminology just means to get rid of the lpm telco icon and uninstall the bloatware. You can even change the repositories to those of vanilla. You can even change the repositories to those of the N950 if you want. So if you want to sell it you can just do that.

(On a sidenote WP7.8 is exactly what PR1.3 was for M5 and harmattan. A last hurray. And around the same time after launch too)

The only phones treated right by Nokia were the first S^3 devices, who got Anna and then Belle, and now Belle refresh. They are the only phones ever produced by nokia to get a full os version upgrade. (The N800 was the only tablet to get a full os version upgrade).

Even the 5800 which still got updates 3 years after release, and got significantly polished throughout the years, was stuck to S^1 forever. Older phones never even got an FP upgrade.

On the other hand, other companies have moved on to provide the latest software for their devices for at least 2 years after release. So where Nokia was ahead now they are miles behind. As always. They showed the road but lacked the courage to follow it.

This brings me back to the original topic: They invented the space of tablets, they just needed to keep on, beef them up and increase size. They flirted with the big screen dual phone/tablet thing (N810 with phone). Would be huge for the time, an early Note. But would it be successful? With the right marketing, I bet. They redefined the smartphone with the N900. They really did. It wasn't an iPhone killer but as things came out to be, the world didn't need an iPhone killer, it needed an android. And maemo 5 was miles ahead of android in 2009. Instead of going forward that way, they decided to start from scratch. Twice.

With the abundance of apps ready to port, and the multitude of programming languages + toolkits available for maemo 5, they could have easily had more apps than android, if they flooded the market with Nxx0's. N920 without keyboard 6 months later, N960 another 6 months, N820 as a mid-range phone.

Not to mention other wasted opportunities like the mosh app-store long before the iphone, the n-gage console+platform long before xperia play and psvita. The smartphone before smartphones...

Many could've's and would've's. But that's nostalgia all about, isn't it.