Before you flame me, I have to give you some background:

* I've never owned an iPhone, but have owned iPod Touches (I can't stomach iTunes and prefer MSC devices that play a multitude of codecs).

* I loved my Nokia N800 & N810.

* I am not programmer or developer.

* I desperately want to love the N900.

So...

Any touchscreen owner who doesn't own an iPhone has stared longingly at the fluid scrolling and touch-response of an iPhone.

At this point in time, the iPhone gives the finest touchscreen experience of any device I've seen (and I've seen a lot). Why is that? Are Apple engineers better than Nokia engineers? What do they know about programming a UI that no one else has truly figured out?

I believe that today a phone UI experience has to equal that of the best product out there. The N900, as we all know, doesn't. It's true the N900 runs rings around the iPhone in terms of other features - but much of that is moot if the experience isn't fluid.

I am sure that people at Nokia HQ have a couple iPhones around that they can use as benchmarks. What would possess them to release something that doesn't equal that experience? The N97 was a joke and the N900, while awesome, doesn't have that "magic" (in regards to the fluidity of the UI).

So devs and programmers, explain to me why Apple is able to create that UI and Nokia (and Samsung and LG and HTC, etc) aren't. Are they magicians? What is the secret?

Again, I am not talking about copying the graphical interface, just the fluid, effortless UI experience.If Nokia could replicate that UI experience onto the N900, it would incredible.

Please enlighten/educate me. Don't flame me or tell me to buy an iPhone, I don't want one -- but really do try and explain to a layperson why their UI is so damn fluid.