For some dumb reason, I just think a marketing weenie decided the N9/Lumia 800 was too small for America. I too have big hands, but when was the last time you saw a smartphone company increase the size of a screen without increasing the resolution. I think the Lumia 800 is a cool device (just installed the Nokia City Lens beta), but this 800x480 screen thing is just the kind of fail that Microsoft brings to the table. In their own words: "Really!"
I don't know, maybe the Nokia/Microsoft U.S. alliance decided to go after Android instead of Apple. Maybe a large Lumia 800 looks better next to the large high-end Android phones, because it sure doesn't look like a competitor to an iPhone.