In the UK, Nokia's smartphones are much more heavily subsidised than the iPhone so even those have less profit margin for Nokia. Apple have US level profit margins in the UK.

Even Nokia N900s cost less here than the iPhone.

What are you talking about?

Nokia's handset division is very profitable. They own over half the smartphone market and sell 3 times as many smartphones as Apple do. They sold more smartphones this last quarter than the previous one.

The losses were entirely in it's botched Nokia-Siemens infrastructure division

That would be the DVB-T standard that requires a big aerial on the roof.

For mobiles in Europe and indeed elsewhere in the world we use the DVB-H standard set in 2004. Why the Merkans want to go their own way 5 years after the rest of the world beggars belief. You'd think they'd have learned already with CDMA v GSM.

For that reason alone and Apple's usual US-centric approach to features on the iPhone, I doubt we'll see either ATSC M/H or DVB-H.

You could solve your VoIP hell just by getting a Nokia E series - built in SIP client already that works over wifi or 3G. Depending on the handset and carrier you might need to unlock the 3G VoIP access though. Thankfully, Nokia provide an app for that. :)

Apple need to step up to the plate and add SIP to the iPhone.

Incoming Skype, SIP, Gizmo etc will never work, even with push, until Apple allow background 3rd party apps. You're still at the mercy of the OS shutting down your VoIP app whenever it deems something more important has happened.

Yeah, Ofcom would be the ones arguing about their coverage.

Vodafone are third behind 3 and Orange.

Huh? What's the 'radio' got to do with the ability to send or receive MMS?

MMS is not a 3G only feature. Non-3G non-Apple phones send and receive MMS all the time and have done for a decade or so.

artifex, I don't think that's a fair comment. The GV app was available for sale on the app store for a number of weeks before being removed. If Apple had easily understood rules that developers could follow then they could work to those rules.

However, I did indeed never buy in to the iPhone because of it's restrictive store as well as lack of features, poor battery life, single carrier and high cost. I've a Nokia E71 instead - multiple stores, more features (very good VoIP built in for instance), 1500mAh battery and about a fifth of the cost of an iPhone contract here in the UK on a better network.

Apple's app store policies are just fine if that's how they wish to operate.

What's totally wrong is there only being one store.

If developers were free to sell their own apps on their own store then they'd be free to develop whatever they wanted to develop without fear of Apple or AT&T yanking their livelihood out from under them.

It's why developers are leaving the iPhone for other handsets and some not even starting iPhone development. Why would you even start to develop a major app with no guarantee it will be allowed?

O2 and the iPhone are the stand out worst offenders though.

If you look elsewhere you can get internet, free tethering, free handset, unlimited push email, free remote wipe, turn by turn mapping, free unlimited skype, VoIP and decent text/minutes even for £20. eg. http://tinyurl.com/m8ss57

£360 for 18 months instead of £1000+ for the 16GB 3GS on the lowest tariff inc tethering and MobileMe.

The PAYG iPhones are locked to O2.

You also can't tether the PAYG phones, not that you'd want to at the prices O2 charge.