Even when Microsoft debuted WP7, my feeling was that UI prettiness was "where the puck is" and not "where it's going". In 2011, a phone with a pretty touchscreen UI and a bunch of basic apps is more "where the puck was". Even if we assume the software runs as smoothly in the demonstrations (a level of trust that Nokia's last few flagships have not warranted), there's little that would impress an iPhone 3GS user 2 years ago.
A pretty phone does not put you in the game anymore. It's staggering how behind this is compared to the competition, who have advanced tablet ecosystems, deeply integrated video-calling and messaging, deep cloud services, massive application libraries, extensive content (magazines and books), powerful video/photo/audio editing...
A pretty phone does not put you in the game anymore. It's staggering how behind this is compared to the competition, who have advanced tablet ecosystems, deeply integrated video-calling and messaging, deep cloud services, massive application libraries, extensive content (magazines and books), powerful video/photo/audio editing...