I am working on a Nokia E6 review for ZDNet and also own several other Nokia smartphones, including the Nokia N8, Nokia E71, Nokia N86, and more. I don't think it was the technology that prevented these devices from selling here in the U.S., but the carrier market and unfamiliar user interface that people were unwilling to try. People outside the U.S. have been using Nokia Symbian devices for years and the UI is familiar to them. I too have been using Symbian for quite some time and find the UI to be very customizable and powerful. It does have many levels and there is a lot to it, but it gets the job done just as well as other phones. Here are some innovations in devices like the Nokia N8 that we still don't see in the latest and greatest smartphones available:
Nokia was also early to launch HDMI out, Bluetooth 3.0, and more. Nokia phones may be focused on media and data, but they also still ROCK in terms of reception and call quality. If you need to make lots of phone calls, you still can't go wrong with a good Nokia phone. I also won't travel to other countries without a Nokia smartphone because I can get amazing Ovi Maps all over the world WITHOUT needing to have a data connection for FREE.
I just recently stopped writing the Nokia Experts site as I wanted to focus all of my writing efforts here on ZDNet and since Windows Phone is the future of Nokia's smartphone strategy the Smartphone Experts family of sites didn't need another Windows Phone site with the excellent WPCentral one already available.
Nokia never seemed to get much support form U.S. carriers, although T-Mobile did a fair job of supporting some recent smartphones with the E73 Mode and Nokia Astound. I have seen quite a few local teens carrying, and liking, the Nokia Nuron with touchscreen interface and cheap $10 data plan. It is sad to hear we won't be able to buy these great smartphones in the U.S., but I usually bought mine from online vendors so now may just have to pay a bit more to get them imported. Then again, I don't really think Symbian has much longer to live in the new Nokia environment and that does make me sad.