When I moved from the UK to the US in early 2006 I lost my Symbian-running 6680 Nokia, because it couldn't be ported over, it was locked to a UK network and they refused to unlock it. I loved Symbian at the time, losing it took me back to the dark ages.
In the UK I'd had my Nokia 6680 with front and rear cameras, unlimited 3G, multi-tasking apps, a proper web browser, the ability to install apps, and even some crap ability to watch TV. It also had a memory card for storing and playing music. I had it connected to my Powerbook (17" powerbook was my best laptop ever), and had 3G usable browsing speeds anywhere, wirelessly through bluetooth, and the phone's 3G. It synced contacts, emails, etc.
Coming to the US I got the latest and greatest - a Razor. It had an OS that felt like going back to the 70s. No 3G. No camera at all. No apps or ability to use them. Contacts on the SIM with no decent data. All it could do well was text or call.
Even the first iPhones were well behind the Symbian/6680 combo I'd had for a while in the UK (no 3G, no apps, no multi-tasking, no front camera), and it wasn't until the iPhone 4 in 2010 that I got the front camera back, which meant I had feature parity with what I'd had in the UK in 2005.
I was big into Symbian before iOS and Android came around, and I was incredibly excited to buy the N95, the (then) flagship phone. I purchased the US variant of the phone very shortly after its launch date from the Nokia store in NYC.
This was one of the few Symbian phones to make it to American shores with our 3G bands, and at the time it was notable for having the best camera available.
I loved the device, but the same year the original iPhone came out. On the spec sheet it was worse in every way - no third party apps, no 3g, etc etc. But the market spoke quickly, and the N95 became the last Nokia device I would own.
I always thought it was a shame that the high end Nokia devices failed to really target the US market. Usually they were lacking key frequencies, and/or only available unlocked (without any carrier subsidies). Had Nokia been better situated here, perhaps they could have presented some real competition to the iPhone, but there was no way people were going to go specifically seek out an expensive, high end Symbian phone when AT&T had subsidized iPhones and a massive advertising blitz.
To be fair, it was possible to buy Windows, Palm, and Symbian phones in the US in the 2000s. I owned a few for fun, far after they were outdated. But my Nokia E51 worked amazingly, and I used it right as the iPhone was released.
In the UK I'd had my Nokia 6680 with front and rear cameras, unlimited 3G, multi-tasking apps, a proper web browser, the ability to install apps, and even some crap ability to watch TV. It also had a memory card for storing and playing music. I had it connected to my Powerbook (17" powerbook was my best laptop ever), and had 3G usable browsing speeds anywhere, wirelessly through bluetooth, and the phone's 3G. It synced contacts, emails, etc.
Coming to the US I got the latest and greatest - a Razor. It had an OS that felt like going back to the 70s. No 3G. No camera at all. No apps or ability to use them. Contacts on the SIM with no decent data. All it could do well was text or call.
Even the first iPhones were well behind the Symbian/6680 combo I'd had for a while in the UK (no 3G, no apps, no multi-tasking, no front camera), and it wasn't until the iPhone 4 in 2010 that I got the front camera back, which meant I had feature parity with what I'd had in the UK in 2005.