Using slogans such as “The best devices have no limits” and “Phones should be open to anything”, Nokia clearly points its position on mobile device openness in this new ad campaign. [Photo credits macrumors forum user mcdj]

This comes just when Apple releases iPhone software update 1.1.1 which rendered unusable any user-installed application and relocking the unlocked devices, while also completely disabling the said phones in an effort to keep its platform closed.

This is a sad thing to behold. An Apple-designed phone user interface sleekness was very welcomed in a world were phone interfaces offer nothing to be proud of, where Palm OS is slowly dying on the account of the exceptionally atrocious Windows Mobile, or where Symbian which even while having a rock solid core, is usually garmented with poor user interfaces. The difference is that all those platforms are known for all the applications you can get for them.

Apple had a slew of developers at its knees, begging for an iPhone software development kit. They were offering Apple the biggest gift of all: propelling the platform higher and further. The Web apps are great but they aren’t only what its all about. If Apple so believes in this, I ask why didn’t they make all their own included applications work this way as well?

On the other hand, I can live without added applications. I must assert that I have faith in Apple’s capability of delivering an amazing user-experience through its own applications. But I still can’t imagine owning a $400 phone locked to one single carrier. That sure is a definite no-go.