How much was the palm? $199 on contract? It certainly wasn't $499...
Those companies had their own OS but their content, schema and layouts were dictated by carriers. Only phones that were sold outside of carrier shops enjoyed true independence and those were few and far between.
People praised the Nokia UI, but where could you buy a high end Nokia phone when they were locked out of US carriers?
Spec sheets sold. Things like battery life were more important than OS. I think we're in agreement here.
I just think we had a different viewpoint on the industry. I sold thousands - tens of thousands of phones in the mid 2000's so I'm really familiar with the market at that time, but the view from my position is not a consumer viewpoint.
* Everything was free phone at the low end and $199 at the top end
One of my friends bought a Palm Phone.
* Apps were pre-loaded onto phones
This may be true.
* Carriers drove handset manufacturers choice of OS
Maybe handset manufacturers, Palm, Blackberry, Nokia had their own OS.
* No one ever waited for a phone
This may be true.
* Manufacturers did not care about UI/UX
I read lots of reviews where people praised the Nokia UI over the alternatives.
* Phones sold on spec sheets
Spec Sheets?
I really don't think this was true for people I knew. People I knew bought phones as Jewelery. They wanted small size, and long battery life.