Nokia nine people have recognized the major threat posed by the iPhone

The fun apple-related history reveals it has last week. An internal presentation discovered within the newly published archive shows that at least nine people in Nokia noticed the major threat posed by the iPhone the day after its release.

Sadly, senior executives couldn’t listen, and just seven years later Nokia owned the smartphone business before ending it…

As I have mentioned recently, there is a strong tendency to imagine that the dominant company today will last forever.

The day before the iPhone launch, Nokia had around 50% market share in the mobile phone business, but no other companies approached. Not only was the company dominated financially, but Nokia was also a cool and stylish brand of its time. It was a brand that teenagers wanted to see what they were using.

However, senior executives at the company were unable to realize that the launch of the iPhone had changed everything. That keyboardless smartphone is the future, and Apple was a brand that would become cool while Nokia was left in the dust. It took only seven years for the Finnish company to withdraw its smartphone business.

If the company had listened to a team of nine members, things could have been very different if they had listened to a team of nine members who had compiled their internal presentations the day after the iPhone was released.

In an executive summary discovered by Fahad X (via Bold fireball)the team said:

The Apple iPhone is a serious high-end candidate.

The iPhone Touchscreen UI may set new cutting edge standards. A new UI paradigm with the promise of unparalleled ease of use. Cool and seamlessly integrated internet applications. Nokia needs to develop a touch UI to fight back.

The new user interface may change the standards for a great user experience across the market. “It’s visually stunning and incredibly responsive,” he commented. The user interface is a major strength for Nokia, so the UI could be the biggest threat offered by the iPhone.

iPhone captures coolness in US media. If Apple succeeds in this target in its announced price range, a new high-end market will be created.

John Gruber points out that the team didn’t get everything right. If you didn’t understand the role web access plays or how Apple could reform its mobile apps, but even so, Nokia’s boards were listening, you could still be creating your smartphone today.

Image: Nokia