The stated reason for the reductions: An effort to better align the company’s operations with its focused portfolio of future products. Seems Nokia (NOK), which typically spews out 50 or so new phones a year, many of them unremarkable, plans to concentrate on a smaller number of more “iconic” devices going forward.

In other words, Nokia is going to work a little harder to catch up with Apple (AAPL), which has really shown up the company these past few years. As Bengt Nordstrom, chief executive of telecom consultant Northstream, told Reuters earlier this year: “As much as iPhone and App Store is a success for Apple, it’s a humiliating defeat for the rest of the mobile industry. Twenty years of efforts from operators and vendors to create mobile applications that customers like is overtaken in a heartbeat by someone that never done it before.”

According to the World Economic Forum, Denmark, Sweden and Switzerland are the three most networked nations in the world. In its annual Global Information Technology Report, the Forum ranked 127 countries according to network readiness and found that Denmark, followed by Sweden and Switzerland, had not just the highest average broadband-Internet speeds, but the highest broadband penetration rates as well.

The countries also received high marks for their tech-friendly regulatory environments, something the United States apparently lacks. The US ranked fourth in the survey–up three places from last year–because of its (surprise!) poor scores for “Burden of Government Regulation,” “Effectiveness of Law-Making Bodies,” and “Total Tax Rate.”

According to the World Economic Forum, Denmark, Sweden and Switzerland are the three most networked nations in the world. In its annual Global Information Technology Report, the Forum ranked 127 countries according to network readiness and found that Denmark, followed by Sweden and Switzerland, had not just the highest average broadband-Internet speeds, but the highest broadband penetration rates as well.

The countries also received high marks for their tech-friendly regulatory environments, something the United States apparently lacks. The US ranked fourth in the survey–up three places from last year–because of its (surprise!) poor scores for “Burden of Government Regulation,” “Effectiveness of Law-Making Bodies,” and “Total Tax Rate.”