Sony Ericsson introduced its new mobile phones at a press conference in a Stockholm hotel today.

This time I missed the free breakfast but instead, I learned something.

Sweden is (Sony) Ericsson heartland, the Ericsson roots going deep into the Swedish soul. The company that Lars Magnus Ericsson founded has probably employed somebody in every Swedish (extended) family at one point or another. We even live a stone’s throw away from Telefonplan, named so because the Ericsson headquarters used to be there. (Now, it’s where my sauna is. Others call it “gym.”)

But gone are the days when every Swede had a grey (or green, or maroon) Ericsson telephone at home. This morning, I spotted three iPhones at the press conference, with one journalist even rubbing it in by waving his iPhone and proclaiming that “you’ve had some problems after this came out.”

Sure, I was typing an SMS on my Nokia, but I’m Finnish. We get one from the government.

Just like Canadians and Norwegians get a flag they can sew on their jackets or backpacks when they leave the country.