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Now Nokia joins the anti-iPhone 5 party

Not to be outdone by Samsung's ad against Apple's new phone, Nokia sends out a tweet, which curiously uses Samsung's line. Is judge Lucy Koh ready for this?

So there, Apple. All the other phones are better than yours. Screenshot by Chris Matyszczyk/CNET

Now the playground is full of name-callers.

First there was Samsung's muscle-baring, fact-sharing anti-iPhone 5 ad, which ran yesterday. You know, the one that said the Galaxy S3 is full of features and the iPhone 5, well, isn't.

And now Nokia is stiffening its fins in order to declare that its fine Lumia is happily better than Apple's long-faced newcomer.

Just as news of Samsung's ad came through on the hottest of wires, Nokia took to its Twitter account to declare: "Lumia 920: Wireless charging, amazing camera, screen you can use with gloves on and much more. No, it doesn't take a genius. #switchtolumia."

It is true that Helsinki is one place where using a screen with your gloves on is vital. It's also extremely helpful when you're performing abdominal surgery and your boyfriend texts you to ask whether you'd like pork or spaghetti Bolognese for dinner.

Still, I am a little concerned that Nokia has used the very same words with which Samsung headlined its own ululation: "It doesn't take a genius."

It surely doesn't take a genius to realize that Samsung has just emerged from a rather brutal court case in which it was accused of flagrant copying. Yet here is Nokia apparently engaged in lifting word-for-word.

This is surely not what "the world's most innovative smartphone" should be known for. I already smell a Samsung lawyer preparing his papers for the inspection of Judge Lucy Koh.

I may, though, be in a minority here, for Nokia's tweet evoked a different reaction from those who saw it.

It was celebrated by an emotive hashtag: #releasethephone.

It's one thing to criticize the iPhone 5 when your own Galaxy S3 can actually be bought. It's another to be tossing stones when your phone hasn't even left your greenhouse.

I know that the Apple faithful will be immensely disturbed by yet more criticism of their elongated love-object.

Perhaps that is why they are already camping out to buy one.

Perhaps, too, this spittle might have been overly delayed behind Samsung's and Nokia's teeth. It seems that an analyst estimates that the iPhone 5 will sell at least 6 million pieces.

Oh, and preorders are already in the 2 million range.

I am not sure that the best strategy to get the girl is to tell her that her boyfriend is ugly. It's surely wiser to make her see that you are one-of-a-kind who will love her like no other boyfriend could.

Screenshot by Chris Matyszczyk/CNET