You're right. Combined with the fact that xda-developers is an unsupported channel for operating system updates (thus bypassing licensing entirely and going directly into development), Apple manufacturing their own devices (thus straight into development), and Google being just good like that and being closely linked with its OS improvement throughout its range, you've just proven to me that once the next big thing hits Symbian Foundation the Nokia N97 will most definitely not be a product to receive the benefits.
The truth is quite frankly that their care is minimal. As you've proven, they're a business first and foremost. Nokia is out there for revenue and market penetration (although it doesn't make the profits of other companies). The consumer's interest is among the least important factors of their operations and decisions.