Fed up with "updates": to whom belong MY phone?

Question

Short story. After one or two months without doing it (was I lasy?), I had the stupid idea of checking software updates for my N8. Was not at first easy, since the Ovi suite (after upgrading to last version) kept cheking for hours for "software updates". In the end, I managed to have it done. My N8 rebooted, with a sort of "new look", some of the icons having even been changed in such a way, that it was hard to remember to what they pointed (albeit the position seemed to have been respected).
Then, when I looked to the Ovi suite screen, what I saw, is that I needed another update to "Anna" telling me that with Anna, my N8 life will become wonderfully better. But Anna  resited to the attraction of the Ovi suite, and it was impossible to have here come down to my phone.
Alas! I was in a rush. I cheked that my phone was correctly functionning. Apparently, yes. Then I went to a business meeting.
During the meeting, for the purpose of the discussion, I had to check some data I usually carry with me in the phone. I clicked on the excel file "sorry, format not recognized". I tried a word file. Same answer. In a panic, I turned to a .pdf. Same answer.
So next time I'll carry with me a paper copy of these files.
When I had time ahead, I finally managed to updgrade to Anna, with wifi connection (is it cumpulsary, when you buy a N8 phone to have a wifi connection at hand?). Only then, I was able to view again my "office" files.
So my question to the smart Nokia software geeks. Is the N8 I bought with my own monies (not even in a line subscription package), MY phone or YOUR phone, with witch you can play to have some occupation during  the long and  dark winter season in Finland?
By the way, so far, Anna didn't impress me with some extraordinary more wonderfull features, I han those I had with the previous N8 software girl, I was forced to leave.

Answer 1

@n8dummyuser: It's a shame you had these problems, but they seem to me to be perfectly explicable (especially if you searched and read these forums).
1. The ANNA update has (from what I can understand, because I haven't had the luxury of actually updating yet) three parts. There's a part that you update the base operating system, and then there's a further Part 1 and Part 2. These later parts include QuickOffice, which is the application that allows you to see and edit Microsoft Office files (the Excel file you mentioned). If you just update without the later parts, you will not have QuickOffice and your phone basically has an incomplete update. There are apparently instructions telling this, and no, Nokia did not take any of your functionality away - they assume you will complete the update process.
2. The Maps application has gone through a number of updates, which required the map data to be updated as well. Once again, you would have been told that in one of the little windows that pops up on your screen as you do the update, and Nokia would have asumed you would read these notices and follow their instructions. The voice guidance files are part of the map data update, so would have to be re-loaded as well.
I guess the message to you is to take care as you update your phone (as I assume you do when you update your computer) ie take backups, read the instructions carefully, take a deep breath and pause before you hit the go button.
Cheers,
Cameron