| famousringo said: The hardware and the software look good, but what consumer or developer in their right mind would buy into what Nokia itself calls a "burning platform." The Meego ecosystem isn't going to go anywhere. I'm more convinced than ever that the MS + Nokia partnership is the most amazingly good deal that Microsoft has ever pulled off. They strangled Meego before it even got out of the womb. Now, no matter how talented and beautiful a child it is, it gets to sleep under the stairs and eat fish heads. |
While there's no doubt that Microsoft made a great deal, I think the reasoning behind making WP7 Nokia's primary OS is still sound enough.
Stephen Elop has been talking about the eco system and its importance since he came to Nokia, and while MeeGo looks like a very capable OS (although we don't quite know how it stacks up against the competition), it is very late to introduce a new OS to the market and keep the eco system healthy. The reasons Nokia went with WP7 are
1) WP7 is getting way more support by handset manufacturers. Apple can afford being the only company to support the App Store because they revolutionized the smartphone business and got huge support from both consumers and developers, but can Nokia pull off the same trick? MeeGo looks good, but it doesn't look like anything that will turn the market on its head if Nokia is the only hardware manufacturer supporting it.
2) WP7 has a head start on Meego. Even if MeeGo comes out guns blazing by the end of the year, WP7 already has a lot of development support, not to mention public recognition. Combine this with the advertising support Microsoft will undoubtedly provide and the existing brand recognition, and WP7 is much more likely to attract customers than MeeGo right now.
3) Nokia's deal with Microsoft allows them to customize WP7 as much as they like. Android (which matches the previous reasons) is not something Google wants tampered with to the degree Nokia wanted.
In the end, I don't think MeeGo will make a big splash, and the splash wouldn't have been big enough even if Nokia had thrown their entire weight behind it. Joining forces with Microsoft seems like a good idea still to me. 
