Say what you will of Elop, but with him it marks the first time Nokia is making a decisive action and throwing down to compete. Everything done under OPK was stalling tactics.

Elop definately threw MeeGo under the bus, but remember that OPK was the one who stalled on Maemo and MeeGo for far too long. He gave it no sense of purpose, heck Maemo existed before Android I'm not sure if it did before iOS. Tablets, touch screens, the fastest processors of their time were all what Nokia had at the time pre iPhone. OPK did not have the balls to go forward with ground breaking concepts the competition were willing to bank their futures on.

I don't know if WP7 will work out but it does have the best chance for saving Nokia more so than MeeGo could. MeeGo would be a new player, and will arrive with very little fanfare believe me on this. A Nokia WP7 phone will get more publicity at places like Engadget rather than a MeeGo device. The OS provides Nokia the ability to roll out different chassis configurations with minimal effort and at a quicker pace. The competition on the WP7 platform don't have a full line of phones yet, nor do they have the focus on their WP7 devices. Also the markets in Europe, Asia, and Africa/ Middle East love the Nokia brand irrespective of the OS, only reason why people would endure the Symbian OS and it's updates to make it more touch friendly. Having a WP7 will be seen as a plus once they try it, something I recommend people bad mouthing WP7 do if they haven't tried it.

My opinion on WP7 after trying it is quite different from the day Elop made the announcement and I was fuming with anger. It is no Maemo and comparing them would be a disservice. I love Maemo, because it showcases where exactly Smartphone OS's will be in the next decade, full Mobile Desktop OS's something that we are witnessing now as the Desktop OS's become more mobile and the Mobile OS's become more like a Desktop OS. Maemo was the right balance of power and efficiency, I could even picture it right now a Fremantle powered 10inch Slate. WP7 is much like the current player's wherein the environment is very controlled but the trade off is that you get access to services that encompass what Elop mentioned as an ecosystem. Maps, gaming, email/ calendar, messaging etc... are some of the examples of what you get access to. I bought a WP7 device to test around, developing is much more straightforward and Microsoft has done a way better job of communicating how to develop for the WP7 devices. Also the OS is smooth as hell, the UI is simple but gets important info to the user as quick as possible with minimal swiping. The virtual keyboard in my opinion is much better than the iPhones, the browser is actually decent, the Email client built in is really awesome, and the Calendar is actually very effective because of it's simplicity although I wish I could sync it to my Google calendar. The positive signs coming from Microsoft is their ability to make updates, not simple updates but MASSIVE updates like the upcoming Mango eventhough it has things the OS should of had from the beginning it is still impressive how MS has made over 500 improvements. WP7 is not perfect by all means, their are glaring weaknesses not addressed yet, and don't know if it will be addressed. These weaknesses in mind, I still would recommend the WP7 OS to friends and family because it packs a overall good OS.

MeeGo should not be canned although and WP7 should not be the argument for canning it. Nokia has to definitely still make MeeGo phones but I think it needs a purpose that guides it. Future disruptions is one thing, but that seems like it can be done in the lab and would never be seen as an end user product. Create a phone targeted to a market segment like Enterprise or something, and hopefully in the future leverage it's penetration in that segment to gain a broader appeal.

Elop had an oh sh*t moment because he came in and did a review. The result of the review did not jive with a strategy he had, so they recalculated the strategy to stem losses and regain momentum. People who are angry at him right now have let emotions get in the way. MeeGo wasn't going to save the free fall that OPK left Nokia in, and Symbian was the biggest anchor Nokia had hauling them down. Nokia was throwing money at Symbian and not seeing a return on it. Less people were buying Symbian phones, and Nokia's work force was laboring away at it taking away valuable man hours from other projects and costing the company in employing workers on the Symbian side.

The unusual part is he publicly announced Symbians end game, an unusual move. I think it was meant to deliver a message to shareholders, employees, and new partners (Microsoft). The tradeoff is that it created an uncertainty for Nokia and accelerated the demise of Symbian from consumer mindshare. Although it did deliver clarity to everyone else except the consumer. Employees know their eggs are in WP7's basket, shareholders know they have to hold on for dear life in the bumpy days ahead, and Microsoft knows the level of Nokias commitment to WP7. I think was a hard decision to publicly state that, but this is also insurance that shaky board of executives don't waver on whats to come. By driving a stake through Symbian's heart, and gimping the MeeGo efforts furthermore it hardens the resolve when you make it a do or die moment. The best part is that Elop knows how to communicate, and doesn't shy away from his decisions, I can't believe people would rather he remain tactful and not air some of Nokia's dirty laundry ... it has to be done to expunge years of employee frustration and political obstinence within Nokia. I want to hear that he scolded Nokia workers for not having the guts to try the competitors phones, nor having issue with Nokia not taking the risk to release unique ideas which remain in their vault. I like that he is ensuring product schedules remain intact, and communicating with the anyone who is willing to listen. I don't work for Nokia so I don't know the inner workings or the effectiveness of his leadership ... from my point of view looking in I think he is doing a much better job than OPK and time will tell if Nokia's WP7 gamble was right.