So after reading the 7 full pages of the behind the scene actions inside Nokia I feel that much of the story is still left out. I do not really believe the whole 3 MeeGo devices by 2014 bit and it was put together to intentionally mislead. This bit is supposedly saying that an OS that can be delivered to a phone cannot be placed on different set of hardware or chassis for that matter. Aside different hardware requiring specific drivers, the complete OS is a drop in and optimize operation. Look at WP7, the OS is available and designed for a certain spec, it becomes drop in at that point, so is Meego for the N900 as we speak it is getting to a stage where it can be dropped into the hardware. That is a total and utter lie, which says that the OS could not be put into more hardware fast enough, the issue is more akin to it not being ready on the initial release and with firmware updates the argument is made more moot. If I had to read into it, the firmware updates would require around 2014 to reach a state where it is OS complete, and MeeGo would have the requirements of being a fully functional smartphone OS.

This actually is more of a strategy shift which I think Elop was presented with and did not approve. The intent of MeeGo was to become the top smartphone series and Nokia would reduce the number of phones they would launch in this category. This was the plan under OPK, and I think Elop came to the conclusion that a more frequent release cycle is to Nokia's strength much like HTC does. Also MeeGo was not ready to be repackaged in a frequent hardware release cycle when it was not ready yet as an ecosystem, something WP7 offered alternatively.

So in essence, that part is very misleading because it is covering for the fact that the release cycle is what changed in strategy. Just this year, the rumors of two devices are already rampant, and so MeeGo can be repurposed to other hardware easily as that is part of why Maemo/ MeeGo came into existence. Nokia didn't feel like releasing 3-5 phones per year when the ecosystem backing it up was not ready nor was the OS able to bring more profitable channels to Nokia like the use of their mapping system or the ability to reach both the high and low ends of the value spectrum. If they can make 1 MeeGo device they can make more than that as well.

Creating the hardware is hard, I would suppose a small group within Nokia was tasked to create the OS to supposedly meant to save them while Symbian still had the majority of the mindshare ... something which is totally whack in any case. I would like Nokia to reimagine past winners with today's hardware and software. For example an N95 chassis but thinner, higher mp camera, 4inch screen, fast cpu, and MeeGo. The way hardware is going today as well, it is becoming simpler to interconnect I/O devices with specific data buses and specific small signal characteristics. 3 devices in the next 3 years is total baloney and does not do MeeGo any justice with this utter misleading fact, they could have made more if that was the strategy, but OPK's strategy was not to have a lot of consecutive releases. Lets not get it twisted.

With the above said, I now see WP7 as more calculated gamble with the best possible outcomes for Nokia. MeeGo is more a hail mary shot than WP7 is that is the reality today. If they launch a MeeGo device this year I think we will see a phone that is awesome, but still quite limited when it comes to an ecosystem. With the budget alotted, I hope they can build an ecosystem around it in the next 5 years while WP7 stems the losses and keeps Nokia afloat for long term challenges. I am excited to see ideas float both ways, from WP7 to MeeGo and opposite from MeeGo to WP7. Something like multi-service messaging phone integration as seen on Maemo/ MeeGo would be awesome on WP7.