I'm pretty sure I can disagree with your assessment. Maemo/MeeGo COULD have done quite well with a persistent push and a strong backing from a company as big as Nokia HAD been at the time. The move toward Windows Phone 7 is precisely why Nokia is no longer the company it was and trending toward a less and less relevant player. So far, WP7 hasn't been a winner for anybody else, much less a company that, itself, is quickly losing brand loyalty and value.

Similarly, buying WebOS from HP would have done them no favors--it's the same dying, whithering atmosphere that surrounds Maemo/MeeGo right now. The same effects and discussions would have revolved around that, with the exception, maybe, of the possibility of being far more open-source leaning... but then, Nokia hasn't shown that they're interested in that aspect of Maemo before except as a PR stunt to puffer themselves up to developers and FOSS enthusiasts, why start now?

I would also question your judgement about labeling the use of Android as a monopoly. Is iOS suddenly irrelevant? What exactly makes the use of a highly customizable open system monopolistic? Is it the Android Market? Last time I checked, there are a myriad of Android devices that don't use it (including such well known brands as Archos and Amazon's new upcoming tablets). Certainly, it would be far less monopolistic and monoculturist than the Windows Phone 7 they chose to go with. I imagine an Ovistore on Android would be far easier to implement and far more sought after by even non-Nokia devices, if they played their cards right. What a missed opportunity by the shortsighted executive dunces at Nokia!

I, personally for all that's worth, think that Nokia would have done well to have stopped dribbling all over themselves as if they were developmentally challenged with the idiotic "this is step 4 of 5" and instead of putting so much effort into making SURE you couldn't separate the closed-source from the open-source to produce a hobbled closed-core trap... instead had placed all that time, resource and money into PROMOTION and actual DEVELOPMENT for an open-source friendly device and promoting it as the power of FOSS open-source servers in a tiny pocket-sized piece of kit... I'd bet THAT would have done wonders for everyone involved.

Well, so long as Eflop is in charge, that ship has sailed. Nokia, you could have been a contender... instead, you're sitting in the corner diddling yourself while everyone else is off learning, inventing and having fun. Windows Phone 7 isn't your savior... you watch.