I also cannot fault Elop too much, he did captain when the ship was burning.

But it doesn't mean he couldn't smoulder the fires and ship towards promising waters of MeeGo. If Nokia were to succeed with MeeGo, then Elop had to release the N9 (without Aegis, and PR1.2) in October 2010.

Elop would've also needed to release MeeGo in other form-factors by December 2010. I think at minimum he needed a high-end one (4.5+inch slab), a cheap one (small 3.4inch unit?) and a 4in qwerty-tilter for the rest.

Catching the 2010 holiday period would've meant the Nokia handsets are what consumers would've gone as direct alternative to the iPhone 4 instead of the SGS, it would've slowed the adoption of Samsung and it would've steal the spotlight from Windows Phone.

By the end of 2011, there would've been more Apps for it than we see for Windows Phone, RIM, WebOS and Bada...combined! Which would only mean more developer and consumer interest, and increased market share.

In 2012 Nokia would begin its two-punch with MeeGo 1.5 and Symbian Belle...and perhaps an iPad alternative that's PlayBook-esque before W8A tablets.

(W-8-A = waiter, lol)