A very smart post. +1

Now for some answers:
Inteldevelops x86 CPU. How does MeeGo cater for it?
Well it will be an OS where Intel has some power over (example Samsung and Bada). And it would cater to low powered Intels such as Atoms and Z-series where it feels "too slow" or half baked when running Windows (XP or 7).
The problem is x86 has a few technical features that make it impossible to compete against ARM on the low-end scale, and thus in the phone/handheld/tablet/netbook field. x86 is either too slow or is too thirsty (get the elephant on a diet analogy?).

Nokia makes phones. Right now they have no smartphones on the market. They do have the most function-packed dumbphones. Symbian has shown its age (and limits) and a smart OS would be money well invested for Nokia if it is going to stay in the market. Yes i'll say it, the end of dumbphones have begun (and MS will burn for the Kin!).
The problem is Nokia is inexperienced in the smartphone business, that is the true reason the N900 was released: an experiment! So in the future N900 owners will feel like they were raped since the goods will be planted on its successor. On top of that, they are either too greedy, too optimistic or too slow. They are the biggest phone provider of the world, and the biggest everywhere when it comes to dumbphones. It's main competitiors have moved on eg Motorola Milestone, SE Xperia, Samsung Wave, LG something. They have moved on and provided smartphone alternatives.

Google now has Android. It was in the same state as MeeGo is: has the potential to be great but is more likely to be false hope.
However, Google is a GIANT and they made a truly great OS for smartphones of today. They were backed by the largest smartphone provider HTC and they succeeded to make it the OS for smartphones by making updates (1.6, 2.1, 2.2) that allowed it to stay ahead of the competition (eg WinMo6 was ugly, iOSX was too exclusive, RIM was corporate only oriented, WebOS had bad luck). It fragmented but it wasn't so bad: ie almost all Apps that work on the Nexus One work flawlessly on the Moto Droid despite many differences.

Google Chrome = failure.
The only thing Chrome would succeed in is the JooJoo (gives me goosebumps).
Why?
It is very light, but is almost "Cloud" exclusive = many disadvantages due to carrier dependencies.
Q:What would it run on?
A: "Smartbooks" and Touchscreen Smartbooks without keyboards (tablets).
So as of recently, Chrome development has changed or siezed or something like that I've heard. They say the next "Chrome" will be a blend of Android and Chromium (browser) ... which brings better promises.

Now for my personal input:

After following MeeGo's development I am disappointed. It has fragmented before release. There are 2 distinct MeeGo versions:
1) Intel MeeGo: Moblin 2.2 with some Maemo
2) Nokia MeeGo: Maemo 5 with some MeeGo
And many alternatives that is a hybrid of the two for other devices like in-car etc etc.

I was expecting a dumbbed down Moblin** (laptops) but smartified Maemo** (handhelds) where the two would be the same to the core. The only difference is that MeeGo comes with an option where you can choose the User Interface. All versions have their own UI according to their needs but they come with a setting where you can revert to the original User Interface (the above ** Astrix). So you can have unique skins/UI on top of the core which can be composed by the OEMs but users that cannot get over the learning curve can select to revert and now have a familiar interactive method. For instance, the difference between a netbook and a smartphone would need (want) different UI due to physical differences (multitasking ability, screen size, touchscreen vs mouse).

I loved the concept of Moblin + Maemo = MeeGo = a unified OS for many lightweight products (and a bridge between fast ARM and slow x86). After seeing all the recent support from other companies it made me think that such a difficult defeat (unified OS) would be more possible.
After observing the MeeGo demo on MSI netbook (Endgadget) I see nothing "WOW!" to make me retract these comments. It basically is still Moblin, great for netbooks but not smartphones.

To be honest, here are my new thoughts on MeeGo:

In its current state, I want it to die!
But what I really want is for it to change (evolve) to what I've described.
Possibility?
Very possible to accomplish this with Linux kernel and Qt, they have advanced far enough.

Other thoughts?
With MS and Android advanced very far in the last 2 years.
Both OS's dominate the opposing fields; Windows 7 with high-performance devices and Android with low-performance devices.
Q: So where does MeeGo fit into the picture?
A: In the niche.

But what else occupies (thrives) in the niche?
Ubuntu, and its done so successfully for quite some time.
So in a sense, MeeGo is competing with Ubuntu. Enough competition already!!
To top it off, Ubuntu is much more mature, has many advantages and supports a range of architectures/devices (from your PS3 to your Touch Pro2).

So I think Meego should join with Ubuntu.
If they did Ubuntu could finally rise up from the niche and into consumer's hands.
And I think if Ubuntu actually joined the MeeGo bandwagon (Meetu?) they could have a really impressive OS.
Since Ubuntu has a great existing technology, many hard-working developers, a large user base and alot of experience in the OS trade.
MeeGo has the economical power to do the research, get company's to sign on and a few big names (Intel, Nokia etc) to attract other big companies (eg Dell, Lenovo, Motorola, SE, LG).

So something like this would really attract many developers (especially from the Ubuntu user base). And this could be the best quality and the largest consumer Linux OS.

And today consumers now understand that software plays a vital role in the experience of the device, hence why OEMs now apply their own skins like MotoBlur. Consumers also know that the experience is better with more available programs (ie App Store) and that's only possible with more developers and developer's with reputations (ie EA Games).

When the supply is high, and you've got a brilliant invention, you can dominate the field like a tsunami ... ... you know the rest!




Here is what I mean by Windows 7 and Android being the dominant OSs:
For All-in-one-desktop-PC's = Windows 7 is great
For gaming-desktops= Windows 7 is great
For home entertainment devices= Windows 7 is great
For gaming-laptops= Windows 7 is great
For cheap laptops= Windows 7 is great
For CULV-laptops= Windows 7 is great
For high-performance-netbooks~= Windows 7 is okayish
~= 1.7GHz+ Pineview and/or dual core Atom

For cheap-slow smartphones= Android is great
For fast smartphones= Android is great
For handhelds/PMP= Android is great
For tablets= Android is great
For smartbooks= Android is great
For low-powered-netbooks^= Android is okayish
^= Intel Z-series or Atoms with <1.3GHz

The niche exists where For is bolded, and as you can see these spaces can be occupied by Windows or Android so the window of time when (MeeGo can establish itself) these OS will dominate these areas is nearing.