To paraphrase Churchill, Nokia’s deal with Microsoft was the worst strategy they could have come up with, except for all the available alternatives. It’s a par

To paraphrase Churchill, Nokia’s deal with Microsoft was the worst strategy they could have come up with, except for all the available alternatives. It’s a partnership born out of mutual desperation. Nokia needs an OS that doesn’t suck to develop on (unlike Symbian) and that they can actually ship (unlike Meego). Microsoft needs a revenue stream other than their Windows/Office duopoly. Thus, they need each other. Why isn’t Nokia going with Android? Because Google doesn’t need anything that Nokia can offer; Google will be happy to count their ad-clicks while Samsung, Motorola, HTC, et al. drive down one another’s profit margins. (Disclaimer: I work for Nokia and despise Microsoft as much as any self-respecting Linux geek, so I think my biases cancel one another out.)