My friend, think a little. It is possible today to create software monopolies? Yep, it is very possible. They are called ecosystem. If ecosystem is very big, it is very difficult to be put down. I.E.: Windows-desktop or Android-mobile.

There is any “hardware” monopoly in the word? Nope. None. I,E,.there is any monopoly in car industry? None.

It is not wrong at all for Nokia. They realize they will be not able to create and maintain such ecosystem as Apple, Google and Microsoft are able to do it. They have two options: MS or Google. That’s all. It’s not about OS. Take a look at Intel or HP. They are done. No ecosystems. BB will be next victim. FF will be next victim and so on. It’s not about OS to succeed: it’s about OS AND applications, maps solution, browser, cloud computing, games portals, search engine, development tools, etc etc etc.

“No hardware company in the world can survive with only one software partner” Entire PC hardware industry survive very well with one software partner: Microsoft.

But, you are right in one point:

“any software company needs to have as many h/w partners as possible”

Tell this to Apple :) They don’t believe this. And I think they are wrong. So bizarre, they made the same mistake 20 years ago.

Whether Microsoft depend on only one hardware manufacture for its OS products ?

No, never. Why, any software company needs to have as many h/w partners as possible. With only one h/w partner, it can sell little and continue to exist.

Similarly, it is foolish thing that Nokia, being purely a hardware company now, use only one OS in their phones. Even that OS is unproven, ugly and keep on rejected by people. Then, how can it succeed ? It can sell some WP phones but that is not going to change anything in the world, neither for Nokia fans/investors.

The whole world knows how dirty Microsoft injected its virus Elop into Nokia and killed off Nokia’s best OSes (Symbian and MeeGO), and forced it to use only their OS which has hardly 3% market share.

No hardware company in the world can survive with only one software partner. It needs to offer as many OSes as possible to crab marketshare, just like how every other guy doing except Nokia.