[hetman]

Not a lot of of this makes sense. First, stability. Are you comparing Linux to a ten year old version of Windows? The modern Windows kernel is just as stable as Linux. Sadly, the same can't be said for third party drivers written by Android manufacturers. As for the full system stack. I'm primarily an Android user but I find Windows Phone seems to be a lot more stable from a user perspective.

Second, opennes. The Linux kernel is open, but most of Android is not (and with each Android release this gets worse). Forking would mean rewriting all the closed parts. A lot of Google Play apps don't even work on the Kindle Fire because of the closed parts being different. The only reason forking worked for Amazon in the first place, was that they were selling based on their already existing Kindle ecosystem, not based on Android, Android was just the enabler.

Shifting gears to Android that late in the game would not have suddenly allowed Nokia to catch up to Samsung. Samsung had been organising themselves for years to reap the advantages that come with Android. They didn't just release an Android phone and become an industry leader overnight.

I still think Windows Phone was the better option for Nokia given how immature Maemo/Meego still was (which was primarily Nokia's fault for not anticipating the market and not prioritising it higher). At the end of the day, even a smart decision won't help you if you make it too late.