I think what most of us hate him for is going the MS route rather than making Android phones. Nokia used to make great phones, but with sub-par OS. Why not combine the best of both worlds?
At the time, I don't think normal users would have called Android better than 'sub-par'. I'll admit that with Material Design and recent OS releases, they've gotten much better, but still many of my non-geek friends tolerate their Android phone that they got for "the big screen".
Now that Apple has solved the "I want a big screen" problem, I think those people will run back to iOS.
I'm sure Elop thought MS was going to put some more effort behind WP. They got a lot of things right, but not the UI and certainly not the marketing.
For what it's worth, I've been using WP for about 3 years now. It's performance is underrated, but Metro went too far as a flat UI.
Making phones right now is really a game of supply chain mastery and scale. Nokia didn't have an particular advantage in either area, especially when it came to smart phones. If they started making android phones, it's more likely they'd be another HTC or LG than another Samsung or Apple.
Now that Apple has solved the "I want a big screen" problem, I think those people will run back to iOS.
I'm sure Elop thought MS was going to put some more effort behind WP. They got a lot of things right, but not the UI and certainly not the marketing.
For what it's worth, I've been using WP for about 3 years now. It's performance is underrated, but Metro went too far as a flat UI.