I think diversity is also a factor in this whole debate. There are 100's of android phones, so if Nokia steps into the android bandwagon, they will not be noticed because there are (too) many android phones. They are kinda similar. What can androidphone #1 do different then android phone #2 apart from hardware.
Correct me if im thinking wrong though..

That really depends on exactly how those numbers were counted. For example, if 25 million growth in handsets in the "smartphone" market were on CDMA networks, then neither Apple (who hasn't yet released a CDMA device) nor Nokia (who haven't released a CDMA smartphone) "should have" had growth in that 25 million handsets.

Who ships CDMA smartphones? Handset makers who up to now haven't had a smartphone OS and ship Android, and Blackberry.

I would like to see GSM-specific numbers, otherwise this is really just "smartphones come to CDMA".

its not so much of a problem for nokia as it would be for consumers. I dont want to move to a world with fewer OSes. I rather see more...

Also. To me the "biggest" is almost never the best. Just look at symbian or android or windows to desktops.

That is why its so bad.

androd might be crap for some but offers some of the best out of the box apps for mobile devices. However personally i dont like where google is taking us when it comes to privacy.

Just to highlight a dichotomy - one one side people (you ) are talking about Nokia as a company, and on the other Android, as a platform. The recent 'google beats nokia for 2010Q4' is a good example for that - the analysts take a random mix of manufacturers and devices on one platform, and then compare it to only one, specific offering from Nokia. That's pretty much matching up apples (pun intended) and oranges. They didn't even bother to include non-Nokia symbian devices (hello Japan/China !) as that would ruin the hype. In either case, even with just producing symbian, Nokia will remain the #1 mobile phone vendor for quite some time. Read that carefully. #1 mobile phone vendor. Google is not a mobile phone vendor. Nokia's archenemies are not (directly) Google or Microsoft, but Samsung, ZTE, Motorola, LG, SE and alike (most of which are not doing as well financially as PR/market-share-wise), and in that context, it's really-really big even if it can't grow as fast at the moment (that's the scary part, symbian volumes are increasing !). Changes will be necessary to stimulate growth, but I guess it's no news that Nokia at some point decided it will use new OS-es (MeeGo) and software platforms (=Qt). I guess people are keen on the Android crossover because they know it works (for *them*, not Nokia) and they haven't seen MeeGo.

It's suicide. Why would anyone write apps with Qt (or native blackberry, etc) if they can cover Nokia with Android apps ? Plus, Symbian HW is lower spec on average than Android so won't look good anyway. Dalvik (or rather, the Android API) is pointless FOR THE VENDORS on any platform other than Android (i.e. blackberry might be preparing a long term migration plan for all I know).

Because Nokia makes better OSses. And takes profit from it. Using Android google will take the money. There's many Android makers already!

Should Apple throw away ios and use Android?

I don't understand your logic. Should CDMA not be counted for any reason? Why hasn't Nokia release a CDMA smartphone btw? Apple had the AT&T lock in for years that were preventing them to go CDMA.

Google (& partners) saw the niche and made sure that they fill the void before Apple does. That certainly boosted their sales numbers and adoption rate.

Predicting (or making) a trend is a big part of marketing. I see those who're late to the party as the ones missing te bus. Nokia certainly missed the early smartphone wave.

Nokia's target consumers are on GSM networks, plus Nokia owns the patents for GSM not CDMA. Apple is going CDMA with the eventual intention of selling CDMA/GSM dual chipset iPhones in China where Google wants no part of.

Does that mean they cannot license CDMA? Or if they create CDMA handsets, they're at some disadvantageous position that it's not a profitable endeavor?

What about next gen chipsets? LTE, wimax, etc

Nokia certainly has their fair share of CDMA candybar / featurephones.

Sorry that I don't work for Engadget/PhoneDog/Phone Arena

I agree with you that having a fragmented OS distribution among handsets would be odd, and wouldn't make much sense. But I'm really hypothesizing on the future, if Meego stumbles and falls the way Maemo did. Would Nokia then just throw in the towel on trying to cook up their own OS for high-end devices and continue to make awesome HW but using a tried-and-tested (and popular with con$umers) OS such as Android?