V3.co.uk readers divided over Nokia's Android snub

Decision to go with Microsoft and Windows Phone 7 proves controversial

V3.co.uk readers appear to be split in the debate over whether Nokia made the right decision in snubbing Android and partnering with Microsoft on Windows Phone 7, according to the results of our latest poll.

Nokia announced last week that it will adopt the Microsoft operating system as its high-end smartphone platform, which effectively means the end for Symbian and Nokia's involvement in Intel's MeeGo open source platform.

However, many were surprised that Nokia boss Stephen Elop did not plump for Google's wildly popular Android operating system.

Even former Google chief executive Eric Schmidt has publicly stated his disappointment at the choice, and said that the offer to use Android in the future remains open.

Some 35 per cent of V3.co.uk readers agreed that Nokia should have gone with Android rather than the unproven Windows Phone 7.

A further 19 per cent thought that Windows Phone 7 would never match the iOS and Android platforms, while nine per cent said that Nokia should have stuck with the Symbian and MeeGo platforms.

One reader, Rex Alfie Lee, said: "I was really looking forward to trying MeeGo. On decent specifications it looked to have a better GUI than android & I believe it was probably closer to a real Linux environment."

Our favourable first impressions of the MeeGo platform running on a prototype tablet at Mobile World Congress seem to bear out these sentiments.

Just five per cent thought that Nokia might have been better off teaming up with HP on its webOS, another platform that has received many plaudits for its performance on the firm's new TouchPad tablet.

However, a significant chunk of V3.co.uk readers backed Nokia's move, with 32 per cent saying that the partnership was a smart move given Nokia's current slump in fortunes.

One reader, Ali, argued that the reason the smartphone maker didn't go with Android is that it doesn't want to be "HTC or another Motorola".

"There are less Win7 phones out there. It's a gamble but it could work," they added.