November 2009: “Nurturing a platform is hard work.  Sure a Dell or an HP could go its own and create a platform. But it’d have to stand by and commit to its platform for the 5-7 years it takes for a platform to gain critical mass.”

Today: HP to discontinue its WebOS operations.

This leaves iOS, Android and Windows/Phone on the mobile devices battlefield. Given how much money Microsoft continues to lose on pour into search and online services, I’m not sure they’ll blink anytime soon in mobile. (Yes, QNX from RIM has a very strong core, but Blackberry’s traction with app developers is small. They really ought to license Android, but post-MotoGoogle they may just end up in the Windows Phone camp like Nokia.)