I agree, and I'm not sure whether the reason it hasn't happened is that they can't do it, or they won't do it.

These are not mutually exclusive.

Nokia and the rest of the Symbian ecosystem actually led the market by a long stretch, just a short while ago. If they hadn't hired a former Microsoft exec to lead the company, and perhaps with a bit of luck, Nokia/Siemens/etc would have been that alternative. But that is another discussion.

I 100% disagree, and that's as someone who was both a fan of Nokia and even of Windows Phone.

And even if I agreed, they did hire that former MS exec. So they wouldn't have been that alternative, because in no universe would Apple or Google put Stephen Elop in charge of iPhone/Android, and in this universe, Nokia would.

> The solution is simple: build a business environment that would allow a home-grown alternative to have developed over the last 40 years.

Time travel is a simple and elegant solution to many problems. (Ignoring unintended consequences at least.)

True, but we always have the opportunity to eliminate a similar need for time travel 40 years from now.