Nokia: Can it afford to avoid Android much longer?

Nokia's champion of the MeeGo operating system is out the door as the company wrestles with its current operating system---Symbian---and weighs a future one. Given Android's momentum, Nokia may have to go Android sooner than later.

To wit:

• About a third of all new smartphone sales in the last six months went to Android devices, according to Nielsen.
• Nokia's Symbian operating system is a market share leader, but losing momentum.
• New Nokia CEO Stephen Elop has a clean slate and an empty exec suite as Ari Jaaksi, the vice president in charge of Nokia's MeeGo devices, has left the company. Jaaksi join
  s a long list of departing Nokia executives.

What should Nokia do?

Last week, I argued that Nokia should offer a mobile OS smorgasbord. Perhaps, you do OS choice in phases. Nokia could add Android today and Windows Phone 7 later. In any case, Nokia needs a solid horse to run with. Waiting for MeeGo---or some other unknown quantity---may not be the best strategy.

A lot of the reaction last week revolved around how Nokia should either focus or prep for MeeGo. Do today's developments change the equation for Nokia?