Comment by Zigurd

The NT-based kernels were not as big a problem for Microsoft as CE-based OSs were. Nokia transitioned away from a Linux-based smartphone OS to Windows Phone 7, based on Windows Embedded CE 6. It is clear that Windows Phone 7 was uncompetitive with other smartphone OSs. That put Nokia in limbo for a year when they could least afford it.

Now the problem is not so much the kernel, but all the cruft a Windows-based OS drags along with it. The most visible symptom is the amount of storage used up by stuff that adds little or no readily apparent value to Windows RT.

Windows OSs are heavy compared to Android and other Linux-based OSs. That means inexpensive tablets and phones won't run Windows, and Windows is shut out of mobile device markets in India, Africa, and other developing areas. These markets are how Yulong (who??!!) became a top 10 mobile OEM.