Nokia’s CEO, Stephen Elop, has been criticised by a former executive of the Finnish outfit.

It seems that the criticisms relate to the one-dimensional approach Nokia is taking with operating systems. In other words, Lee Williams believes that it is silly to rely just on Microsoft’s Windows Phone software. Mr. Williams said: “It might have made sense to introduce a product or two into the portfolio based on Windows Phone. What I do not think they should have done is pretend it is a one horse race, and that one software system is all you need. They have executed in this fashion, and are paying for it.”

To be fair to Nokia, though, the company has been manufacturing handsets with its Symbian operating system, although most devices are in fact now running WP7. The company also ditched MeeGo, the collaborative project with Intel.

Many experts have criticised Nokia for not going with Android, particularly since the latter is the most popular platform worldwide. However, by contrast, others believe that forging the partnership with Microsoft was the right thing to do to help rebrand Nokia. Not just that, it also enabled Microsoft itself to get a higher profile in the smartphone world.

Notwithstanding the criticisms of Lee Williams, the decision to go mainly with the Windows Phone platform may be the right one after all. Sales of the first releases of the new WP7 handsets in the USA have taken off, which company insiders hope will augur well when they arrive in Britain later this month.