Who Owns The Platform?

There are a variety of different wireless device platform models out there, and IT-Analysis is wondering how it all might shake out. While the comparisons aren't direct (and some of them play together without too much trouble), the article lays out the various different "models" from RIM (own the software and the hardware) to Microsoft (just own the software) to Symbian (own the software, but be owned by the hardware providers) to Linux (owned by no one) along with a few others. While the article doesn't place any bets, it's a good list to watch to see how they fare over the next 12-18 months, where it seems likely that some of the weaker options (SavaJe?) will probably be completely off the radar, and some of the larger players will start to make a more convincing case that they're going to be dominant in the space.