I don't think it matters if he gets 'partners' or if they get him.<p>Partners dropped Windows Mobile for Android and quickly because that was what would sell. The 'partners' are about selling products, and will go with what they can sell to consumers.<p>Microsoft needs to be leading and providing their partners with the best technology, not getting ideas and feedback from their partners of what the market wants. The reason is that by the time Microsoft gets the feedback from partners and implements whatever the partner wants and gets it to market, they've already missed the boat.<p>Microsoft needs somebody who is going to the partners saying 'in a year, this is what the market will want, and we'll have a beta version for you to build prototype hardware in 4 months, which gives you 5 months to design and test and 3 months to ramp up manufacturing so we're the first to market with the newest and best technology.<p>I love my WP7, but there is no question they were late to the party, and it may continue to cost them in the coming 5 years.