[virain]

Unlike desktop version of MS OS, that is marketed directly to consumer (you can assemble computer yourself without much of a knowledge how it works and spare parts available in any computer store), WM is marketed directly to OEMs. So here's conflict of interests. Consumer wants reliable, responsive, useful and inexpensive device, while manufacturer wants to increase its bottom line selling as much devices as possible and that means keep them more affordable, and solution is to sacrifice performance by using less expansive, hence less powerful and less reliable parts. HTC is a perfect example. Market device on great screen resolution or more powerful processor, but saving money on drivers, memory, or any other auxiliary (headphone jack for example).
In case of mobile devices you can't just go to the store and pick up all the parts you need to assemble your own. I am absolutely against proprietary software running on proprietary hardware (iPhone, Nokia, etc..) So, I believe the problem can be solve by either better control over hardware requirements for OEMs but if MS tighten its grip on them too much OEMs will go for Google Android or something else.
Or releasing WM OS directly to consumer, same way you can buy Vista or XP in any store now. With release of OS to consumer, market will take its natural course. Manufacturers of all the RAMs, ROMs, processors, screens etc.. will release their product directly to consumer (it is good to sell to HTC for $50 but to sell it to regular Joe for $150 is even better), New small "underground" shops that make Mobile devices will grow like mushrooms, some of them will become big and powerful corporations at the end (remember history of Dell), increased competition will leas to cheaper end product and at the end consumer AND MS will be biggest winners.
Yes, you can say that Smartphone is more complicated than your desktop PC, but there are more than enough professional people who CAN build the device, but doesn't have resources. And they could offer them to cunsumer much cheaper than HTC, Asus, Samsung or any other big OEM