Tethering has very little to do with the platform, and much to do with the carrier.
Carriers want to be able to charge for it regardless of which phone you own.
As for the 'pretty icons'...
Apple/RIM/Google are realizing that users are beginning to care less about what hardware their phone has, and more about what they can do on their phone. All 3 are focusing on providing app driven platforms, and Apple did well to grab the early lead.
Carrier restrictions are enforced at the platform level, though. If you have a data plan and the OS lets you push bits from your PC thru your phone, it all looks the same to your carrier.
Sure, WinMo sucks hard. But it's open, and that means you can do whatever you want. Android is probably the most logical successor, although T-Mobile would really like you to pretend that Android is closed.
Carriers want to be able to charge for it regardless of which phone you own.
As for the 'pretty icons'... Apple/RIM/Google are realizing that users are beginning to care less about what hardware their phone has, and more about what they can do on their phone. All 3 are focusing on providing app driven platforms, and Apple did well to grab the early lead.
I don't see a future for winMo in that ecosystem.