Microsoft Reportedly Seeks To Put Windows Phone On Android Devices

quantr draws your attention to a Bloomberg report that Microsoft has reached out to HTC to see if the company would be interested in adding Windows as a second OS to its Android handsets. From the Bloomberg story: "Its willingness to add Windows as a second operating system underscores the lengths to which Microsoft will go to get manufacturers to carry its software. HTC, the first company to make both Windows and Android phones, hasn’t unveiled a new Windows-based handset since June and has no current plans to release any more, said one person. Microsoft, with 3.7 percent of the market, is finding it necessary to make concessions after agreeing to acquire Nokia Oyj’s handset unit, which competes with other smartphone makers. [Microsoft operating systems head Terry] Myerson was planning to visit Asia this month and meet with senior executives at Taoyuan, Taiwan-based HTC to discuss his proposal, one of the people said."

Wrong way round.

[Anonymous Coward]

Android on Lumia, that'd be an offering.

Will they allow the reverse?

[wjh31]

To be able to have the choice of OS on your device is a good thing, maybe you like the S3 but like windows OS. or you like the nokia lumia hardware but prefer andoid. Now its never going to be allowed to happen with iphone/iOS but choice of OS on other devices can only be a good thing

This is simple numbers pumping

[larwe]

Microsoft has played games with numbers to pump its supposed Windows market share many many times. For instance, if you're a big corporation and you buy 10,000 machines with Vista installed, but backlevel them to XP, Microsoft counted those as Vista sales. This "dual boot" bullshit is almost certainly the same nonsense. HTC has a bigger market share by itself than all the Windows Phone devices in aggregate (I believe). Anyway, it's the #3 smartphone vendor behind Apple and Samsung. It's also in really dire trouble financially, or at least so the news-sphere seems to indicate. So, they're hurting for cash and might be willing to accept some cash to load Windows on their Android phones as dual boot. Practically nobody will use Windows, but Microsoft will be able to claim those dual boot handset sales as "Windows sales" and fake the numbers to make it look like Win Phone is growing in marketshare.

Trust Microsoft???

[jonsmirl]

My memory is fuzzy on this, but I believe Microsoft took Toshiba to court and made them stop dual booting Linux on their laptops about 20 years ago. At the time Toshiba owned a Linux distribution so they prevented Toshiba from shipping their own code.

This is the same Microsoft that is extorting everyone over unnamed Android patent infringements.

Why would you want to work with them? Every company that works with them ends up dead or wounded.

Let me get this straight

[Billly Gates]

So instead of OEMS only caring about Windows, designing hardware only tested for Windows, only supporting Windows, signing Windows in the hardware boot device,and even including Windows where someone has to manually go into the bios and install a second bootloader to run Linux has now changed to carriers only caring about linux, designing phones just for linux/Android, only supporting Linux, and even signing linux to run Android on top, now has to listen to an angry MS who feels its soo unfair that no one will even stock their products on the shelf nor care and are begging just for the opportunity to dual boot! ... No cost too as well according to NEOwin!

Wow. Couldnt happen to a nicer company. It is amazing how fast this happened. Windows CE was gearing up for a monopoly and beating blackberry just a few years ago to. ... well this?

Re:From HTC's perspective

[chowdahhead]

Collaborating with Microsoft has historically been the kiss of death, however. I just don't see anything helpful coming out of that--there's certainly no consumer interest in WP and any capital injection would be a short term band-aid. HTC needs to narrowly focus their product line, not target every market segment like Samsung, and build brand recognition. Their hardware is good and their software support has greatly improved. They just need their name and logo out there more, and in a way that people associate with smartphones.

Re:Wrong way round.

[Anonymous Coward]

Except for this part:

Even though the software is open-source, device manufacturers cannot use Google's Android trademark unless Google certifies that the device complies with their Compatibility Definition Document (CDD). Devices must also meet this definition to be eligible to license Google's closed-source applications, including Google Play.

Google doesn't certify your phone if you put in new features it doesn't like. You can make a phone that can run Android apps (like BB10) without paying a dime, but you can't call it an Android Phone unless Google approves of it.

Comment removed

[account_deleted]

Comment removed based on user account deletion

trust microsoft == trust the NSA

[Gravis Zero]

if you are going to run Windows Phone, you damn well better accept that MS and the NSA will have full access to everything on your phone and will set it to record all your conversations.

this used to be tinfoil hat area but now it's a probability.

Re:Wrong way round.

[Anonymous Coward]

I'll only post a tl;dr version of a response here: All of them. North America is the follower in the mobile space, not the leader.

Whats that I smell?

[The Cisco Kid]

Desperation, I think.

The king of "You must sell windows with every device, you may not offer other options" is now begging, with its tail between its legs, to an "other option" on a device.

"No thanks".

Re:From HTC's perspective

[Miamicanes]

> HTC has had trouble getting traction against Samsung despite offering compelling hardware.

Interestingly, HTC's plummeting market share coincided almost EXACTLY with their elimination of removable batteries and microSD cards. It's not rocket science. Two years ago, HTC was neck in neck with Samsung. Then, they eliminated microSD and removable batteries, everybody who viewed that as intolerable & used to have a HTC phone bought Samsung phones when it was time for their next upgrade, and HTC went from being "a little behind Samsung" to "WAY behind Samsung".

Suggestion to HTC: give us a new phone like the Evo3D (but with GSM+LTE capabilities compatible with AT&T and T-Mobile as well) that has microSD and a removable battery (or at least a 6,000mAH battery if it MUST be non-removable) and an unlocked (or trivially-unlockable) bootloader, and watch your market share climb again. I know people (like my brother) who literally paid a small fortune to buy a USED Evo 3D long after it was officially EOL'ed because their original one got destroyed and they liked the 3D features so much. My brother STILL resists buying a new phone, because he doesn't want to give up the 3D camera and display.

Re:Wrong way round.

[Shompol]

Nokia used to be such a big player in the mobile market that they did not need to become "yet another Android vendor". They had the know-how, capital, fame, and few billions of loyal customers to either come up with a competing OS (MeeGo) or just fork Android and not give a flying fuck about Google trademark. They even had Nokia-built map and navigation good enough to rival Google's.