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Microsoft wants HTC's Android phones to dual-boot into Windows Phone

Sunday 6 October 2013


Microsoft is in talks with HTC to get its Windows Phone operating system loaded onto the manufacturer's Android phones as a second OS. It is mainly because the software maker struggle to gain ground in the mobile market.

Microsoft, with 3.7 percent of the market, is finding it necessary to make concessions after agreeing to acquire Nokia’s handset unit, which competes with other smartphone makers. Android dominated with 79 percent, while Apple Inc.’s iOS was No. 2 with a 13 percent share.

Additionally, one Bloomberg source claims HTC has no current plans to release any more standalone Windows Phone handsets, which might explain Microsoft's apparent desire to shoehorn its OS onto future HTC phones through a dual-booting option.

We've heard from sources that HTC has indeed been looking at the engineering cost of making an Android/Windows Phone dual-booting handset a reality. It's unclear how far the project might have progressed, however, nor whether Google might attempt to throw a wrench in the works by blocking certification of such a device. Indeed, it's hard to see how Microsoft's piggy-backing on sales of HTC Android phones would directly benefit anyone besides Microsoft. Users, for instance, would be presented with two wildly divergent software experiences — and marketing this kind of handset could present its own problems.

If the two were to co-operate on a phone that dual-boots between Android and Windows, it'd certainly be one of the most unusual smartphone software pairings we've seen in some time.

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