According to a Bloomberg source, Microsoft has been trying to convince HTC to put Windows Phone on its Android devices — think the HTC One with Live Tiles — by offering a veritable boatload of incentives.
Microsoft reportedly tempted the Taiwanese manufacturer by offering to lower or eliminate licensing costs of its Windows Phone software, and by encouraging HTC to make it possible to dual-boot the two operating systems. Whether this would be technically possible remains to be seen, but Microsoft is quite enthusiastic about the idea.
Although Microsoft is in the process of buying Nokia’s handset division, it wants to keep the lines of communication open with other partners. Samsung has not released a new Windows Phone device since the the ATIV S last November, and the Korean giant has reportedly cooled to Microsoft’s mobile platform, preferring to release touchscreen laptops and hybrid tablets running Windows 8.1.
HTC, on the other hand, is having a rough go at things, and could be more easily swayed to the idea, if it means putting some black ink on the red balance sheet. The company reported its first ever net quarterly loss this month, about $101 million USD on revenue of $1.6 billion, making it easy to see why they would be willing to negotiate if it meant bringing in some extra cash. Though the HTC One has been hailed as a great device by critics (including us), Samsung, LG, Sony and, to some extent, Motorola, have managed to wrest market share away from them in recent quarters.
Whether this Windows Phone on Android endeavour will come to pass — and whether consumers would embrace such a business model — remains to be seen. Sounds intriguing, though, doesn’t it?
[source]Bloomberg[/source]
