Microsoft makes it official: We're all in with Android

Any doubt that Microsoft sees Android as an important part of its future should be erased with a just-announced deal with an Indian handset maker to manufacture dual-boot Windows-Android phones, and with Microsoft asking HTC to include Windows Phone as a dual-boot option on its Android phones. That's on top of Nokia's new line of low-cost Windows Phone devices. Is this a way to extend Windows Phone's life, or an admission of the platform's failure?

Read the rest here:Microsoft makes it official: We're all in with Android | Computerworld Blogs

 

[Rxd]

I could have sworn I've heard the old Microsoft cry of "Wait until next year!" for quite a few years now...

Most people don't like Windows 8. Sorry but that's just the way it is. That doesn't make them right and it doesn't make them wrong. It's just how it is...

 

[SIW2]

No, it is not a mistake. It has been a whole series of them. According to Thurrott, they are even calling it another Vista at MS. They can't wait to try and distance themselves from it. It has been a setback. Luckily for MS, they have money coming in from other deals that will continue for a while. They can have a few attempts.They aren't going to have well over 90% of computing devices, or whatever it was. That is over. It is a question of how much of it they can hang on to.

 

[whs]

They just follow the money trail. Nothing wrong with that. I think they finally realized that apps rule the mobile market.

 

[DooRules]

The biggest negative that people have the OS is the Start Screen, but they haven't even really given it a chance.
It's proven time and again.

You got to be kidding, lol. Seems like you just can't accept the verdict.

 

[mcnulty]

Yes, you do have a point there, mcnulty. Apple only sold 70 million, Android (and for those who are not aware of the fact, Android OS is Linux Kernel based, making it Linux) 121 million to Microsoft"s 4 million. Guess both Apple and Linux are doomed!

Nice comparison of Apples and Oranges there, totally makes sense. Yeah, pun intended.

 

[Dorlan2001]

It isn't a mistake.
It's a mistake that people listen to so many so called Tech Columnists and really did not take the time to find out for themselves
That is seriously the mistake.

I am all for free market, and let the consumer decide the fate of products.
But when so much false press has been shoved to the forefront, and the fact that it is still here does go to show that Win8
will have an impact the next year.
It's still in it's infancy, so is the Windows Phone by all standards.

The biggest negative that people have the OS is the Start Screen, but they haven't even really given it a chance.
It's proven time and again.

I for one will champion Win8.x and WP8 and Tablets for as long as needed. And they ain't dead yet.
Infact, more and more people are starting to find these things out.

Again, The next year will be very telling.

I do have to agree with everything he just said! Actually, when Windows 8 came out, I was on a Store playing with a PC that was on display (at that time my HP laptop had installed Windows 7 Home Premium) and then opened up an App (Windows Store), and suddenly I became frustrated because I didn't knew how to close it or get it out of me and go to the desktop... then I said "Windows 8 is terrible, why there isn't an 'X button' to close this!?!?" And I did find the Start Screen very confusing at that time. Then I said, "I will never go to 8... 7 works great for me" (and it was great of course)!

But then something happened, an error on my laptop made me lose everything from it, all my documents, files, and programs... lost. Not even System Restore helped with that issue, so I was on my bed watching how my laptop (which was bought a 4 months before) recovers and reinstalls to factory settings that Windows 7 OS including the lame Norton software it came on. At that point, I thinked that upgrading my OS wouldn't be a bad idea since I had nothing to lose at that moment... so bought Windows 8 Pro, and installed it on my PC to give it a try. No offence, but when you really get use to it... then you realize all the potencial this OS has, and now I'm even more satisfied with my 8.1 OS! I'm so satisfied with it, that I don't want to go back to 7 ever again! My laptop performs better with this OS, I have more options for software and my productivity has increased notably because of OneDrive integration!

What I'm trying to say is that at first glance Windows 8 is "kinda" intimidating, but when you give it a try and get used with it... it is the best thing you could ever use! As simple as that!!! (this is my opinion, so don't kill me for that!) xDDD

 

[jbfoster]

Not sure what the fuss is, I like Windows 8. It is not that much different than Windows 7

Jim

 

[whs]

Not sure what the fuss is, I like Windows 8. It is not that much different than Windows 7

Jim

No fuzz - just a friendly discussion. It is always a good thing if different views are being presented.

 

[ainteinstein]

Well, the fuzzy fuss is, on our part, the wishful thinking that Microsoft will hear our complaints on what we don't like and hear our compliments on what we do like. Remember, I did say wishful...thinking...

 

[Tepid]

The biggest negative that people have the OS is the Start Screen, but they haven't even really given it a chance.
It's proven time and again.

You got to be kidding, lol. Seems like you just can't accept the verdict.

No, actually I am not kidding.
Especially when I hear from many iPad users saying they went out to get a new iPad an walk out with a
Surface Pro, used it for a while and say, I am very happy I made this purchase, I won't be buying another iPad any time soon, if ever.
So yeah, a large majority actually haven't given Win8 a chance.

 

[mcnulty]

The biggest negative that people have the OS is the Start Screen, but they haven't even really given it a chance.
It's proven time and again.

You got to be kidding, lol. Seems like you just can't accept the verdict.

No, actually I am not kidding.
Especially when I hear from many iPad users saying they went out to get a new iPad an walk out with a
Surface Pro, used it for a while and say, I am very happy I made this purchase, I won't be buying another iPad any time soon, if ever.
So yeah, a large majority actually haven't given Win8 a chance.

I don't think anecdotal evidence is going to help. I'm sure that some people trying to force the iPad into use cases it was not designed for would be happier with a Surface Pro instead. However, I believe the majority of people that buy the iPad Air do so because when it comes to form factor, weight, ease of use, battery of life, screen quality, and availability of touch applications, the iPad is simply unmatched by anything on the market.

I guess in the end it comes down to what one wants to believe, and I believe that the Surface Pro, while being an astonishing piece of hardware, is a niche product that is not even meant to go head to head with the iPad. The concepts they represent are simply too different.

 

[whs]

I get along with Windows 8 on the desktop, on the tablet and on the phone. But I would not switch my desktops and laptops that have no touch to 8.1. There is really not enough beef worth spending the extra money.

And the sales numbers show it. People are not standing in line to get 8.1.

 

[Whalehunter]

I love WP8 as it is already, it's underrated. It's super simplistic, but I love it way more than iOS or Android, just because it is such a distinction. I do think MS deserves it. Only thing is that I'd like more syncing, I expected more of that between pc & phone.

 

[whs]

I love WP8 as it is already, it's underrated. It's super simplistic, but I love it way more than iOS or Android, just because it is such a distinction. I do think MS deserves it. Only thing is that I'd like more syncing, I expected more of that between pc & phone.

Yeah, you are right. I was amazed myself. I got my little Lumia 10 days ago and it is a great toy. I did not even bother to get a phone contract - just VoIP. But all the rest of the functions make it a really useful 'tablet' for on-the-road that I can stick into my shirt pocket. If you have $69 to spare, get one. It's really fun.