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

Microsoft’s moves suggest that Android is now part of its mobile plan. The page says the company has agreed to dual-boot Windows Phone with Android on phones from an Indian maker, has asked HTC to add Windows Phone as a dual-boot option on Android phones, and now sits alongside Nokia’s low-cost Windows Phone line.

Reading notes

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• Karbonn Mobile signed a licensing agreement with Microsoft to make and sell Windows Phone handsets and dual-boot Windows Phone-Android devices.
• Microsoft asked HTC to include Windows Phone on its Android smartphones, and Terry Myerson reportedly discussed cutting or eliminating the license fee to make that more attractive.
• Nokia’s low-cost Android phones are described as Windroid devices because they will use Windows Phone-like interfaces and Microsoft services such as Outlook.com, Bing, OneDrive, and Here maps.
• The page treats this as both a response to Windows Phone’s weak sales and an attempt to use Android to keep people inside Microsoft’s services.
• The argument is that Microsoft may be using Android as a way to extend Windows Phone’s life and support its wider mobile goals.