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unlikely couple
Microsoft could be bringing Android apps to Windows Phone
If Microsoft goes ahead with the idea, the first Android apps won’t appear until 2015 at the earliest.
MICROSOFT IS REPORTEDLY considering allowing Android apps to run on both Windows and Windows Phone.
Sources familiar with Microsoft’s plans have told The Verge that the idea is being put forward for consideration.
Some inside Microsoft favour the idea of simply enabling Android apps inside its Windows and Windows Phone stores while others believe it could lead to the death of the Windows platform entirely.
If Microsoft does decide to go ahead with the decision, it’s unlikely that Android apps would appear on the platform until its work on Windows 9 is finished in 2015 at the earliest.
An idea of what such an approach would bring to the table could appear soon as Nokia plans to launch a phone running Android.
The phone, believed to be called the Nokia X and internally codenamed Normandy, will replace Google’s map and other key services with a number of Nokia and Microsoft services. Instead it will include Nokia’s HERE maps, Microsoft’s Bing and Outlook mail as part of the software.
Nokia has announced it will hold a press conference at the Mobile World Congress event in Barcelona, where it’s expected to reveal the Android-powered phone.
Microsoft recently acquired the phone company for $7.17 billion – $5 billion going towards buying a majority of Nokia’s cellphone business while the remainder $2.17 billion to license the its patent portfolio.
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