A new Nokia phone from Microsoft will be released with the Android operating system. It comes with some of Microsoft cloud apps pre-installed.
One expert said the alternative would have been leaving "money on the table".
"I still find it astounding that Microsoft is making Android phones, but there seems to be a steely determination to take a more open approach for the greater good of the whole company rather than just the Windows Phone platform," said Ben Wood, from the telecoms consultancy CCS Insight.
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Microsoft Announces Android Phone
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(Score: 1) by crAckZ on Wednesday June 25 2014, @07:17PM
Now they want to take the greater good approach? Never to late for a company to start doing the right thing but I can't see Microsoft changing their ways.
(Score: 0) by Anonymous Coward on Wednesday June 25 2014, @07:52PM
> Now they want to take the greater good approach?
You misread. Greater good for microsoft as a company over just the windowsphone product line, nothing greater than that.
(Score: 1, Insightful) by Anonymous Coward on Wednesday June 25 2014, @08:10PM
MS under Balmer forgot what it did. It makes software. It got so focused on OS it forgot that.
The new head seems to be of the opinion 'lets sell software and services' and not OS's.
(Score: 4, Funny) by VLM on Wednesday June 25 2014, @07:17PM
Next up, I heard windows 9 is a Debian install.
Crazy as it sounds, it seems eventually to be inevitable.
(Score: 2) by opinionated_science on Wednesday June 25 2014, @07:33PM
sailfish os....
(Score: 2) by Marand on Wednesday June 25 2014, @10:45PM
Joke it may be, but I'd gladly pay for a proper, MS-supported win32/win64 layer I could use on top of Debian. Same thing wine does, but with better chance of compatibility since MS would have a development advantage, plus could convince others developers to target/test for that.
(Score: 2) by SlimmPickens on Thursday June 26 2014, @03:19AM
I think that's what they're gearing up for. WOW64 is essentially the same thing as wine already. They know they've lost in the datacentre. Stuff like openQRM presents a range of threats to active directory and system centre. As someone above said, there's money on the table. I think Microsoft is just what Linux needs.
(Score: 2) by Marand on Thursday June 26 2014, @04:21AM
I hope it is. I've said for a while now that it would be an interesting (and possibly awesome) direction, especially since they already do something similar. Wine is 'simply' a windows implementation on non-NT kernel, so the idea is sound. Wine's main compatibility problems are related to reverse engineering and not being a test target for devs; with MS backing something similar, those wouldn't be an issue, and you could end up with a wine-like project that's a first-class citizen.
That's definitely worth some money to people, considering almost nobody buys Windows for the OS -- they want specific software. The OS is just a liability that's becoming a slimmer profit margin every year as it gets squeezed by competitors. Still money to be made now, but for how long? Something like that could be a potential OS exit strategy that keeps money coming in.
It could be a disruptive change to the entire market, and likely scare the hell out of people that make things like Parallels, too. Use the OS you like and still get the software you need; that would be a killer app.
(Score: 5, Insightful) by migz on Wednesday June 25 2014, @07:22PM
Embrace.
(Score: 3, Interesting) by evilviper on Wednesday June 25 2014, @09:00PM
Correct. No question Microsoft wants the NAME "Android" to help them get their foot in the door and sell phones, which the name "Windows" has not...
Their Android phones will be crippled as hell, though, worse than Kindle and perhaps harder to upgrade. Microsoft will likely also make it hard to distinguish between their Android offerings that people want, and their Windows Phone offerings that nobody wants, getting WP sales through customer confusion (and stuck for their 2-year contract) instead of legitimate demand.
Everybody has HATED Windows CE/PocketPC/Mobile/Phone devices since the start, two decades ago. The faithful, the adventurous and the naive were all badly burned. I can't imagine why they believe their billions of dollars in marketing is enough to polish that turd into a best-seller, while consumers have ANY choice in the matter.
Hydrogen cyanide is a delicious and necessary part of the human diet.
(Score: 0) by Anonymous Coward on Thursday June 26 2014, @04:41PM
I don't know about you guys, but I am not a big fan of Android either. What I really want is something like Ubuntu/SuSe/Mandriva on my phone and don't want all the crazy restrictions Android has and the fear of Google data mining all I do. For example, I _never_ log into Facebook or gmail on my Android phone out of fear of missing some tracking feature they will add when I try to logout.
I also hate that you have an "all or nothing" approach to those requested permissions when installing apps ("so this new alarm clock app has to have permission to my phone calls, online storage and location - heck NO!")
(Score: 1) by tftp on Wednesday June 25 2014, @10:40PM
At this point the "MS Phone" brand has negative value, for many reasons. There could be a good business reason to bury the MS Phone - and to lay off, or reallocate, thousands of coders who work for the lost cause. The WinCE debacle is ongoing for almost twenty years, with no significant industry wins, and it is already crystal clear that a non-free MS OS is getting nowhere. MS has its strengths in business software (desktop, server, Exchange, SQL Server...) but it is not even a lightweight in mobile. Any no-name Korean $79 tablet maker is in a better position, since they can sell a million units without much trouble, and they don't need to personally develop 100,000 applications for their tablet.
(Score: 2) by kaszz on Thursday June 26 2014, @12:21AM
Extend with option to boot Microsoft phone too..
(They are evil shit and there's no escape from that rumor)
(Score: 1, Insightful) by Anonymous Coward on Wednesday June 25 2014, @07:30PM
These never ending marketing campaigns speak volumes about how much the old Micro$oft is hated.
(Score: 2) by LoRdTAW on Wednesday June 25 2014, @08:00PM
I just checked outside and I don't see any pigs flying around.
On a more serious note,
It certainly is in their best interest to make an Android phone. I checked (http://mobilesyrup.com/2014/05/29/android-expected-to-own-over-80-of-the-smartphone-market-by-the-end-of-2014-blackberry-0-8/ [mobilesyrup.com]) and it appears Android is poised to own 80% of the market with Windows lagging far behind at 3.5%. Blackberry and "other" are just barely 1.5% combined which is not far behind the Windows share.
MS missed the mobile boat for better or worse. They still own the corporate desktop and have a large share of the console market. Integrating MS interoperation with Android is a win for them.
(Score: 3, Funny) by VLM on Wednesday June 25 2014, @08:07PM
"have a large share of the console market"
Lets start rumors that the "Xbox 2 now without Kinect" is just a SteamOS box.
Or even funnier, an android mini-pc dongle thingy.
Insane as this also sounds, it could be the future.
(Score: 0) by Anonymous Coward on Wednesday June 25 2014, @08:27PM
There are already mini-PC units based on Android on the market and USB flash drive sized Android based computers as well.
(Score: 5, Insightful) by VLM on Wednesday June 25 2014, @08:04PM
"A new Nokia phone from Microsoft will be released with the Android operating system. It comes with some of Microsoft cloud apps pre-installed."
So someone in China makes parts, then someone in China assembles a phone and slaps Nokias name on it. Then software Google wrote installed on it along with a tiny bit of MS bloatware and its shipped to carrier stores and fulfillment warehouses. Then the carriers operate it.
Seems a little presumptuous to call it a phone "from Microsoft" when they add approximately zero value.
My regular UPS delivery guy is named Dave, at least I'm pretty sure. Maybe next time I get a phone it'll be the "UPS phone, from Dave" He probably adds more value to the phone than MS.
From an embrace-extend-extinguish tradition, I'd worry about "comes with some of Microsoft cloud apps pre-installed" being a trojan horse, designed to screw up and make MS phones look better.
(Score: 2) by tibman on Wednesday June 25 2014, @09:52PM
Came to say something similar. Nokia is owned by Microsoft but have already shipped many non-windows phones. If Nokia was only allowed to ship windows phones then Nokia would be sunk very quickly. If Nokia would ship the Lumia 1020 with Android then Windows would be an even harder sell.
SN won't survive on lurkers alone. Write comments.
(Score: 1, Interesting) by Anonymous Coward on Thursday June 26 2014, @01:55AM
Arguably the "value" MS added is not just zero but negative.
(Score: 2) by c0lo on Thursday June 26 2014, @03:11AM
Wasting... err, pardon my mouth... "sharing back with the Android community" part of the patent fees collected from Android phones.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aoFiw2jMy-0 https://soylentnews.org/~MichaelDavidCrawford
(Score: 2) by Daiv on Wednesday June 25 2014, @08:14PM
Most people here are likely familiar with Microsoft and Google (Android), but having worked big-box discount retail and personally speaking to thousands of people over a decade in a half, this wouldn't seem weird to the great majority of people in the market for a cellular device. (I'm so hesitant to call them phones these days...) It's smart of Microsoft to put this out there to test the waters. Already seems like it is superior to the Kin.
I really want to like the thought of a company so entrenched in a history of touting their products as the end-all be-all dipping their toes into alternative, less aggressive options.
(Score: 5, Funny) by Tork on Wednesday June 25 2014, @08:22PM
🏳️🌈 Proud Ally 🏳️🌈
(Score: 2) by everdred on Wednesday June 25 2014, @08:41PM
> The privacy of Google
Without pre-installed Google services, what would you point to as the privacy problem here?
(Score: 0) by Anonymous Coward on Wednesday June 25 2014, @09:02PM
(Score: 0) by Anonymous Coward on Wednesday June 25 2014, @10:35PM
> Correct me if I'm wrong, but wouldn't that mean no Google Play Store, either?
Correct. It is coming with AOSP (Android Open Source Project) which doesn't have any closed-source google code. Nowadays most of what makes android android is in a big binary blob that includes google play. What's left is linux with yet another GUI. You can still side-load stuff and you could install google play on it if you wanted to. I'm sure it comes with an app-store, probably something from Microsoft or maybe they cut a deal to put Amazon's app store on there.
(Score: 2) by everdred on Thursday June 26 2014, @03:04PM
> Nowadays most of what makes android android is in a big binary blob that includes google play
I've been using Android since the first device (G1/HTC Dream) and I don't really see it that way. While having push email (Gmail) and touch maps (Google Maps) and YouTube in my pocket seemed revolutionary five or six years ago, that stuff is fairly commonplace now and done about as well by Google's various competitors (except for YouTube, but that can be done acceptably through a browser). What makes Android Android to me has more to do with choice of hardware, powerful intents and the ability to sideload apps (including adding entire "app stores").
I know I'm just one data point, and not a typical user, but that's where I'm coming from. I'm regularly evaluating whether I need Google services, but I can't see myself dropping Android anytime soon. Even minus the Google-specific services, it's just that good.
(Score: 2) by DECbot on Wednesday June 25 2014, @08:23PM
Something about that summary doesn't seem right. Hell [wunderground.com] isn't quite frozen over.
Anyway, it is vaporware until it's on shelves or shipping from Amazon.
cats~$ sudo chown -R us /home/base
(Score: 1) by PinkyGigglebrain on Wednesday June 25 2014, @08:38PM
Just had to say your sig has got to be the best I've seen in a long time.
"Beware those who would deny you Knowledge, For in their hearts they dream themselves your Master."
(Score: 0) by Anonymous Coward on Wednesday June 25 2014, @10:13PM
It took me, like, 15 minutes to actually get the joke. But now I love it!
Posting anonymously out of shame that I took so long!
(Score: 2) by jasassin on Wednesday June 25 2014, @10:40PM
It's been a long time since I've heard "ALL YOUR BASE ARE BELONG TO US!"
jasassin@gmail.com GPG Key ID: 0xE6462C68A9A3DB5A
(Score: 3, Informative) by DECbot on Wednesday June 25 2014, @11:26PM
When I first wrote the sig, it was 3 lines:
But the third line was cut off, which was alright because I wasn't sure it would work anyway. And then I got a bunch of comments about the redundancy of the first line. So I decided to just use the sudo command on the second line and remove the first line.
cats~$ sudo chown -R us /home/base
(Score: 0) by Anonymous Coward on Wednesday June 25 2014, @11:42PM
You don't need the sudo command at all, just leave the octothorpe in the prompt indicating you've already done a su.
(Score: 2) by DECbot on Wednesday June 25 2014, @11:58PM
You're right. I had thought about that, but people might not catch the significance of the # as I've been told that it can very across systems and terminals. Also, I imagine that more people are familiar with the purpose of the sudo command than the #. (ie Windows users having heard of the sudo command and yet never have had to use a terminal themselves)
cats~$ sudo chown -R us /home/base
(Score: 2) by c0lo on Thursday June 26 2014, @03:20AM
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aoFiw2jMy-0 https://soylentnews.org/~MichaelDavidCrawford
(Score: 0) by Anonymous Coward on Thursday June 26 2014, @07:42AM
I'm not exactly known to be a Microsoft supporter. Some would call me a Linux fanboy, or even Microsoft hater (though I'm not sure how I - as a .NET developer - got to be Microsoft hater).
What I don't like is their near monopoly in the PC market. Replacing that with an Android near monopoly in the phone/tablet market is not going to be an improvement.
I've been looking for a tablet myself. Apple is too closed, and you basically need to love monopolies (and want Apple to have one), to be an iDevice user. Android is getting too close to controlling the market. Sailfish, Tizen and Firefox aren't there yet, and likely won't ever be. So currently I'm looking at a Windows 8.1 tablet (not RT), which appears to be the easiest one to customize - no jailbreak needed.
If Microsoft starts earning more from Android sales than from Windows tablet sales, I would fear that could become the end of another Android competitor.
(Score: 0) by Anonymous Coward on Thursday June 26 2014, @02:45PM
You can't really call Android a monopoly. It's open source and free.
(Score: 0) by Anonymous Coward on Thursday June 26 2014, @02:49PM
If you DO still consider it a detested monopoly, when will you move to Mars? You know, to get away from Earth's monopoly on the air you breathe?
(Score: 0) by Anonymous Coward on Thursday June 26 2014, @10:23AM
Who said it runs on Android? Official information available says it runs on "Nokia X software platform 2.0". Nobody is saying it runs Android. All the advert says is "it can run your favourite Android apps". Sounds as compatibility layer to me.
Nokia: http://www.nokia.com/global/products/phone/nokia-x2-dual-sim/specifications/ [nokia.com]
Wikipedia: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Nokia_X2_(2014) [wikipedia.org]
-Ignacio Agulló
(Score: 0) by Anonymous Coward on Friday June 27 2014, @12:34AM
The current Nokia X devices run Android, albeit a custom version. I don't see Nokia developing another OS just to run an Android compatibility layer for this new model.
There may be trademark issues with actually saying it runs Android, and even if there isn't they wouldn't want to say it runs Android, they want to differentiate it from the other Android devices. Like Amazon's FireOS is also a customized version of Android, but they never call it Android either.
(Score: 1) by arslan on Thursday June 26 2014, @10:29PM
Nokia hardware with Android OS.. what's not to like, sounds so good on paper.. I sure hope they pull it off. Now they just gotta resist bloating the thing with MS crapware, crippling it with MS "security" features and keep the price reasonable