First BlackBerry tweaks its BB10 operating system to allow Android apps and now there’s talk that, of all companies, Microsoft might be doing the very same for Windows Phone and its tablet Windows OS versions.
According to the Verge and its sources “familiar with Microsoft’s plans” that’s exactly what’s on the cards, Microsoft is reportedly “seriously considering” gearing up Windows 8/Windows RT and Windows Phone to run Android apps.
The report says that it’s way too early to tell if this is going to go ahead yet, but allegedly there are some people (presumably influential ones) within the company who are right behind the idea, but naturally there are also those who are very apprehensive about it.
Microsoft’s uphill struggle from the beginning with Windows Phone has always been the app ecosystem: convincing developers to create content for it; getting key apps onboard. The company has had a lot of problems getting popular Google apps out of its rival, YouTube being a prime example. This goes hand-in-hand with consumer adoption too – phone buyers want a thriving app ecosystem, developers want a thriving user base. Classic Catch 22.
It’s no longer necessarily an issue of a lack of apps either, even where Microsoft has an equivalent, because it’s so late to the party users are entrenched in existing alternatives and will stick to them – plenty of people use Google’s app and cloud suite on Windows devices, for example, but adoption of Microsoft’s SkyDrive is slow by comparison.
Adopting Google’s existing ecosystem could neatly side-step the issue, tapping into an overflowing well of content for Windows Phone. If people weren’t worried about missing out on the latest apps, would more buy Windows Phone handsets? Quite possibly, as we’ve said in our reviews of Nokia devices (which, let’s face it, are something like 80-90% of the Windows Phone market) are technically sound, have good build quality and design, plenty of power, decent battery life and fantastic cameras. The list goes on.
And that’s another potential angle for this Android app adoption. By all accounts Microsoft is dead keen on persuading companies other than Nokia (whose phone divisions it now owns) to make Windows Phone handsets. It has, allegedly, been sweet talking Samsung and Sony in recent months. Generating more user buzz in Windows Phone by opening up the app ecosystem could be the carrot these OEMs need to jump on the Windows bandwagon, while a greater diversity of phone makers could in-turn encourage more consumers to glance in the direction of Microsoft’s platform.
According to the Verge, Microsoft “wants to enable Android apps on Windows and control the store that consumers download them from, but it’s unlikely that it will want to handle the complex job of supporting an additional platform.”
“Instead,” it adds, “if such a plan goes ahead, it will likely involve a third-party "enabler." The Verge points to Intel or BlueStacks as two possible candidates with the requisite experience, while a source from Intel allegedly said the company has been whispering in Microsoft’s ear for some time now on the subject of letting Android apps thrive on Windows.
There are question marks hovering ominously overhead though. How will users get Android apps on their devices? An easy-to-use approach would be needed, BlackBerry already had side-loading of Android apps for a while and even with the recently added ability to download them straight from stores such as Amazon’s App Store, consumers have not showed a significantly renewed interest in the platform.
The move could also be off-putting for developers who’ve significantly invested in Windows’ existing ecosystem already, if they suddenly have to deal with a huge wave of competition, which won’t necessarily have been hindered by the same design constraints. And that last point highlights the fact that, in adopting Android apps, Microsoft can probably kiss goodbye to developers designing apps and content around its Metro UI.
But such sacrifices might ultimately need to be made. It would be a bold move, but that’s arguably what’s needed at the moment and with new Microsoft CEO Satya Nadella on the scene poised to make his mark, things are wide open for a revolutionary manoeuvre.
Desperate times call for desperate measures, and Microsoft is taking a good long look at the cold hard fact that mobile is ousting its traditional PC business. This isn’t even a smartphone issue, per se, in the sense that tablets and hybrids are the new PC market, a market in which the lion’s share already belongs to Android and iOS. If it wants to keep its now adapting user base it’s going to need to do something a bit drastic and get a content ecosystem worth bothering with behind its own platform – and that might mean using one people are already invested in rather than trying to persuade anyone to jump ship. This of course knocks-on into smartphones because users, particularly enterprise users, want cross-compatibility.
Microsoft could do well by using one of Google’s key weapons against it – its open source nature. For Windows, the big problem is that many people default to Android or iOS – iOS is a bit of a no-go in terms of incorporating its content as Apple keeps it locked up tight. But Android is there for the picking, and its taking more and more of Apple’s share all the time anyway. If Microsoft can put something in place to make device buyers think twice about defaulting to Android it may just boost Windows to a respectable position.
by pbriden via Featured Articles
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