The idea of Microsoft spending millions developing an Android-powered phone bearing its valuable Nokia Lumia branding is absurd, but it’s in the pipeline according to a prominent industry tipster.
Renowned rumour grinder @evleaks has posted the information to Twitter, saying “Big news: Android-powered Lumia incoming, from Nokia by Microsoft”, and if he didn’t have such a sharp reputation for the accuracy of his leaks, we’d be inclined to dismiss this rumour outright.
But if the information is to be believed, the next logical question is: why? Is this Microsoft conceding defeat, or is there a clever plan in play?
Just another X?
Some of you may remember Nokia recently released an Android-powered phone, known as the Nokia X, and is soon to follow it up with a successor. You might also have heard that Nokia’s handset business lost 30% of its sales revenue in the first quarter of this year (compared with the same period last year), suggesting that the X didn’t find the market Nokia was hoping it would.
The Nokia X runs Android the same way Amazon’s Kindle Fire tablets do, that is, they are based on the open-source elements of Android, but they don’t include important Google-bits, specifically the Google Play app store. Amazon makes up for this with its own Amazon App Store, but regardless, Android without Google really isn’t Android as we know it.
In fact, a Microsoft Android phone without access to the apps in the Play Store would put Microsoft right back in the same place it is with its own Windows Phone platform. People who use Windows Phone handsets tend to be happy with the way the system works, but hate going without the apps their friends install on Android phones or iPhones.
For Microsoft to be willing to put Android in a device bearing its Lumia branding is a risky move, and it would certainly fail if that phone were to run the same forked version of Android running on the Nokia X. The alternative is to release a Lumia phone that ran Android just as a Samsung or Sony phone would. This would cut Microsoft out of profits from app sales, but it could produce an interesting flow-on effect.
Trojan horse
One scenario could be that Microsoft is hoping an Android phone is its best chance to win over existing Android users with its service offerings. Nokia Lumia phones have a strong reputation for being well designed, well built and for offering a solid photographic experience, but smartphone shoppers are reticent to switch platforms and learn entirely new systems.
A Nokia Lumia Android phone with access to Google Play could be a massive hit, plus it could be packed to the gills with Microsoft apps and services, like Xbox Music and Video, Xbox Smartglass, Outlook and Office. It could look and feel similar to a Windows Phone, via a custom launcher, and there could be a clever link to Bing search if the Microsoft team can figure out an approach Google can’t refuse.
Once these Nokia Android users are hooked in, Microsoft can start the work of migrating these users over to Windows Phone, which itself is likely to improve as time rolls on. It would still be a massive gamble; Microsoft’s Trojan horse could work against its creator and strengthen the Android platform even more, but when you’re languishing in third place, out-of-the-box thinking is exactly what is needed.
Joseph Hanlon
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