The first phone dual-booting Microsoft's Windows Phone 8 and Google's Android may launch within the next few months, according to a new report.
Recently we've witnessed a new trend with dual-booting PCs able to run both Android and Windows, and the push seems to be extending to smartphones as well.
According to a recent report The Times of India published over the weekend, on March 1, the first Windows Phone/Android dual-booting handset will make its debut later this year. The publication claims that Karbonn Mobiles has signed a licensing agreement with Microsoft in a bid to release dual-booting Windows Phone/Android phones within the next few months.
"Microsoft has eased the regulations and is opening up its platform for other players," Karbonn Chairman Sudhir Hasija reportedly told the Times of India. "We signed the agreement two days ago and will launch a range of Windows Phones in about three months."
The upcoming dual-booting handsets, meanwhile, will reportedly debut by June and will be targeted at "office-going professionals" and "techies," the report further notes. It's worth pointing out, however, that this is not the first time that we hear about potential Windows Phone/Android dual-booting phones.
Back in October last year, Bloomberg reported that Microsoft asked HTC to load Windows Phone as a second option to Android handsets, "at little or no cost." Nothing has materialized in this regards, but the new report suggests that Microsoft is not giving up on the idea of dual-booting handsets. The company seems keen on doing anything in its power to expand its footprint in the mobile market, and this would definitely give Microsoft something new to offer.
It remains unclear at this point just what benefits a dual-booting Windows Phone/Android handset would have to offer consumers, but such a handset would need some mad horsepower to pull it off. On the other hand, nothing is confirmed for now, and the whole concept may not even make it to market.
If this project materializes, we'll make sure to keep you up to date as soon as we hear something official. In the meantime, however, take all such news, rumors, and speculation with a hefty grain of salt, as the rumor mill can often times be hit-and-miss.
