Microsoft made a huge announcement today, citing a bold new phase in the company’s cross-platform strategy: 20 new OEMs, including the likes of Sony and LG, will ship Microsoft services such as Office and OneDrive as pre-installed apps on their devices.
The news, which comes alongside yesterday’s announcement that Cortana will shortly be available on both iOS and Android, indicates that Microsoft are readying a tighter integration with Android, iOS, and the forthcoming release of Windows 10.
The Microsoft services in question are Word, Excel, and Powerpoint as part of the Office Suite, as well as OneDrive and Skype. It is expected that Microsoft might additionally launch a Windows 10 companion app alongside the release of the desktop operating system.
Specifically, Microsoft’s services will come preinstalled on Android tablets offered by a host of manufacturers; Axdia, Cube, DL, General Procurement, Grupo Nucelo, Haier, Inco, Ionik GBMH, Iview, LG, Multilaser, Noblex, Pacific (Vulcan), Philco, Positivo, Prestigio, Sony, Teclast, TMAX Digital, and Wortmann. A majority of these new partners originate from Southern America, Europe, and China, signifying that Microsoft is aiming to broaden the appeal of its services.
Additionally, Microsoft launched its document scanner app – Office Lens – to Android today. OfficeLens allows users to scan sheets for information and convert the scanned file to a variety of formats. It is presently unknown if OfficeLens will further form part of the pre-installed app collection.
The new partnership between Microsoft and the above-mentioned OEMs further points to Microsoft’s figural – and literal – investment in Android; the firm’s decision to pre-install core services on Android tablets likely stems from the fact that Microsoft alone earns approximately $2 billion USD annually from the operating system due to patent infringements.
It is likely that this, in addition to the new parternship, is indicative of Microsoft wishing to more clearly align Android use (specifically tablets) with Windows 10.
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