Over the past couple of weeks there has been much chatter about Microsoft and Android. The company is reportedly working on a Lumia smartphone that will be powered by Android. So far the Android lineup has been limited to its own brand, Lumia has exclusively been powered by Windows Phone ever since it first emerged on the scene. While that change might take place a new rumor makes a brazen claim that Microsoft is now going to allow users to run Android apps on Windows Phone.
Well it wouldn’t really be something new. BlackBerry adopted Android apps with BB10 OS and with its recent deal with Amazon Appstore it now gets access to hundreds of thousands of applications, which is good for a platform that has seen slim interest from developers. The app gap exists on Windows Phone as well and this could be a way that Microsoft sees to plug it.
The rumor comes from Eldar Murtazin who is known for his predictions, though his track record isn’t really spotless, so take this with a grain of salt nonetheless. Murtazin claims that Microsoft will use a Virtual Machine or VM for executive of Android apps in Windows Phone. He says that all Lumia devices will support it, perhaps even devices that are already out there.
The timing of this rumor is very intriguing given the fact that a Microsoft engineer recently claimed that there has been a development on Windows Phone “that will upset the entire world across everything.” Was that a subtle hint towards the platform being opened up for Android apps? Wouldn’t that take away incentive from bona fide Windows Phone developers?
Microsoft may have convincing answers for all of these questions but as usual it is keeping mum on the rumors. There’s no official confirmation about Android apps coming to WP, though its quite likely users won’t really be opposed to more applications.
Filed in . Read more about Android, BlackBerry, Microsoft and Windows Phone.