Microsoft inks their 15th Android licensing deal, Motorola still stubborn

August 3, 2012

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Microsoft inks their 15th Android licensing deal, Motorola still stubborn 4

You have to hand it to Microsoft. As Apple fights it out with Android manufacturers, Microsoft is quietly signing licencing deals. This all started last year when they were able to grab deals with HTC, Samsung, Acer, and ViewSonic. In fact, back in October they had a total of 10 deals.

As of today that total is at 15 with the latest one involving Honeywell International, Inc. It's based on their digital assistant called the Dolphin, which is meant for field workers with data capture being its primary use.

All 15 of these deals generate quite a bit of money for Microsoft, and since they can't sell any phones, this really helps their bottomline.

With 15 deals, you would think there really isn't a company left to go after, but there is one major player yet to sign anything, and that's Motorola. Microsoft recently scored some victories here in the U.S. and Germany, but Motorola continues to fight long and hard. It really makes me wonder why Motorola's patents were worth so much when they're forced to defend themselves constantly. Microsoft would rather Motorola sign a deal just like everyone else in order to save on legal fees, but kudos to Motorola for not giving in.

source: wsj

Robert Nazarian Author

Robert lives in upstate New York where he was born and raised. Technology was always his passion. His first computer was a Radio Shack TRS80 Color that used a cassette tape to save programs, and his first laptop was a Toshiba T1200FB that sported a CGA greyscale screen and two 720kb floppy drives (no hardrive). From the early 90’s through late 2011, he only owned Motorola phones starting with the MircroTAC all the way through to the Droid X. He broke that streak when he bought the Galaxy Nexus. Now he's sporting a Galaxy Note 4, and absolutely loves it. He has a wonderful wife and a 6 year old son. In his free time he enjoys sports, movies, TV, working out, and trying to keep up with the rapid fast world of technology.