The handsets went to people who got infected with malware from the Android Market

Feb 3, 2012 13:33 GMT  ·  By

Microsoft has been seizing each opportunity to hit Google’s Android operating system, and a new one emerged only recently.

Earlier this week, the company announced that it chose to deliver no less than 20 free Windows Phones to Android users who have been affected by malware that slipped in the Android Market.

On Monday, Microsoft’s Ben Rudolph announced on Twitter that he had 20 smartphones to give to those who had been affected by issues with the operating system.

The response was tremendous, with over 1,000 people sending tweets to complain of various problems they had with their Androids.

“This week the internet was buzzing about how upwards of 5 million Android users have phones infected with annoying adware,” Microsoft’s Ben Rudolph noted in a blog post.

“To help out, we offered up 20 free Windows Phones to people who shared their story about their frustrations with their Android phone, and why a Windows Phone would be a welcome upgrade.

“I got nearly 1000 responses since we kicked things off (thanks to everyone who sent in a story!), and out of those, here are our 20 winners.” The said post on Microsoft’s blog explains more on the matter.

In the meantime, we should note that this is not the first time Microsoft makes such a move. Last year, the company offered some more free Windows Phones to Android users who got infected.

Moreover, Ben was on the floor at this year’s Consumer Electronics Show in Las Vegas, where he offered $100 to any user who could prove his/her phone was faster than a Windows Phone.

There were not too many devices that managed to prove faster than Ben’s Windows Phone, which demonstrated that Microsoft’s mobile platform does have a lot to offer to users, even if it did not register the sales one might have wanted it to.