Microsoft looking to increase adoption of its soft on mobile

May 6, 2015 06:42 GMT  ·  By

Microsoft and Samsung have had a strained relationship throughout the years, which included various lawsuits over patents. But a few months ago, the two tech giants announced that they had come to terms in a settlement out of court in the patent royalty lawsuit they had been engaged in for almost a year.

The lawsuit was initially filed by Microsoft when Samsung refused to pay giant sums of money for patents used in the manufacturing of the Korean giant’s Android smartphones and tablets. Back then, Sammy argued that Microsoft’s acquisition of Nokia annulled the need for the payments. The Redmond-based tech giant, however, didn’t agree.

Anyway, after months of bickering, the two companies came to the conclusion that fighting it out isn't the way to go and reached a consensus.

Redmond secured a deal that would see some of its apps, including OneNote, OneDrive and Skype, arrive pre-installed on the Galaxy S6 and Galaxy S6 edge.

On top of that, the two tech giants decided to expand the original deal, so as we advance in 2015, we should see Samsung’s next-gen Android tablets arrive with Microsoft Word, Excel, PowerPoint, OneNote, OneDrive and Skype pre-installed on board.

Microsoft is getting even more cozy with Android

It seems like Microsoft is looking to cut Samsung even more slack. According to a new report coming out of The Korea Times, the Redmond company has offered to cut patent fees it charges Samsung and LG each year.

In 2013, Samsung had to pay up to 1 trillion Won ($925 / €822 billion) to Microsoft, a figure which translates into $2.7 / €2.4 for each phone or tablet. The report doesn't tell us how much is Redmond willing to cut in terms of pricing, but we figure that any discount is welcomed.

Microsoft is thus moving forward with its campaign against Google’s dominance, by promoting its own software portfolio to leading smartphone manufacturers around the world.

LG just rolled out the G4 handset which comes with Google software, but rumor on the street has it that the device maker might be prepping a second flagship lineup, which is to be placed above the current G4. So maybe Microsoft will manage to slip in some of its apps with this model too.

Microsoft’s discount strategy for Android products represents a step forward towards increasing the presence of its own applications on mobile platforms.