Microsoft may want Android royalties from Samsung, report says
This article was originally on a blog post platform and may be missing photos, graphics or links. See About archive blog posts.
Microsoft could be looking to get Samsung to fork over royalty payments tied to the consumer electronic maker’s use of Google’s Android operating system, according to a report.
How much? Microsoft is said to want $15 from every Android phone made by Samsung that is sold, according to Reuters.
But Samsung might be looking to lower such a payment to Microsoft down to about $10 ‘in exchange for a deeper alliance with Microsoft for the U.S. company’s Windows platform,’ Reuters said in its report.
The reason? Citing Korean news outlets, Reuters said that Microsoft has had recent success at getting other hardware makers that use Android to pay out royalties due to concerns that the Google OS infringes on some of Microsoft’s intellectual property patents.
Microsoft in the past has settled with Taiwan-based smartphone and tablet maker HTC over its use of Android.
Android is an open-source operating system, given away by Google for free -- which allows hardware makers to take on the OS at a low cost and with the ability to alter the software as they see fit, as HTC does with its HTC Sense user interface over the top of Android.
Samsung’s Galaxy S II -- its flagship phone -- runs on Android and has sold more than 3 million units since being released in April. Samsung currently makes a few phones running Windows Phone 7, and could reportedly be making more handset options running the Microsoft OS.
Officials from Samsung and Microsoft were unavailable to comment on the Reuters report on Wednesday morning.
RELATED:
Microsoft gets $5 for every Android phone made by HTC, report says
Apple, Microsoft and four others team-up to buy Nortel patents for $4.5 billion
Smartphone market up 55% in 2011; Windows Phone OS could be No. 2 by 2015, report says
-- Nathan Olivarez-Giles