The year 2014 could be the year of the arrival of true Android competition. The Japanese technology giant Sony could launch a new smartphone based on the Windows Phone operating system, the system that until now has been exclusively incorporated in Nokia mobiles. If this rumor is confirmed, it would be the first time that a major company in the mobile telephony sector breaks with Google's operating system (Android) to become an "ally" of Nokia and its Windows Phone.
Still, it would not be the first time that Sony has launched a smartphone with this operating system. The difference is that a few years ago, smartphones did not have the same market share and Windows Phone did not represent any competition for Android. With the recent acquisition of Nokia by Microsoft, Windows Phone has an increasing presence in the mobile phone market and little by little it is beginning to arouse the interest of the giants of the sector. Sony mobiles that have already tried to incorporate Windows Phone have been the Sony Ericsson X1, the Sony Ericsson X2and the Sony Ericsson Aspen. They were mobiles that belonged to the mythical Ericsson range, so they have nothing to do with the current generation of smartphones.
The fact that Sony could go over to the Windows Phone side would be a serious blow to Android. With mobiles as popular as the Sony Xperia Z1, this company accounts for a good part of the market share enjoyed by Google's operating system.
What is clear is that Microsoft is not going to miss the opportunity at hand with the acquisition of Nokia's mobile business. The computer giant would have tempted Sony by offering significant discounts on Windows Phone operating system fees simply for incorporating it into one of its future smartphones. An alliance between two giants like Sony and Microsoft could mean the emergence of a new competitor that would put Android smartphones in serious trouble. In addition, if this operating system finally began to have the acceptance that is expected of it, probably many other companies would join this alliance aimed at unseating the huge market currently covered by Google's operating system.
Even so, it must be borne in mind that for now all these data only respond to a rumor that has been echoed by the American website TheVerge. Practically every year there is a rumor related to the incorporation of a new company to the Windows Phone operating system, but for now no official confirmation has appeared that could confirm - or deny - all these data.
One of the things that puts many companies back when it comes to integrating this operating system in their terminals is the high cost that must be paid for its licenses. If Microsoft allowed Windows Phone to be integrated completely free of charge, many Chinese manufacturers would probably make the final leap to this operating system.
