A few days ago, Microsoft confirmed (kind of) that it was drastically reducing the costs for OEMs to license Windows 8.1. Now there"s a new rumor that the company could do the same for the Windows Phone license as well.
The report comes from PCMag.com, who quotes Joseph Ram, the CEO of the low cost Android phone maker Infosonics, as saying, "We"re hearing Microsoft will drop the license fee quite a bit, as far as 70 percent, which will make their product more competitive in terms of price." He added that if this is true, Ram said that Infosonics would consider making Windows Phone devices. We have contacted Microsoft to see if they wish to comment on this report.
Earlier this week, Microsoft announced a number of new hardware partners for Windows Phone and also revealed the OS will support Qualcomm"s lower end Snapdragon 200 and 400 processors. Those moves will almost certainly allow for smartphones with the OS to be made that will cost less than current models. All of this activity comes before Microsoft is expected to close the deal to acquire Nokia"s Devices and Services division and the launch of the next major update for the OS, Windows Phone 8.1.
Source: PCMag.com