Last year, Google said that Android will become a business with an annual income of 654.38 billion US dollars. At present, it seems that Microsoft has adopted the same scheme as Google on the issue of Android operating system. After signing a cooperation agreement with Android smartphone manufacturers, especially Samsung Electronics, Microsoft will also start to make profits through the Android operating system. How much revenue can Microsoft get through the Android operating system?
Google recently announced that the daily activation of devices using Android operating system has reached 500,000. If the patent fee charged for selling an Android smartphone or tablet is $5, Microsoft will get a patent fee of $9.65438+0.2 million through the Android operating system every year. It is reported that Microsoft signed an agreement with HTC last year to charge the company a patent fee of $5 for every Android phone sold. Of course, it is not easy to collect patent fees from every Android phone manufacturer, but it is a good opportunity for Microsoft, which deliberately collects patent fees from Android phone manufacturers.
Of course, the biggest deal that Microsoft will get through the Android operating system will be with Samsung Electronics. In terms of sales volume, Samsung Electronics is now the largest Android mobile phone manufacturer in the world. Microsoft has asked Samsung Electronics to pay a patent licensing fee of 15 USD for each Android phone it sells, because Android uses a number of patented technologies of the company. However, according to sources, Samsung Electronics hopes to lower the standard to 10 USD per mobile phone. As compensation, Samsung Electronics will further cooperate with Microsoft on the Windows Phone platform. According to the charging standard of $65,438+00, Microsoft is expected to earn $200 million this year only by relying on Samsung's smartphone Galaxy S II. As users around the world continue to adopt Android smartphones, the patent fees charged by Microsoft will also exceed $654.38 billion.
Of course, there is no guarantee that Microsoft can sign a patent licensing agreement with every Android smartphone manufacturer, but there is no doubt that Microsoft's goal will eventually be achieved. Microsoft recently signed patent licensing agreements with companies such as General Dynamics Itronix, Wistron Information, Velocity Micro and Okyo. Microsoft did not disclose how much revenue it earned through these transactions, but said it was charging royalties to licensees.
Of course, it is impossible for Microsoft to easily obtain patents from every Android smartphone manufacturer. Motorola Mobility and Barnes &; Noble has always resisted, and the above two companies have gone to court with Microsoft on patent infringement. Regardless of Motorola's mobility and Barnes &; No matter which company in Noble wins the case, it will slow down the pace of Microsoft charging patent fees to Android manufacturers. However, the final trial result of this case needs to wait for some time. At the same time, if Samsung Electronics starts to pay patent fees to Microsoft, it may force other Android device manufacturers to follow suit and start paying patent fees directly to Microsoft.
Although you can get huge income by charging Android patent fees, Microsoft's own mobile operating system has not been sought after in the market. Gartner, a market research company, predicts that Microsoft only sold 654.38+600,000 Windows Phone 7 devices in the first quarter of this year. This is almost the same as Microsoft's income through the agreement with HTC. HTC sold 9.3 million smartphones in the first quarter of this year, most of which were Android smartphones.
In any case, Google can still earn $654.38 billion a year through advertising on Android. Manufacturers like HTC can also hit new heights with the success of Android. At present, it seems that Microsoft wants to ensure that while its platform is developing slowly, it can also get a share through Android.