back to article Microsoft gives away Windows Phone 8 licences in India – report

Microsoft convinced two Indian mobe-makers to use Windows Phone by letting them install it for free, according to The Times of India. The paper's report says Lava and Karbonn, both of which announced their Windows Phone plans at the Mobile World Congress, only signed up after “... when Microsoft agreed to remove the licence …

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  1. Anonymous Coward
    Anonymous Coward

    **Free Windows Phone licences.....

    ** For a limited time only.

    1. Noodle Noggin

      "**Free Windows Phone licences.....

      ** For a limited time only."

      Gold reading star for you! Janet and John book 3a next?

  2. Anonymous Coward
    Anonymous Coward

    Their desperation is satisfying.

  3. Anonymous Coward
    Anonymous Coward

    Windows phone

    So bad they can't even give it away.

  4. Jes.e

    Let me get this straight..

    Microsoft charges licences to ANDROID phone makers and for a limited time is going to charge NO fees for Windows Phone licences?

    An brilliant display of sheer chutzpah!

    Isn't there a (oh I don't know) an government investigation lurking in here somewhere for restraint of trade or something?

    ...

    And on an unrelated note because this is India.. who can forget Microsoft's amazing Vista campaign!?!

    "Wow is Now!"

    https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JhP-QAeT6cI

    [..and to think I had managed to forget that little gem until now..]

    1. Anonymous Coward
      Anonymous Coward

      Re: Let me get this straight..

      The day artistic integrity was ritually slaughtered on live TV.

      Thanks for that!

    2. Anonymous Coward
      Anonymous Coward

      Re: Let me get this straight.. --- anti competitive ---

      As you say, Microsoft charge Android handset makers for patents they claim as their own (even though they've never publicly stated which patents AFAIK).

      So, it's only fair to charge at least the same minimum to Windows Phone handset makers.

      Otherwise, it's anti-competitive!

      Desperate times indeed.

  5. Dunhill

    Almost free

    now in my country they try to push a winphone nearly for free ..

    with as logan "it is almost the same as an android"

    and ofcourse joe 6pack belives that

    but if you try to get an android or iphone for your 2year upgrade you really have to demand it (almost brutal)

    before this started winphones were almost not seen

    now i have people asking me daily "why does this not work, why can't i install that, why is it so ugly and difficult"

    lets see what the future brings

    1. Uplink

      Re: Almost free

      Which country is that? How can anybody get away with "it's almost like Android" without being sent to misleading advertising hell?

    2. solo

      Re: Almost free

      "..why is it so ugly and difficult.."

      Yeah.. I have latest WinPone OS patches and a flagship phone from Nokia and here is 1 incident I realized today:

      In the dialer, once you paste a number, you cannot edit it (if you don't want the hassle of adding every other number as a contact).

      I have more...

      1. Robert Grant

        Re: Almost free

        You can edit it. Hit the delete button, or the big number keys to try.

  6. Herby

    Desperate times...

    Call for desperate measures.

    One can infer from this that Microsoft is indeed desperate!!

  7. Anonymous Coward
    Anonymous Coward

    Given the budget handsets popular in India, the 'experience' has the potential to be utterly excruciating. I think the zombie like eternal existence of unpatched XP probably put paid to Microsofts "next billion customers" viewing the name with interest long ago.

  8. RyokuMas
    Thumb Up

    Makes good sense - in terms of download counts, India has second or third highest total for my WinPhone games.

    Also, from what I understand, in India "Nokia" is almost synonymous with "mobile phone", like "hoover" and vaccuum cleaner here, so it makes sense for Microsoft to try and more Windows Phones out there: all it takes is the realisation that while a "Nokia" might be outside budget, local brand X is affordable and works exactly the same...

    Of course, the Google apologists will chalk it up as "desperation" and any number of other negatives to downplay the move.

    Time will tell.

    1. Anonymous Coward
      Anonymous Coward

      "Of course, the Google apologists will chalk it up as "desperation" and any number of other negatives to downplay the move."

      Ahhh. The Tony Blair 'diehard' defence.

  9. Anonymous Coward
    Anonymous Coward

    So effectively they are giving away WinPho

    So now they are competing with "FREE" Wasn't "FREE" something anti american or something? Ah, no that only applies for your competitors when you're the leader, not the other way around.

  10. Miek
    Coat

    "We cannot afford and Indian mobile gap, captain!"

  11. Robert Grant

    One thing

    Just what services work for someone in a village or small town in less-developed parts of India are for better minds than your correspondent's to determine.

    There are quite a few apps being developed in India for local banks etc for WP, even before other clients. I think it's pretty popular because it's cheap (for now), very pleasant to develop for, and the UI doesn't stutter or anything, even on very low-end devices.

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