The Redmond would be a minority investor at first

Jan 30, 2015 09:22 GMT  ·  By

Microsoft is slowly building its smartphone market share, though with iOS and Android already very far ahead, the Redmond-based company looks like the eternal underdog.

Apparently, Microsoft has found an opportunity to open a new front in the war against Google’s Android, but the battle has yet to begin. Wall Street Journal reports that Microsoft has decided to invest in Cyanogen, the company trying to build an Android OS free of Google’s clutches.

According to the said report from WSJ, Microsoft will be a minority investor initially with a $70 million contribution, but the financing may increase as other “strategic investors” have shown interest in Cyanogen recently.

Just like Microsoft, these investors are also eager to loosen Google’s hold over Android, hence the recent interest in Cyanogen.

Google has been rather strict in allowing smartphone makers to use Android unless they meet some requirements, such as the inclusion of its search feature as default, as well as the addition of its apps and services like Maps, Chrome.

That basically greatly limits exposure for other apps and services like Microsoft’s Bing for example, but also from other companies that would like to bring their products to Android.

Cyanogen smartphones with Microsoft services should not be ruled out

Cyanogen offers a Google-free Android experience, which is one of the reasons Microsoft has decided to become an investor. Now, we could speculate that Microsoft plans to bring some of its services to Cyanogen’s Android, but that will probably be unfair for the other “strategic investors” that basically seek the same thing.

Even if that won’t happen, at least Microsoft’s services will have more exposure on the mobile platform with the largest market share, Android.

Microsoft’s move seems more about its services rather than Android smartphones, though the latter is possible as well. Getting rid of all those constraints imposed by Google will probably allow Microsoft to launch Cyanogen-based handsets with its own services as default for users.

What’s your take on Microsoft’s decision to become investor in Cyanogen? Let us know in the comments section.