If there were any doubt that after Microsoft acquired Nokia it would kill off its Android smartphones, Stephen Elop has confirmed Microsoft will continue to build Android smartphones alongside Windows Phone handsets.
Rumors began to appear that Nokia had been secretly working on an Android-based smartphone while it was in the process of being acquired by Microsoft. The move was believed to be a safety net for Nokia in case its Windows Phone-only approach didn't work out. It was widely believed Microsoft was going to put a stop to Nokia's Android smartphone until Nokia began teasing that it was planning to officially announce its Android smartphone at Mobile World Congress in February.
Nokia surprised the world by actually launching two Android smartphones, the Nokia X and Nokia X+. The handsets run a heavily modified version of Android that blocks all of Google's services in place of Microsoft solutions. For instance, the Nokia X series has its own app store and does not use the Google Play Store and uses Nokia's Here Maps instead of Google Maps. It's a similar move Amazon made with its Kindle Fire tablets, which tap into Amazon's services and not Google's.
Former Nokia CEO, Stephen Elop, who is now the Executive Vice President of the Microsoft Devices Group, held a live Q&A on his first day on the job. When Elop was asked about the future of the Android based Nokia X series, he replied with:
"Microsoft acquired the mobile phones business, inclusive of Nokia X, to help connect the next billion people to Microsoft's services. Nokia X uses the MSFT cloud, not Google's. This is a great opportunity to connect new customers to Skype, outlook.com and Onedrive for the first time. We've already seen tens of thousands of new subscribers on MSFT services."
The Nokia X series is currently only offered in select areas around the world and are low-end smartphones with a focus on emerging markets. There's no word when we can expect to hear Microsoft announce another Android smartphone, but if there was any doubt that the company solely believes in a Windows Phone only approach, Stephen Elop has set the record straight.
