Micromax’s Windows Phone plans on track, LapTab coming soon

NEW DELHI: Indian device firm Micromax is still in race to launch Windows Phone devices even though its name was not among the new partners announced by Microsoft at the Mobile World Congress.
Micromax co-founder Vikas Jain confirmed to The Times of India Tech that the company is still working towards launching Windows Phone-based devices. On being asked the reason for not being in the list of Windows Phone OEM partners, Jain said the company was still holding discussions with Microsoft and will soon come up with an announcement.
Microsoft has announced the names of nine device makers including Foxconn, Gionee, JSR, Karbonn, Lava (Xolo), Lenovo, LG, Longcheer and ZTE, which were partnering with the company to offer Windows Phone-based smartphones.
Microsoft is also reported to have waived the licence fee for Windows Phone and offered it to at least two Indian phone makers for free. Recently, Lava and Karbonn announced that the two companies will be rolling out Windows phone devices in the coming months. The devices are expected to be priced in the range of Rs 6,000 to Rs 12,000.
Micromax has also confirmed it is launching a dual-OS (Android+Windows) LapTab device next month. Dismissing as "market speculation" that the tablet-laptop hybrid had been shelved, Jain reiterated that the company’s plans are still on track.
According to reports, including one by the Wall Street Journal, Microsoft and Google are putting pressure on device-makers to halt plans to offer dual-OS devices.
Taiwan-based device manufacturer Asus has already postponed plans to sell Transformer Book Duet TD300 hybrid, which was expected to be launched in the second half of the year. Asus will also reportedly stop selling other dual-OS devices including Asus Transformer AiO P1801 and P1802 all-in-one PCs, launched last year.
Huawei has also denied plans to launch a dual-OS smartphone, retracting from an announcement made by the company’s CMO that hinted at dual-OS devices.
The reports, in a way, signal that dual-OS devices will face resistance from the two software giants. So it was being speculated that other device makers may also be affected.
Micromax had first showcased the LapTab at the Consumer Electronics Show in Las Vegas in December 2013. The device was expected to be launched in February.
LapTab sports a 10.1-inch screen with a resolution of 1280x800pixels and comes with a keyboard cover. It is powered by a 1.46GHz dual-core Intel N2805 processor and 2GB RAM. To be available in 32GB or 64GB internal storage variants, the device would come with Windows and Android with the user getting an option to choose between the two operating systems at the time of booting the device.