Motorola interested in Windows Phone 7

By Derek Mead August 10, 2011

motorola-droid-3-front-screen-keyboard-open-hand-on — Image used with permission by copyright holder

It looks like Windows Phone 7 might have some suitors after all. Motorola has just announced that it might be keen to work out a deal with Microsoft to run its mobile OS.

The words came from the big man himself, Motorola CEO Sanjay Jha, who was speaking at the Oppenheimer Technology & Communications Conference in Boston. While he said that “today’s focus is Android,” Jha sounded intrigued by the Windows platform.

“I think we’re completely open to the notion of Windows as a platform,” he said according to The Inquirer. “I would have to consider whether defocusing from Android to Windows will be the right thing for us to do, but if the capabilities on Windows are such that that is the right thing for us, I think we will consider it.”

In other words, while he thinks the potential for WP7 is there, he’s waiting for Microsoft to show some more concrete success. Jha is likely playing coy to see if Microsoft will offer Motorola a similar deal to the one it gave Nokia. In order to convince Nokia to use WP7 rather than Android, Microsoft offered several billion dollars along with marketing and R&D support.

Should Microsoft not put together a similar offer for Motorola, Jha has the flexibility to see how Nokia succeeds while already having opened the possibility of adding WP7 to his company’s stable.

Despite possibly opening Motorola up to another mobile OS, Jha also touched on his opinion that the market can’t handle the number of current operating systems avaiable. He stated that iOS and Android are the clear front-runners and their success is assured. On the other hand, he didn’t seem to have much confidence in the ability of WP7, webOS and BlackBerry to all survive.

Of those three, Motorola’s interest in WP7 has to lend the OS a fair bit of weight, especially as patent wars between Apple and Android producers keep raging. With that in mind, it’s possible Motorola is hedging its OS bets while waiting to see if Android can come out of court unscathed.

Editors' Recommendations

Topics

Former Digital Trends Contributor

Mobile

This is one of the cheapest 5G phones worth buying today

The Moto G 5G held in a hand with its screen illuminated.

Head straight to the source for one of the best phone deals right now with Motorola selling its Moto G 5G phone for $150 instead of $250. A considerable saving of $100, this might not be the most high-end of phones but it’s ideal if you simply need something cheap but effective. With this 2023 model seeing such a substantial price drop, we’re taking a quick look at what it has to offer and why it might appeal.

Why you should buy the Moto G 5G
You won’t see the Moto G 5G near our look at the best phones. At just $150, that’s hardly surprising. However, it does have the core essentials going for it. It’s powered by a Snapdragon 480+ 5G processor and 4GB RAM which is fine for basic tasks and web browsing. It can handle gaming too if you don’t mind somewhat sluggish load times. Crucially, the phone is 5G compatible so depending on the area you live in, you can enjoy the fastest speeds when browsing online away from Wi-Fi.

Mobile

This Android phone is a surprisingly great buy at $100

The Moto G Power 5G and Moto G 5G phones in a render.

If you’ve been shopping the best phone deals or are otherwise looking to save on a new phone, we’d like to turn your attention to Motorola. At Motorola right now you can get the Moto G Android phone for just $100. This is essentially an entry-level phone as smartphones go these days, but this savings of $70 from its regular price of $170 makes it a good consideration and one of the best Motorola phone deals you'll find. It’s not everyday you can grab a new phone for just $100, and you can save even more if you have an eligible device to trade-in.

Why you should buy the Motorola Moto G smartphone
You aren’t going to find the Motorola Moto G ranked among the best phones or among the best Android phones, but that doesn’t mean it’s a phone to avoid. And while we aren’t particularly high on the device in our review of the Motorola Moto G, the price point it comes in at with this deal makes it something worth considering if you’re in the market for a new phone. It comes in navy blue with 32GB of internal storage, which isn’t very much as modern smartphones go, but the Moto G does make up for it with some of its other specs and features.

Mobile

How to find your lost phone (tips for iPhone and Android)

The Motorola Edge Plus 2023 lying next to the Galaxy S23 Ultra and iPhone 14 Pro.

Not knowing how to find your smartphone can cause a real panic when the need arises. It likely has way too much information about you, has access to your bank details and stock portfolio, and can grant access into pretty much any personal sphere of your life. Plus, you're likely addicted to your smartphone in ways that no device has ever addicted humankind before. In short, if you've lost your phone, you may start to panic.