Microsoft could offer a dream Android Phone...in Europe

Microsoft, at one point, had a market share of over 10% with its Windows Phone software. People, myself included, loved the live tiles, snappiness of the OS, and its excellent integration with the still dominant Windows PC. However, lack of greater adoption in the U.S. and worldwide was due to one thing: the app gap.

Having spent A LOT of time on the tech forums of the internet, it seems a great deal of individuals would love the return of the Windows Phone with one addition: the Play Store. It was certainly not the beautiful home screen that turned people away; it was the fact that if I wanted to SnapChat a friend or check my bank account, there was no good way. Microsoft is poised for a return to the mobile market with its hopes pinned on the oft-talked about Andromeda device, but could there be a better way?

The European Union may have given them another option.

A Microsoft-centric Android phone could be huge

As detailed previously, the EU has told Google that they cannot bundle Chrome/Search with Play Services; this leaves the door open for someone to gain the Play Store (albeit at a cost) without being forced to use Chrome and Search as a default. This is a best case scenario for a company that would love all the apps the Play Store offers, but owns their own browser and search engine they would like to use. Someone like maybe...Microsoft.

Microsoft already offers a tremendous amount of apps in the Play Store. From Outlook to Office to Edge, Microsoft is deep in the trenches of Android, and between the Windows/Android integrations and the Microsoft Launcher, they clearly have adopted Android as the new face of Microsoft's mobile ventures. The European Union has just given Microsoft an opening they could use.

Satya and company clearly have mobile ambitions. While Windows Phone may have been a disaster, they know they need a mobile solution. Could full Windows on Arm with CoreOS be the answer, and could Andromeda be a game-changer? Yes it could. However, this solution is certainly much safer.

Microsoft has the finances and man-power to create a true Android device that showcases the best of Microsoft. They have the option of developing Android based on their Microsoft Launcher or even go back to a Live Tile look. They could include all of their best services from Edge to Bing to Outlook as the defaults, maintain all of their Windows integrations, and offer the robust Play Store. If they wanted, they could even brand it as a Surface device, but I doubt that would happen as it technically does not run on Windows.

As mentioned, Andromeda could be a gold mine, or more likely, it finds a niche but fails to be a category-starting device. PWA's, in all of their glory, may fail to live up to the hype, and individuals may balk at the idea of carrying a computer-tablet-phone with them at all times. A new Microsoft phone based on Android could be the answer to their problems. It may not even matter if it doesn't come to the U.S. and is a Europe only device; their last venture in phones gave them over 10% market share in Europe with roughly 3% in the U.S. anyway.