Windows Phone 7: Microsoft and Samsung Form Partnership to Take Down Android?

Microsoft has announced its plans to form a cross-licensing partnership with electronics giant Samsung.

The software maker shed light on the agreement this week which is akin to Samsung’s patent deals with other Android backers.

The deal will have Samsung pay-per-device royalties for mobile phones and tablets running Android.

Microsoft currently has eight cross-licensing agreements with other Android backers such as Acer, General Dynamics Itronix, Onkyo, Velocity Micro, ViewSonic, Wistron, HTC and Samsung.

This agreement “gives both companies greater patent coverage relating to each other’s technologies, and opens the door to a deeper partnership in the development of new phones for the Windows Phone platform,” wrote Microsoft in a blog post.

This could mean Samsung will shift its focus toward creating more high-end Windows powered smartphones in the future.

According to a recent press release, Microsoft and Samsung agreed to develop and market Windows Phone.

This deal could be a breath of fresh air to Microsoft who has been struggling to keep Nokia afloat.

Florian Mueller, a patent expert, deemed the announcement “the most important Android-related intellectual property deal in its own right” on his FOSSPatents blog.

According to Mueller, Samsung probably puts little faith in Google since it did not wait to foster new a deal with Microsoft until after Google sealed its agreement with hardware maker Motorola.

“Samsung probably knows it can’t rely on Google,” he wrote. “It decided to address Android’s intellectual property issues on its own.”

Samsung currently possesses around 28,000 patents in the United States and more than 100,000 overseas.

Microsoft has not targeted Apple’s iOS with its patents which could mean a possible partnership forming between the two giants to take down Android.

Android currently dominates the smartphone market and Microsoft could use a drastic push since it barely controls 10 percent of it.