10 July 2012, 09:28

Two more Android vendors license Microsoft patents

Microsoft Android Microsoft has announced that two more makers of Android-based devices, Coby Electronics and Aluratek, have signed on to the company's patent licensing programme. Both Coby Electronics and Aluratek make low-cost Android tablets; Aluratek makes an Android 4.0 based tablet called the Cinepad which costs between $150 and $220 and Coby Electronics makes a Android 2.3 based Kyros tablet which retails for as little as $80.

The companies have both signed licensing agreements which cover any devices running Android or Chrome platforms and which will see them paying an unspecified royalty per device to Microsoft. Previous agreements of this type are believed to have a royalty of $10-$15 per Android device. Terms of the licensing deal have not been disclosed. Coby and Aluratek join a long list of Android vendors and device makers who have signed an agreement with Microsoft over its undisclosed list of patents that it claims are relevant to Google's Android or Chrome operating systems. In January, Microsoft said that around 70% of all smartphones sold in the US were covered by their patent portfolio licences.

(djwm)

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