Just days after Microsoft announced Karbonn Mobiles as one of its newest Windows Phone partners, the Indian device maker has announced that it plans to launch Windows Phone-powered devices later this year. Karbonn's upcoming Windows Phone hardware won't be like the WP devices that we're used to, though, because the company says that it's planning to offer smartphones that run both Windows Phone and Android.
Speaking to The Times of India, Karbonn chairman Sudhir Hasija has revealed that his company plans to release dual-OS phones that run both Android and Windows Phone by June of this year. "Microsoft has eased the regulations and is opening up its platform for other players," Hasija explained. Details on the devices are still fairly light, but the Karbonn exec says that they'll target "office-going professionals and 'techies.'"
Karbonn is also planning to release more traditional smartphones that run straight-up Windows Phone. The first of these devices are expected to debut in approximately three months.
Microsoft recently teased upcoming Windows Phone features like dual-SIM functionality and support for on-screen navigation buttons that the Redmond firm says will make it easier for manufacturers to reuse their smartphone designs for use with Windows Phone. Rather than keep its Android and Windows Phone products separate forever, though, apparently Karbonn has decided to go the dual-boot route. We'll have to wait until later this year to see how the devices actually work, but the thought of having one phone that can run both Android and Windows Phone is certainly intriguing, and I'm sure that that feature alone will earn Karbonn's dual-boot products some nice attention from consumers and the media.
Does an dual-OS smartphone with both Android and Windows Phone interest you? If you could make a phone capable of dual-booting any two mobile OSes, which ones would you choose?