At today's announcement of the HTC One (M8) for Windows, it was pointed out that this was the first time that a phone was available for two completely different operating systems. Which is, indeed, an interesting development.
The HTC One (M8), which was earned quite a number of plaudits, including from our own JR Raphael, is a high-end phone that has, up until now, been only available on the Android platform. Now, those who prefer their mobile devices to run Windows Phone can have exactly the same hardware.
Which makes you wonder: Since the Windows Phone OS has, until now, pretty much failed to make any kind of significant dent in the marketplace, could the idea of simply providing it on phones that have already proved themselves favorites be a way to at least appeal to fans? In other words, instead of selling Windows Phone together with new phones that may -- or may not -- be as popular as some others out there, simply say, "Hey, if you like our OS better than theirs, here it is -- on the same cool phone that your friends are using."
It's not a bad idea. While Apple, of course, has kept its iPhones dedicated to its own ecosystem, both Google and Microsoft have allowed a number of different manufacturers to run variations on the hardware that will run Android and Windows Phone. So if a phone such as the HTC One seems to work for a lot of customers, perhaps some of them -- who might actually prefer Windows Phone -- might welcome this development.
This might also be a positive development for businesses that want their employees to stick with Microsoft's ecosystem but would like staffers to be happy with the equipment they provide.
Reviewer Preston Gralla will be looking at how Windows Phone works with the HTC One (M8) and reporting back to us in a few days. It will be interesting to see what he says -- and whether the availability of a single phone with two possible operating systems might catch on with consumers -- or business buyers.