The smartphone patent battle is now taking another turn. Firstly, it was Apple who sued Samsung for copying their products and now it is Microsoft which demands Samsung to give $15 for the each handset they sell build on the Android platform. This is due to the fact that Microsoft has huge amount of patents in the mobile platform and they are using it to sue Android manufacturers. In this case it is more likely that Samsung will lower the amount to 10$ due to their collboration with Microsoft to deliver Windows based smartphones in future.
This is not the first time when Microsoft has demanded an amount for its patent from other venders in the market. In April, Taiwan’s HTC Corp agreed to give royalty payments to Microsoft for each handset running Android (which is said to be $5 per handset). It seems that the company wants to stop the production of Google platform to capture the second place in the market. As the number of Android handset are increasing, it is difficult for Microsoft to grow at that momentum. Microsoft strategy to tie up with Nokia, Samsung and HTC to manufacture WP7 smartphone could minimize the share of Android in coming months.
Also, Samsung has been immensely successful with its Android offerings such as Galaxy S and Galaxy S II which are now the top most handsets for Android platform. Last week, a report suggested that Samsung sold 3 millions Galaxy S II in just 55 days. All these things may help Microsoft to prepare for the war with Apple in the coming years. What do you think?