Microsoft is apparently asking for $15 per Android handset as a patent licensing fee. It appears that Android may become a billion dollar business for the company by simply watching.
Microsoft has asked Samsung for a $15 licensing fee for patents that are affected by Samsung’s Android smartphones. HTC is already paying licensing fees to Microsoft and there is a consensus that other Android handset makers are either under contract already or will be under contract soon.
Google recently said that more than 300,000 Android handsets are currently activated every day which would provide Microsoft with $4.5 million in license revenue every day, if the $15 fee is universal. Korean media, however, reported that Samsung may be able to reduce the fee to $10 per handset, as Microsoft needs Samsung as a manufacturer of Windows Phone 7 devices. Even at a universal $10 fee, Microsoft could be generating $90 million per month in Android licensing revenue – or close to $1.1 billion per year.
Not too shabby for an accidental business and the fact that Windows Phone 7 is still waiting for a watershed moment of explosive growth.
Ethan McKinney in Business on July 06
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