Xiaomi, Microsoft Patents: Future Phones To Ship With Skype And MS Office [VIDEO]
Xiaomi might have conquered the massive Chinese market for smartphones, but it is yet to make a significant impact in the West. In the United States, the prominent Chinese manufacturer is still relatively unknown, despite the relatively good reviews that its devices have garnered over the years. This, however, seems about to change.
A recent report from The Wall Street Journal stated that Xiaomi has agreed to purchase about 1,500 patents from U.S.-based tech juggernaut Microsoft, in a decision that seems aimed at breaching the American smartphone market. Though the exact details of the deal are yet to be announced, it does seem like the agreement of the two tech firms signifies a very important deal for the Chinese manufacturer.
Among the parts of the agreement with Microsoft is the automatic inclusion of Microsoft's two primary applications to a number of Xiaomi phones. As the manufacturer attempts to enter the U.S. market, its devices such as the Mi 5, Mi Max, Redmi Note 3 and Mi 4S, would be preloaded with Microsoft Office and Skype.
Indeed, with the automatic inclusion of Microsoft's popular applications, Xiaomi would be able to make its devices a bit more attractive than its competition. With the fact that its devices have so far been garnering good reviews from critics and users, Xiaomi would truly get a fighting chance in the hyper-competitive smartphone market in the United States.
Wang Xiang, Xiaomi's senior vice president of strategic cooperation, expressed his optimism about the Microsoft deal.
"Both Xiaomi and Microsoft respect intellectual-property rights. We believe that with this kind of collaboration and also our commitment to the long-term investment in IP, we are going to build a very strong patent portfolio," he said.
Xiaomi has had a pretty successful run in the smartphone market so far, ranking fifth among international smartphone sellers in 2015. With its current partnership with Microsoft, however, it might very well see itself move up the ranks this year.
