Aboot Face: Huawei Gives the Boot to Dual-Boot Android-Windows Phone

Last week, Shao Yang, the Chief Marketing Officer of Chinese handset maker Huawei, said in an interview that the company would be pursuing dual-boot Android-Windows phones, set for release in the United States in the second quarter. As it turns out, though, this was a load of hooey. Or, at least, it became hooey shortly after Yang’s comments were printed in the interview.

A post on FierceWireless today reports that Huawei has reversed course, and will not be pursuing a dual-boot phone in the US—or, it seems, anywhere—in the near future. The company issued a statement:

“Huawei Consumer Business Group adopts an open approach towards mobile operating systems to provide a range of choices for consumers. However, most of our products are based on Android OS, [and] at this stage there are no plans to launch a dual-OS smartphone in the near future.”

The post adds that a spokesperson for the company said that “the company’s plans have changed since Yang made [his] comments.” Boing.

So what gives? The post makes a possible connection, pointing out that a recent article in the Wall Street Journal reported that Asus stopped working on a dual-boot Android and Windows 8.1 device after hearing from Microsoft and Google. Meanwhile, Microsoft itself put wheels in motion for smartphone maker Karbonn Mobiles to start creating dual-boot devices in India.

Is it a question of territory? Might Huawei have been courting disaster by looking to bring dual-boot devices to the United States without the explicit approval of Microsoft and Google? Or did the company merely see that its informal announcement failed to generate much in the way of positive buzz?

It could be any number of factors. But just as quickly as dual-boot handsets seemed poised for a US release, so too has that possibility been quashed. ALAS.

[Sources: FierceWireless, Wall Street Journal]