For as long as I can remember, there's always been at least one device released in a year, usually more, that gets all the people talking. But not because they are excited for what's on the device at release, or what the handset may offer in the features department. No, that's getting talked about by other people. What I mean is the folks who love a piece of hardware, but hate the piece of software that's on it.
Before big displays became all the rage, and while the iPhone was still all the rage, I heard it a lot from people who wanted the design aesthetic of the iPhone, but didn't want to use iOS. And then, sure enough, big screens started to get all the attention and people who liked using iOS wanted to get their favorite software on devices with bigger panels.
It's the way of the world. And forward we push on.
It happened a lot with Nokia, though. A lot. Ever since the Nokia/Microsoft deal went through, and Nokia decided to tip the majority of their scales towards Windows Phone, people went all up-in-arms about the diminished possibilities for the Finnish company. Because while some were excited to see more devices for Windows Phone, the majority seemed to be upset that Nokia wouldn't be making Android-based devices anymore.
I can't help but admit that that mentality struck me by surprise. While I think the Lumia 900 and Lumia 920 are great devices, along with plenty of other Lumia-branded handsets, there's plenty of good Android hardware out there, too. Thinner and lightweight handsets, for example. The Lumia 920 is a great device, but it's a tank, too.
Maybe it was the future, or just the sincere possibility of what could be. We all know that Nokia's devices would get better over time, just as they have, and maybe people just wanted to see those better devices, those devices in the future, running the newest version of Android.
I'll admit, that would be pretty fantastic. Especially if we saw a Lumia 1020-based device running Android 4.3 Jelly Bean.
While we won't be seeing that from Nokia, we know that HTC is getting offered plenty of incentives to offer up their hardware with Windows Phone in the future. Microsoft is asking them to consider dual-booting operating systems, between Windows Phone and Android, which seems like almost a last-ditch effort. Dual-booting operating systems is still something that hasn't really taken off in the mobile space (not including some tablets), so for Microsoft to be weighing it as a realistic option, well, that's telling.
But is it something consumers want? Based on the fact that the mobile market is basically devoid of any smartphones that dual-boot operating systems (out of the box, without any type of modding), the easiest bet would be that manufacturers don't think consumers want them. But, just look at the uproar we saw with Nokia and Android. Maybe there is a market there.
That's why I'm curious to hear from you. Whether it's HTC, Samsung or LG, or any other company for that matter, would you be interested in a smartphone that dual-boot an operating system of your choice? If so, which pair of platforms would you like to combine? webOS and Android? Windows Phone and iOS? Let me know what you think.
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