Close
  • Latest News
  • Big Data and Analytics
  • Cloud
  • Networking
  • Cybersecurity
  • Applications
  • IT Management
  • Storage
  • Sponsored
  • Mobile
  • Small Business
  • Development
  • Database
  • Servers
  • Android
  • Apple
  • Innovation
  • Blogs
  • PC Hardware
  • Reviews
  • Search Engines
  • Virtualization
Read Down
Sign in
Close
Welcome!Log into your account
Forgot your password?
Read Down
Password recovery
Recover your password
Close
Search
Logo
Logo
  • Latest News
  • Big Data and Analytics
  • Cloud
  • Networking
  • Cybersecurity
  • Applications
  • IT Management
  • Storage
  • Sponsored
  • Mobile
  • Small Business
  • Development
  • Database
  • Servers
  • Android
  • Apple
  • Innovation
  • Blogs
  • PC Hardware
  • Reviews
  • Search Engines
  • Virtualization
More
    Home Android
    • Android
    • Mobile

    Xiaomi Buys 1,500 Patents From Microsoft

    By
    Todd R. Weiss
    -
    June 2, 2016
    Share
    Facebook
    Twitter
    Linkedin
      Xiaomi patent purchase

      Six-year-old Chinese smartphone company Xiaomi is buying 1,500 technology patents from Microsoft and will preinstall the Microsoft Office productivity suite and Skype on its Android-based smartphones and tablets under a new partnership deal announced by the two companies.

      The deals, which were unveiled on May 31, will bring Xiaomi a wide assortment of patents relating to wireless communications, video, cloud technologies and multimedia, a Microsoft spokesman told eWEEK in an email reply to an inquiry.

      “This agreement reflects the deep respect Xiaomi and Microsoft have for intellectual property rights,” the spokesman said. “The companies are committed to a healthy patent system and standing against the abusive practices we’ve seen at times in our industry.”

      The companies also will cross-license some of their technologies, according to their joint announcement, but no details of that deal were released.

      Under the agreement to install Microsoft Office and Skype on Android smartphones and tablets from Xiaomi, that deal will give mobile users the ability to work, collaborate and communicate using the mobile devices of their choice, the companies said.

      “We are excited to be working closely with Microsoft on a broad technology collaboration partnership,” Xiang Wang, a senior vice president at Xiaomi, said in a statement. “As demonstrated by this agreement with Microsoft, Xiaomi is looking to build sustainable, long-term partnerships with global technology leaders, with the ultimate goal of bringing the best user experience to our Mi fans.”

      Xiaomi Android devices, including the Mi 5, Mi Max, Mi 4s, Redmi Note 3 and Redmi 3, will come pre-installed with Microsoft Word, Excel, PowerPoint, Outlook and Skype applications starting in September 2016, according to Xiaomi. The offerings may vary by device, market and mobile carrier.

      The companies already had a partnership that involved Windows 10 on the Xiaomi Mi Pad and the use of Microsoft Azure to power the Mi Cloud service from Xiaomi, the companies said. Microsoft said that the “partnerships with companies such as Xiaomi are central to Microsoft’s strategy to work with industry leaders around the world to meet the needs of joint customers.”

      The expansion of the existing partnership between the two companies is also intriguing as Huawei’s market share of the global smartphone market exceeds that of Microsoft, which is in a decline. In late May, Microsoft announced that it is laying off up to 1,850 workers in its smartphone hardware business as it moves to cut its losses, shrink its sales focus and sell smartphones to enterprise customers who want specialized devices with additional security and manageability features. The company said it will “streamline” its smartphone hardware business and take a fourth quarter impairment and restructuring charge of about $950 million, including about $200 million for severance payments, according to a recent eWEEK story.

      Also in May, Microsoft sold its feature phone assets to Foxconn Technology Group’s FIH Mobile Ltd. (FIH) for $350 million, according to an eWEEK report. That deal was related to a 10-year licensing deal that will allow Nokia mobile phones, smartphones and tablets to be built and sold around the world by a newly formed Finnish company, HMD Global.

      Xiaomi and other Chinese upstart smartphone companies, such as Huawei, Alcatel and ZTE, don’t come close to leading the U.S. smartphone market, but they are gaining market share around the world at the expense of companies like Microsoft, Lenovo and others due to lower prices, good products and unlocked device flexibility for buyers.

      In August 2015, Xiaomi announced a partnership with Taiwan’s Foxconn to try to carve out a bigger piece of the huge consumer handset market in India by assembling phones there to cut costs and simplify distribution, according to an earlier eWEEK report.

      Todd R. Weiss
      As a technology journalist covering enterprise IT for more than 15 years, I joined eWEEK.com in September 2014 as the site's senior writer covering all things mobile. I write about smartphones, tablets, laptops, assorted mobile gadgets and services,mobile carriers and much more. I formerly was a staff writer for Computerworld.com from 2000 to 2008 and previously wrote for daily newspapers in eastern Pennsylvania. I'm an avid traveler, motorcyclist, technology lover, cook, reader, tinkerer and mechanic. I drove a yellow taxicab in college and collect toy taxis and taxi business cards from around the world.

      MOST POPULAR ARTICLES

      Big Data and Analytics

      Alteryx’s Suresh Vittal on the Democratization of...

      James Maguire - May 31, 2022 0
      I spoke with Suresh Vittal, Chief Product Officer at Alteryx, about the industry mega-shift toward making data analytics tools accessible to a company’s complete...
      Read more
      Cybersecurity

      Visa’s Michael Jabbara on Cybersecurity and Digital...

      James Maguire - May 17, 2022 0
      I spoke with Michael Jabbara, VP and Global Head of Fraud Services at Visa, about the cybersecurity technology used to ensure the safe transfer...
      Read more
      Applications

      Cisco’s Thimaya Subaiya on Customer Experience in...

      James Maguire - May 10, 2022 0
      I spoke with Thimaya Subaiya, SVP and GM of Global Customer Experience at Cisco, about the factors that create good customer experience – and...
      Read more
      Cloud

      IGEL CEO Jed Ayres on Edge and...

      James Maguire - June 14, 2022 0
      I spoke with Jed Ayres, CEO of IGEL, about the endpoint sector, and an open source OS for the cloud; we also spoke about...
      Read more
      Cloud

      Yotascale CEO Asim Razzaq on Controlling Multicloud...

      James Maguire - May 5, 2022 0
      Asim Razzaq, CEO of Yotascale, provides guidance on understanding—and containing—the complex cost structure of multicloud computing. Among the topics we covered:  As you survey the...
      Read more
      Logo

      eWeek has the latest technology news and analysis, buying guides, and product reviews for IT professionals and technology buyers. The site’s focus is on innovative solutions and covering in-depth technical content. eWeek stays on the cutting edge of technology news and IT trends through interviews and expert analysis. Gain insight from top innovators and thought leaders in the fields of IT, business, enterprise software, startups, and more.

      Facebook
      Linkedin
      RSS
      Twitter
      Youtube

      Advertisers

      Advertise with TechnologyAdvice on eWeek and our other IT-focused platforms.

      Advertise with Us

      Menu

      • About eWeek
      • Subscribe to our Newsletter
      • Latest News

      Our Brands

      • Privacy Policy
      • Terms
      • About
      • Contact
      • Advertise
      • Sitemap
      • California – Do Not Sell My Information

      Property of TechnologyAdvice.
      © 2022 TechnologyAdvice. All Rights Reserved

      Advertiser Disclosure: Some of the products that appear on this site are from companies from which TechnologyAdvice receives compensation. This compensation may impact how and where products appear on this site including, for example, the order in which they appear. TechnologyAdvice does not include all companies or all types of products available in the marketplace.

      ×