Huawei Dual-Boot Android And Windows Phone Due Q2

Huawei will launch a dual-booting smartphone in Q2 2014 that can be switched between Android and Windows Phone, the company has confirmed, arguing that using both will ease people into Microsoft's OS. Android remains Huawei's primary focus, CMO Shao Yang admitted, but the company sees value in trying to extend its footprint to more than one platform.

"If it is Windows [Phone] only, maybe people will not find it as easy a decision to buy the phone" Yang told Trusted Reviews. "If they have the Android and Windows [Phone] together, you can change it as you wish and it is much easier for people to choose Windows Phone."

Dual-booting devices have been muttered about among mainstream manufacturers for some time now, though actual shipping handsets capable of switching between two or more platforms have proved rare.

Exactly how Huawei intends to manage the two operating systems remains to be seen. Most of the unofficial hacks to get two platforms running on the same device require a reboot to switch, rather than running each OS simultaneously. That obviously places limits on what data can be moved between each OS, as well as limiting the usability of apps exclusive to one platform or the other.

More streamlined would be live-switching between Android and Windows Phone, particularly if the two platforms could also access the same storage volume.