Five reasons Microsoft could become a top Android smartphone company

The audience and the judge have spoken in our recent Microsoft and Android debate and they agreed with me that Microsoft/Nokia making Android phones is a smart move. But, can Microsoft give Samsung a run for its money as a top Android company? I think Microsoft might have a real chance of doing just that.

Here's why.

1) Microsoft already makes major profits from Android.

How much? Thanks to its patent agreements, Microsoft may have made as much as $3.4 billion in 2013 from Android sales. Heck, if it wasn't for its Android patents, the analyst firm Nomura thinksMicrosoft's entertainment and devices division (EDD), which covers Xbox, Windows Phone and Skype would actually lose $2-billion dollars a year!

With its forthcoming Nokia acquisition, Microsoft could make ten times that much from its own Android smartphones. Also, unlike its potential Android competitors, Microsoft won't have to pay its own patent fees. That automatically makes each MS-Android phone more profitable for Microsoft than an equivalent device for say Samsung.

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