Microsoft Brings Android OS Development for Surface Duo In-house With Movial Acquisition

Microsoft is forming a team internally under the Microsoft Devices division that will handle the development of the Android OS for Surface Duo going forward. Windows Central: According to my sources, up until now, Microsoft had contracted the OS work out to third-party vendors such as Movial, who had the expertise required to bring Android to life on Surface Duo. Movial is a software, services, and design engineering company that was working closely with Microsoft on Surface Duo during its prototype and development stages. Microsoft has now acquired the local operations of Movial in Romania, Taiwan, and the USA, and is bringing on-board all the Movial employees that were working on the Surface Duo as full-time employees at Microsoft.

Microsoft is not acquiring Movial as a whole. Movial will continue to operate as a standalone company, with employees at its headquarters in Finland remaining at Movial. SeeNews reports that Movial's Iasi office will become Microsoft Romania's fourth research and development center, as it on-boards 60 employees from Movial in that location.

The project musical chairs

[spinitch]

Come join the Titanic and Hindenburg projects. They will be momentous. Not long after, Sorry Bob we will cancel the project, you have 30 days to find another position in our internal opportunity system , along with the masses of others on cancelled projects scrambling to find safe ground. Cruel world.

Slashdot Comments

[Merk42]

Yeah, these comments so far seem about par for an article on Slashdot about Microsoft.
Surprised no "M$ working on Android? Embrace Extend Extinguish" though

This competes w/ Windows 95, HURD,...

[unixisc]

There was a time I thought that Windows 95 took forever. Another time, OS X took forever. And then there was HURD, which to this day is nowhere near complete! And what's the status of Replicant?

But now, this new Android on Surface Duo: I've been hearing of this for 3 years since Microsoft finally shut down its Windows Mobile platform. Should have been a quick thing, since Android already exists on so many platforms, but Microsoft managed to discover a way to make this drag on! Thankfully, we can alre