What might finally help Windows Phone break out? Android.

Microsoft’s Windows Phone platform has been inching forward since it first debuted in 2010. While the mobile platform finally started making gains worth speaking of in 2013, Microsoft’s global smartphone market share remains in the low single digits. What might finally give Windows Phone the boost it needs to start really making a dent in rivals’ sales? As it turns out, the key to Windows Phone’s success could turn out to be Android.

The Times of India reports that new Windows Phone partner Karbonn, an India-based smartphone maker, is developing multiple new smartphone models that will run both Windows Phone and Android. The handsets will reportedly target professionals and the first models will begin rolling out sometime in the third quarter.

“Microsoft has eased the regulations and is opening up its platform for other players. We signed the agreement two days ago and will launch a range of Windows Phones in about three months,” Karbonn chairman Sudhir Hasija said. The vendor will then follow its early Windows Phone devices with dual-boot models that run both Windows Phone and Android about three months after that.

Karbonn’s move could be the start of a trend; earlier reports suggested that Microsoft was working with smartphone maker HTC to launch devices that run both Windows Phone and Android. If designed in such a way that they appeal to mass-market users, these dual-boot smartphones could pave the way for Windows Phone to finally make serious gains in the smartphone market.

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This article was originally published on BGR.com

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