back to article Microsoft, Lenovo cross-licensing love-in: Android mobes knocked up with... Office apps

Lenovo’s signed a second patent licensing agreement with Microsoft, loading Redmond’s productivity software on its Android devices. Microsoft Office, OneDrive and Skype will come pre-installed on unspecified Lenovo devices packing Google's Android. Lenovo expects to ship “millions” of Android devices over “the next several …

  1. tiggity Silver badge

    more unwanted crud

    Really need an option so you can clear crud off android phones..

    By that I mean an option that does not involve rooting phone - I have no desire for office etc. on a phone, they come with little storage space (unless you pay silly money) so why would I want uninstallable stuff I will never use?

    The only uninstallable software should be stuff vital to the phone actually functioning.

    1. Anonymous Coward
      Anonymous Coward

      Re: more unwanted crud

      I mean do you really need it spelled out?

      Companies wouldn't pay if their shovel-ware could easily be removed.

    2. David 132 Silver badge
      Thumb Up

      Re: more unwanted crud

      The only uninstallable software should be stuff vital to the phone actually functioning.

      I agree with your sentiment (and have upvoted you) but the pedant in me is compelled to point out that you probably meant to write "the only non-uninstallable software...". Or un-uninstallable, if feeling whimsical.

    3. Anonymous Coward
      Anonymous Coward

      Re: more unwanted crud

      > The only uninstallable software should be stuff vital to the phone actually functioning.

      Sadly once Microsoft is done with it, it likely will be vital to the phone actually functioning.

      1. bombastic bob Silver badge
        Big Brother

        Re: more unwanted crud

        "Sadly once Microsoft is done with it, it likely will be vital to the phone actually functioning."

        and 'always on' in the background, serving up advertisements and tracking you (like Win-10-nic).

    4. Anonymous Coward
      Anonymous Coward

      Re: more unwanted crud

      Screw this. I have a Motorola, now Lenovo, Droid. If they try to put fricking Office on it, I'm going to Samsung. Seriously, that would push me to a new OEM. I use Droid because I don't want Microsoft. If I wanted Microsoft, I would buy a useless Windows Phone.

  2. Sgt_Oddball

    Wait....what?

    I thought you could get office for free on Android mobs anyway? How does patent licence fees count into this?

    Or have Microsoft decided on the BBC model of getting people to pay? (I.e. your device can use our software ergo someone needs to pay for that capacity. Regardless of if it's used or not)

    1. Anonymous Coward
      Anonymous Coward

      Re: Wait....what?

      Depends if its the basic free office (which has been around on the web for years) or a more advanced version.

    2. Zakhar

      Re: Wait....what?

      That has always been M$ business model on PC: extortion, aka forcing down your throat an O.S. you MUST pay even if you don't intend to use it.

      Although they failed on mobiles, they are now trying the same trick.

      This company is more and more disgusting. The more irrelevant they become, the more they turn into a complete patent troll.

    3. wikkity

      Re: thought you could get office for free on Android mobs anyway?

      Don't know any more details but I suspect it's just a way to get them pre-installed, just because it's free doesn't mean people will install it and use it. Lets face it, they are trying to bribe people to use their software (paid searching) so this would be cheap for them.

  3. adnim
    Unhappy

    I see no crux

    I see a crutch for MS during it's continuing decline into irrelevancy.

    "The crux of such deals has invariably been the various hardware firms’ use of either Linux, Android or Chrome with Microsoft dangling in front of them the prospect of unspecified patent infringements of Redmond's patents."

    I have no desire to be rich, however if I had thousands of employees I would be careful.

    As I do not have the burden of worrying about employees, my response to MS would be...

    "Specify them and make your claims public or fuck off"

    I can't wait to dangle my nuts over your dying corpse Microsoft.

    1. Flocke Kroes Silver badge

      Re: I see no crux

      The threat is 'Buy a license for MS Office for all Android phones or your marketing support funds for Windows disappears'. Windows costs too much to install on a new PC, but qualifying OEMs get marketing support cash that effectively reduces the cost to competitive levels. To qualify, the OEM must do something like install Windows on all laptops, or discontinue small cheap computers. Marketing cash is a trick to avoid anti-trust regulations about changing the price of your product depending on the obedience or the re-seller.

      When something is good, it can be sold to customers. When it is bad, it is sold to businesses. When it is broken, the government buys it. Clearly MS Office is sufficiently non-functional that businesses will not bundle it without credible threats, but not yet so thoroughly broken that it requires a state mandate to force people to pay for it.

      1. Zakhar

        Re: I see no crux

        Upvoted you: "Marketing cash", what a nice name for "extortion"! ;-)

    2. Anonymous Coward
      Anonymous Coward

      Re: I see no crux

      This is such a slap in the face from Lenovo, as I'm a current Droid and ThinkPad Chromebook customer. If they put Office and MSFT crap all over my Google phone, I'm out. Forever.

  4. Wheaty73
    Thumb Up

    Useful.

    Actual useful software then. Unlike the many gallery and album apps, email apps, etc that normally get foisted on us. Onedrive is usually the first thing I install onto a phone. With Android N splitscreen, Word is going to be really usable too with FF running alongside.

    1. Anonymous Coward
      Anonymous Coward

      Re: Useful.

      You you seen Office lately? It's yet another Microsoft product living on it's past glory..

      There are better office product around, hell, some you don't even need to install...

    2. Anonymous Coward
      Anonymous Coward

      Re: Useful.

      Actual useful software then.

      For you maybe, for others they can be useless. Not everyone uses MS beta software.

  5. djstardust

    Galaxy S7 edge

    Has this too. At least the office apps can be disabled but they still take up storage space.

    If you want it you can install it yourself surely?

    1. fidodogbreath

      Re: Galaxy S7 edge

      but they still take up storage space

      Storage space, indeed. Word, Excel, PowerPoint, OneNote, OneDrive, Outlook, and Office Lens weigh in at a hefty 820 MB.

      I couldn't find a conversion factor from MB to stone (or Jubs); but as a certain US presidential candidate would say, they're YUUUUGE.

  6. Mikel

    Proof

    Not enough people crave their products

  7. Dwarf

    Installed != operational

    You will probably need an office 345 licence to make it do anything - a bit like the iPad 'freebie'

    And .. knowing MS, it will probably bind into the OS in a 'convenient' manner to make it difficult for other document editing products to be used.

    1. fidodogbreath

      Re: Installed != operational

      You will probably need an office 345 licence to make it do anything

      The newly re-branded Office 345 now includes 20 days of downtime per year at no extra charge...

  8. Nick Ryan Silver badge

    Word on Android

    I'd rather than waste time with shit like this Microsoft actually fixed MS Word so it didn't randomly insert words when pressing keys on the on-screen keyboard. Including the bloody delete key. The stupidity of this is pretty amazing and has rendered Word on Android totally unusable for the last two months.

    No other apps seem to have this problem, changing different virtual keyboards doesn't fix it, the only thing that works is to use a bluetooth keyboard.

  9. a_yank_lurker

    One Android OEM to avoid

    Given that most carriers offer several different Android models from different manufacturers and iPhones this makes one OEM to avoid. Do not want Slurp anywhere near my phone, Chocolate Factory is enough.

    1. Anonymous Coward
      Anonymous Coward

      Re: One Android OEM to avoid

      True, I'm done with Lenovo. I probably would have switched OEMs anyway next go around, but now I'm definitely done with them.... You would think they would figure out that people buy Android, some of them anyway, specifically to get away from the MSFT. There is no reason to even deal with Lenovo at this point.

  10. Anonymous Coward
    Anonymous Coward

    And if they allow you to unlock the device and boot loader, a flash of cyanogenmod and a few minutes later ur microshaft ware free and bloat gone... Not only have microsoft ruined their own operating system, they are now trying to take android with them... nice try...

  11. John Crisp

    Disabled

    First thing I did on this phone (Samsung S6) after turning off G junk was disable the M$ crud. Haven't missed it one iota.

    If I could remove entirely I would, but can't be arsed to reflash. A waste of good storage.

  12. Kevin McMurtrie Silver badge

    No need to worry

    Lenovo is currently not issuing software updates.

  13. wikkity

    OEMs vs MS

    I wish someone would stand up to them, maybe they could crowd fund a legal fund, I'm sure other OEMs would contribute though share prices would be hard to account for.

    From what I can make out the only real issue is FAT, now that MTP is widespread there is no need for sd cards to use FAT, the computer a phone/tablet is attached too does not see the filesystem. Given that it is linux under the hood there are a plethora of other file systems to choose from.

    Anyone know of any other issues that would stand up to scrutiny?

POST COMMENT House rules

Not a member of The Register? Create a new account here.

  • Enter your comment

  • Add an icon

Anonymous cowards cannot choose their icon

Other stories you might like