Once again, Microsoft has padded its revenue stream with an Android patent license deal. This time around, it’s Compal Electronics — another name you might not be familiar with, but it’s a very significant win for the crew in Redmond.
Like Wistron and Quanta, Compal produces devices for other companies — and they’re actually one of the top notebook manufacturers in the world. Compal recently announced that it was partnering with Lenovo to launch a joint manufacturing venture that would further strengthen its position as one of the industry leaders. They’ve also built devices for Dell, HP, Acer, and Toshiba.
In January of this year, Compal execs told the press that they expected to ship around 3.8 million Android tablets in 2011. With Microsoft’s deals typically running in the neighborhood of $5 per device, that’s a fair chunk of change headed back their way from Compal. The Compal deal is also noteworthy because it marks a big milestone for Microsoft: they have now secured licensing deals that cover more than 50% of all Android devices being produced — the Samsung, HTC, and Quantadeals you’ve read about previously helped them achieve that goal rather quickly.
It’s also worth noting that the deal covers Chrome OS hardware as well. Now that Compal, Wistron, and Quanta have signed on, it’s starting to look like Microsoft will be profiting from just about every mobile device powered by a Google-built OS. Microsoft is still hashing things out with Asus, whose manufacturing offshoot Pegatron it would no doubt like to lock up, and they’re also in the midst of litigation with another giant: Foxconn.
Keep your friends close and your enemies closer, the saying goes. As long as Microsoft can continue pocketing cash from Android OEMs, it’s going to do exactly that.
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