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Microsoft sets targets on Android again

Microsoft has partnered with Cyanogen, provider of a popular alternative Android OS, to further infiltrate Google’s mobile operating system.

If you haven’t heard of Cyanogen before, it’s basically a group of talented Android developers that has created its own open source mobile OS (Cyanogen OS) to replace Google’s efforts. You get all new themes, enhanced security, boosted performance via overclocking and plenty more besides, making this one of the most popular open source operating systems for mobile devices.

And now Microsoft has cunningly partnered with Cyanogen, to get its own apps such as the Office suite (Word, Excel, etc), Skype and OneDrive integrated into Cyanogen OS. 

Of course, this isn’t the first time that Microsoft has tried to infiltrate Android devices. Not a month ago, the company announced a special ROM that would allow Android users to install Windows Phone onto their handset. And just a couple of weeks ago, Microsoft also revealed its plans to get OEMs like Samsung to pre-install its apps onto Android devices. So when the Galaxy Note 4 hits stores later this year, you could possibly see the likes of OneDrive and Skype already on there, ready to use.

Perhaps by getting Android users invested in its own apps, Microsoft is hoping that they’ll be more open to switching to a Windows smartphone in the future. And with Windows 10 on the horizon, this seems like a good time to try and sway smartphone fans who might be sat on the fence. But either way, Microsoft will be happy just to get more eyes on its own software, while Google should be a little concerned that its own apps such as Google Drive might go neglected.

Read next: Windows 10 review and top five features

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