Well, this was snappy! Microsoft is said to have acquire Movial, a software firm that has reportedly been building the Android OS for the Surface Duo handset.
Financial terms of the deal have not been disclosed.
Based in Finland, the company is a software engineering and design services firm that specializes in mobile and embedded devices. And it was providing third-party services to Microsoft for the development of the operating system for the upcoming Duo smartphone.
As part of the deal, the local business of Movial — spread across the US, Romania, and Taiwan — are now owned by Redmond. Additionally, the firm’s office in Iasi, Romania, will serve as the fourth Microsoft research and development center in the country.
The software titan is also incorporating 60 Movial employees into its Devices division in an effort to advance work on its Android-based devices.
With this purchase, the technology giant is now moving the development work in-house, in a sign that the company sees a future in dual-screen machines.
The acquisition means that the software giant could be forming an internal team that will be responsible for the OS work for the Surface Duo going forward. And this move is seen as a preparation for the rumored launch of the handset in the next few weeks.
