There has been plenty of talk in the past about Dual-booting devices, which we eventually began to see, and even as recently as this month with the leaked ASUS tablet that dual-boots Android and Windows 8. The new frontier though appears to be devices that can be chosen to run with a selection of either Android or a Windows variant. This doesn’t seem all that difficult to do, but rather would seem more time consuming and who knows how much more it could cost to make devices for both platforms. Despite these possibilities, ZDnet reports that a Korean Manufacturer named Bluebird has developed and manufactured such a device, that can run either Android or Windows, depending on what suits the user best. This isn’t your typical Windows Phone 8, but rather a slightly different version titled Windows Embedded 8 Handheld, which is actually based off of the core Windows Phone 8 build. As for the Android version of the phone, it looks to be running Android 4.2 Jelly Bean according to the images.
The device that Bluebird will be releasing is called the BM180, and besides having two different OS options, it’s completely ruggedized, so as to protect itself from the inevitable damage that we as smartphone owners tend to unleash on our devices. Of course that doesn’t include all of us, just some. The BM180 will have a 5 inch display, with one of its major focuses being that it acts a giant smart terminal for payments. No other specs seem to be available besides the display size and the OS offerings, but we do know that Bluebird will be offering this device in two different models as well. There will be the BM180 which is already ruggedized, and then there’s the BP30 model, which offers a more ruggedized outside body than the BM180. These devices of course are aimed at enterprise users, which is evident because of the smart terminal feature as well as the ruggedization. However, even though both devices are targeting the enterprise market, that doesn’t necessarily mean that consumers couldn’t get a hold of them.
Both devices will have the capability to use certain apps like Office 365, and Microsoft Lync, so they’ll be readily equipped to handle functions and tasks that may require use of such programs on the go. So far it doesn’t seem that Bluebird has mentioned any sort of price or actual availability for these, and even though the BM180 and the BP30 aren’t aimed at consumers, perhaps this will spark a decision in other OEMs to start creating a line of similar devices that offer both OS platforms as an option. Dual-booting phones has obviously not taken off, so perhaps offering the same phone with the choice of OS is a better solution for people who might like a certain piece of hardware but not the platform. Would you buy a handheld that offered two OS choices?
Source:ZDnet
Via:Talk Android
Image Credit:ZDnet