The launch this week in the US of the Windows Phone version of the HTC One M8 is an important step in Microsoft's battle for the operating system to gain traction in the smartphone marketplace.
For the first time, a major manufacturer is selling the same hardware running either Android or Windows Phone.
It's made possible with the release of Windows Phone 8.1 which makes it technically much easier for this to happen and more non-Nokia devices are expected to be released soon.
Microsoft Vice President of Engineering, Darren Laybourn has told tech website CNET that there are now 14 devices in Redmond's reference design programme expected to end up as real products in the next six months. And some will use hardware that also sells running Android.
It's appealing to hardware manufacturers because Microsoft is more than willing to subsidise marketing budgets for Windows Phone devices.
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