The Verge is reporting that sources close to Microsoft have indicated the company is seriously considering making Windows Phone and Windows RT available to device manufacturers free of charge. Microsoft would most likely move to a free licensing model with the upcoming “Threshold” update, the next major Windows update rumoured to bring back the Start menu.

The majority of Windows revenue currently comes from licensing Windows 8 and Windows RT to OEMs. However, Microsoft’s recent acquisition of Nokia’s handset division virtually eliminated any significant Windows Phone licensing revenue, as the Finnish manufacturer was [...]

Microsoft will launch the Windows Server 2012 R2, and will release its Remote Desktop app on Windows, Windows RT and OS X, but also on iOS and Android, probably by end of this month.

The press release further shows, with Windows Server 2012 R2 Microsoft is introducing the Microsoft Remote Desktop app, available for download in application stores later this month, to provide easy access to PCs and virtual desktops on a variety of devices and platforms, including Windows, Windows RT, iOS, OS X and Android. However, this is the first time Microsoft’s remote desktop is available for rival platforms, but having said [...]

Windows RT may not have been the belle of the ball Microsoft wished for, and many OEMs are shying away from releasing a tablet with the ARM-compatible OS, but that doesn’t mean it’s dead.

Microsoft itself is rumoured to be launching a second-generation Surface RT in the coming months, having recently discounted the initial version to $349, and Nokia, Microsoft’s only true OEM partner these days, is also planning to release a Windows RT-powered tablet.

Nokia’s rumoured Windows RT tablet was leaked by Chinese site Digwo, and shows off a matte red backing, complete with Verizon 4G LTE logo. Nokia is expected to debut the tablet at a special event on September 26th, and has [...]

Asus says it will no longer make systems that run the Windows RT operating system, while Nvidia implies the OS’ problems hurt Tegra sales.

ASUS CEO Jerry Shen spoke with the WSJ citing the reason for the company’s dropping of Windows RT is due to “weak sales” as well as “industry sentiment… that Windows RT has not been successful.” Windows RT getting the boot means ASUS is now able to focus solely on creating Windows 8 devices that will run on Intel chips due to the backwards compatibility that Windows RT lacks.

Shen told the WSJ that Asus is not the only device-maker to have been [...]

According to an unofficial tally by the site MetroStore Scanner, Microsoft has pushed past 50,000 total apps within the Windows Store.

The service also noted that there has been a large decline in new submissions since November of last year, with averages dropping from 400 to 150 in February before seeing an uptick to 200 in March. 

It is unclear whether Microsoft’s new rewards program has helped in the growth. The company began offering developers $100 per app for new published apps submitted to either the Windows Phone Store or the Windows 8 Store before June 30th. Each [...]

Add Nvidia CEO Jen Hsun Huang to the list of people disappointed with the debut of Windows RT.

[pullquote_left] “We expected to have sold more than we did,” he said Tuesday. “I think everybody expected to have sold more than we did.” [/pullquote_left]

Huang was speaking to financial analysts on the sidelines of Nvidia’s GPU Technology Conference in San Jose, California.

That “everybody” includes companies like Samsung, which launched the Ativ Tab with Windows RT, then canceled its future [...]