Microsoft gives back to Android, but users say 'no thanks'

Thanks to some smart lawyering or perhaps fears CEO Steve Ballmer will show up unannounced, Microsoft has negotiated envious patent fee payments from nearly all major Android licensees. So there's something fitting about the software giant giving a little something back to Android, by way of an exclusive app -- well for now -- on{X}. Or perhaps it's a Trojan Horse to undo Android phones, chopping up performance or draining battery life. Or maybe Microsoft sees Android users as easy beta testers, considering the more rigorous standards for getting into Apple's App Store than Google Play.

One thing is certain: Early on{X} users despise the app, which has some of the worst reviews you'll see at Google Play. As I post, the app has average rating of 1.8 stars out of five. Among the 244 reviewers, 178 give the app a single star. Ouch! I had planned to grab this one, which is available in beta, but skipped after seeing the scathing response.

Microsoft quietly announced on{X} on June 3, but apparently not loudly enough to be noticed. The app and companion website got a second debut late yesterday, on the Bing blog. So Eran Yariv, principal development manager, had the pleasure of blogging twice about on{X}, which does look cool in concept. Perhaps the app will grow rapidly better. Yariv describes on{X} as a "developer-oriented service that enables us, the developers and technological enthusiasts, to easily program our mobile device to dynamically react to the continuously changing environment". Now there's another good reason for Microsoft making the app an Android affair for now. The enthusiast community of jailbreakers and custom ROMs is active, and many of its members are developers.