Microsoft shows increased interest in Android by buying Echo Notification Lockscreen

For a company with its own mobile operating system to worry about (yes, there is a new build of Windows 10 Mobile on the way soon) Microsoft shows an awful lot of interest in the competition. After making an appearance at Apple's iPad Pro and iPhone 6s launch event, Microsoft has made an Android-related acquisition.

The newly-purchased Echo Notification Lockscreen is the second Android lockscreen app that the company now has to its name; Echo Notification Lockscreen joins Microsoft Next. The company says it is about taking "productivity to the next level" and improving users' experience.

Julie Larson-Green, Microsoft' Chief Experience Officer, says that current lockscreens lack personalized information, and it's clearly something she's looking to address. As it stands at the moment, Echo Notification Lockscreen boasts over a million installations and has gained itself a wealth of positive reviews from users who are impressed intelligent notification grouping, alert snoozing, and music controls.

At the moment it is not clear whether Microsoft wants to keep the app as it is, or whether the purchase is a strategic move to acquire technology and patents that will be used in future products. The company has already shown that it is not afraid to put iOS and Android ahead of its own mobile operating system. With Windows 10, there has been a renewed interest in notifications, and it will be interesting to see whether the features of Echo Notification Lockscreen make the transition from mobile to desktop.

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