Chalk this up in the unconfirmed column, but a new report adds an interesting shade to the Windows Blue story.
According to some prognosticating over at DigiTimes, Microsoft is developing Blue to help merge Windows 8 and Windows Phone into one product. The team working on Blue is reportedly working independently of crews in either of those departments.
The idea, DigiTimes said, is to create an operating system to compete with Google's Android and Chrome platforms.
The Softies are reportedly skittish about Google partnering with PC brand vendors to create Chromebooks and Android-based notebooks. A report from last week (also from DigiTimes) hinted at "Androidbooks" coming down the line from Google.
Not an easy thing to do
It's unclear if Blue - which will be called something different publicly - will merely serve as a stepping stone in the path towards integration or have immediate mash-up capabilities at launch.
DigiTimes also mentioned an October release for another, next-gen operating system Microsoft is developing, though again it's hard to tell if the pub is pointing to Blue or something else, such as Windows 9.
We've heard Blue updates will extend to other Microsoft platforms besides the PC, even catching wind of a Windows Phone Blue revamp, so this new rumor could tie into Blue's supposed cross-platform applications.
While intriguing, DigiTimes was quick to point out that fusing PC and mobile OSes together "will pose great difficulties" for both Microsoft and Google. It's a bit of a no-brainer observation, but also serves as a reminder that it could take yet more time before we ever see a mobile-to-PC crossover from either firm.
DigiTimes didn't give much in the way of verification for its info, so this could all turn out to be little more than conjecture. Lucky for us, Blue's mysteries should get solved in a few short months.
