The End of Windows Phone?

Windows Phone has all but died on the vine, and with less than 2 percent market share, it is unlikely to gain any new ground given the pummeling it is receiving from the twin mobile titans of iOS and Android.

But one of those foes actually offers Microsoft a possible lifeline, and a way to make a bigger impact in the mobile space. It's time for Microsoft to dump Windows Phone and start making Android smartphones.

Calm down folks, this isn't as crazy as it sounds. In fact, Microsoft's been quietly putting a lot of the groundwork for such a switch in place.

First off, Microsoft has been working hard to bring a whole array of its tools and services to the platform. Office, OneDrive, Skype, along with all its cornerstone services, are already available to Android users (and, for that matter, iOS users too). And Microsoft is adding to this list all the time, such as with its acquisition of SwiftKey (which, ironically, was an app that was never made available for Windows Phone).