Google, Microsoft Crush Dual-Boot Tablet Dreams

A dual-boot tablet that runs both Android and Windows 8.1? Fuggedaboudit—at least that’s what Microsoft (MSFT) and Google (GOOG) are saying this week, confirming earlier reports that the oft-hyped Asus TD300 hybrid tablet is indeed a goner.

The world got its first glimpse at the Asus Transformer Book Duet TD300 during the Consumer Electronics Show this year, with all the promise of a tablet capable of running Android’s 4.4.2 OS in addition with Windows 8.1. But the harmonious merger of Android and Windows was not to last, as Asus has indefinitely postponed its plans to sell the device, according to The Wall Street Journal.

Last week, Digitimes reported that Google had some qualms with Asus’ dual-boot tablet, saying that the mobile OS leader didn’t want to inadvertently give Microsoft a leg up on smartphone sales by offering users the ability to utilize both operating systems. And now, it seems that Microsoft is just as eager to forget that the TD300 ever existed, even though the company potentially could have profited from a larger user base if a dual-boot tablet was to be released.

When asked about the cancellation of the dual-boot tablet, Microsoft told the WSJ that it “will continue to invest with OEM’s to promote the best-in-class OEM and Microsoft experiences to our joint customers.” Google did not comment.

So while those in the dual-boot camp have been dealt a major defeat, they aren’t the only ones hurt by the premature cancellation of the TD300. Asus is bound to lose a good deal of money on the device, and chipset maker Intel (INTC) is being billed as the biggest casualty in Google and Microsoft’s little spat. According to InformationWeek, Intel has put a significant amount of faith in the hybrid OS market, with the company manufacturing all of Asus’s chips for the doomed TD300. Now that the tablet is no more, Intel is not only left with potentially thousands of useless processors, but it is also behind yet again when it comes to gaining ground in the smartphone market.

And if Google and Microsoft can’t agree on a hybrid tablet, what’s to stop them from canning any future hybrid smartphones coming down the pipe, including the one recently announced by Huawei? InformationWeek reported the smartphone maker confirmed its hybrid phone would be sold in the United States later this year, but that could change if Microsoft and Google truly are unhappy with a joint device. With all of the commotion surrounding Asus’s doomed hybrid, don’t be surprised if you see similar news coming out of Huawei’s camp before the year is over.