Two vendors pay Microsoft for the right to sell cheap Android tablets

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Microsoft today announced patent licensing agreements with two small vendors in the business of selling cheap Android tablets.

Aluratek sells $150 and $220 Android tablets on its website, while Android tablets from another vendor called Coby Electronics can be purchased for only $80. Microsoft is paid royalties on over 70 percent of Android smartphones in the US, striking license agreements with nearly every vendor making any money off Android, and filing patent infringement lawsuits against those who don't pay up.

Microsoft said it will receive royalties from both Aluratek and Coby under the licensing agreements, which cover e-readers, tablets, or potentially other devices running either the Android or Chrome platform. Since launching its "IP licensing program" in 2003, Microsoft has signed more than 1,100 licensing agreements, it says.

“We are proud of the continued success of our licensing program in resolving IP issues surrounding Android and Chrome.... This agreement confirms once again that the best way to resolve IP issues such as those surrounding Android and Chrome is through a reasonable licensing arrangement," Deputy General Counsel Horacio Gutierrez said in today's announcements.

Google itself and the Google-owned Motorola are just about the last not to pay up. But Microsoft's patents aren't the only problem for Android—the Samsung Galaxy Nexus smartphone was pulled from the Google Play store last week because of patent infringement allegations filed by Apple.

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