A new post on Microsoft Careers suggests that Microsoft still hasn't given up on running Android apps on Windows Phone in some way.
The job listing, first spotted by @h0x0d, opens with "Do you want to be the game changer in bringing more apps to Windows platform?". The lack of some important apps is an age old, important problem with the Windows Phone ecosystem. There have been countless rumours in the past that suggested Microsoft was looking into the possibility of enabling Android apps to run on its platform - just like BlackBerry did - and this job listing again suggests it's still on the table.
The post contains a plethora of references to competing app platforms and improving their own:
Our team is building next generation application platform that will change how Windows devices and services are perceived and received by our customers and developers. We are enabling an app platform that can enrich Windows in incredibly fast and efficient ways for our developers.
We are looking for a Senior Program Manager with expertise on Windows as well as competitors app platforms. Do you have experience writing apps on different platforms? (...) [You] need to have a deeper understanding in at least one of the competitors app platforms and associated cloud services.
This could mean creating an Android runtime to enable Android apps on Windows Phone without the need for any porting or rewriting of code, but it could also mean creating tools for easily converting Android (and iOS?) apps to native Windows Phone apps.
Then there are the recent rumours of Microsoft investing in Cyanogen, the popular, community built Android distribution, maybe this job is related to that.
Of course the details of the job listing are, as always, very vague, the job could very well be none of the above, the only thing we know for sure is Microsoft is working on a "next generation app platform" to change the perception of Windows Phone and its app gap.
