Among a plethora of announcements during Microsoft's Build 2014 developer conference, the company has announced that its Windows Phone and Windows OS are now free for devices smaller than 9-inches.


The decision does not come as a surprise considering that smartphone and tablet makers would rather opt for free Android OS rather than shell out US $100 or $50 for the OS that is less popular.

Of course, as it was usually the case with Microsoft, there is a slight catch. The Windows Phone and Windows OS will be available for free but only on devices that are smaller than 9-inch.

The move marks Microsoft's stronger push in the mobile and portable market and we expect to see a flood of entry-level devices running on Microsoft OS quite soon.