Charles,

Android continues to increase its market share, rising to > 80% of smartphones shipped in most recent 2013 figures. Yep, already at over 50% market share with 80% of new shipments going the Android way. Mathematically impossible to catch up when Android already has lapped WP 10 times and is speeding away into the distance. The race now is between Android device manufacturers- currently led by Korean firms Samsung and LG.

Just as Windows ruled by being overwhelming incumbent making it pointless to consider alternatives, Android has done the same for the foreseeable future on devices apart from Apple that continues to occupy its own curious wealthy niche. So all MS is doing is burning through cash to avoid having to admit that the emperor has no clothes. In time Google will be delighted to concoct a series of virtual small boys to shout out the truth- or maybe not, because in the internet age most people already know and it's not a problem for Google if MS sacrifices billions of $ of shareholder value to a lost cause.