Microsoft has recently announced it will make Windows free of charge for phones and tablets with screen size smaller than 9 inches.

This move has the potential to help catapult Microsoft's market share in the long run. The company has done this keeping emerging markets in mind, where various device manufacturers have seen substantial profit and demand for low-cost to mid-priced devices. This could also help Microsoft counter Google's dominance with its free Android platform.

According to Microsoft, "It is an attempt to broaden the small user base of mobile versions of Windows, with the hope that more customers will be using Microsoft's money-making, cloud-based services such as Skype and Office."

For many years now, the Redmond-based company has been charging device makers with a price between $5 and $15 per device to use its Windows platform. The manufacturers factor the platform cost into the selling price of individual devices.

With the advent and the popularity of Google's free Android platform for phones and tablets, Microsoft was the hard-hit among the rest, owing to the fact that the device manufacturers embraced the free platform with open arms, which eventually led to Microsoft losing its significance in the mobile market.

Google's Android accounts for more than 75% of all smartphones sold in 2013, while Apple's iPhone holds the second position.

According to the research firm Gartner, Windows-based phones occupied only 3% of the global smartphone market, while Windows tablets accounted for 2% of the tablet market.

Also, Microsoft also announced its interest in letting developers make universal applications that work in all devices powered by Microsoft's OS, which includes both Windows Phone and Windows. This particular aspect is expected to land on Windows Phone 8.1 and Windows 8.1.

According to The Verge, "Microsoft has been trying out a free, or low-cost version of 'Windows 8.1 with Bing,' that is expected to include several Microsoft apps and services aimed at Windows 7 users. The company referred to the free version as 'Windows for Internet of Things,' and this package includes a free year of Office 365."