The deal with RIM follows closely on the heels of a similar licensing agreement between . Just over a month ago, Sharp licensed the exFAT technology for use in its Android smartphones.

Microsoft makes more money from licensing fees on Android devices than it generates from . By some estimates, Microsoft in the last quarter from Android licensing fees alone.

The more companies license exFAT, the more exFAT becomes entrenched as a standard, and the more likely it is that other platforms and mobile device vendors will adopt it as well. This probably won't be the last deal Microsoft signs to license exFAT.