CTIA: Microsoft Backs Mobile Services Company
13461
Microsoft is backing a new company that will help enterprises design, deploy, and manage Windows Mobile phones and services.
128365
InfoWorld - SAN FRANCISCO -- At the CTIA Wireless IT &amp; Entertainment 2004 conference Monday, Mike Wehrs, Microsoft&#8217;s director of technology &amp; standards for its Mobility Division, disclosed some details about Big Red&#8217;s future mobile plans.
606537
Some of the first Windows Mobile 6.0 phones to hit the market will include Opera Software ASA's mobile browser, in addition to Microsoft Corp.'s browser.
179949
Windows Mobile will continue to power smartphones produced by Microsoft partners, Gates says.
616329
Microsoft Corp.  introduced  software on Monday to manage advanced mobile phones much like  personal computers, taking aim at a business dominated by  Research in Motion's  BlackBerry.
745492
(InfoWorld) - In an effort to show wide support for its newest Windows Mobile operating system, Microsoft is highlighting several announcements from handset makers on Monday at 3GSM in Barcelona. Device manufacturers including Toshiba and LG Electronics are announcing plans to offer phones based onÂ the new Windows Mobile 6.0. Some operators are also allowing customers to upgrade from the previous Windows Mobile software. T-Mobile USA Inc., for example, plans to announce on Monday that it will offer an upgrade to the new operating system to customers who are using the HTC device running Windows Mobile 5.0 Most of the phones running Windows Mobile 6.0 will become available in March or April. Analysts and competitors have criticized the Windows Mobile platform for being available on a smaller range of phones than other operating systems, specifically Nokia's Symbian S60. But Microsoft argues that it is offering the best choice to users. "We are now promoting 140 different form factors from 48 device makers," said Marianne Roling, director of mobile embedded devices for Europe, Middle East and Africa for Microsoft. "We're seeing lots of traction." British Telecommunications PLC (BT) said Monday that it is taking advantage of Windows Mobile 6.0's built-in VOIP (voice over Internet Protocol) capabilities by selling a Hewlett-Packard device running the software to customers of its converged Fusion service. TheÂ HP iPaq 514Â running Windows Mobile 6.0 will be offered to business users of the service, which lets customers make low-cost VOIP-over-Wi-Fi calls as well as standard mobile calls. Users can roam between the two networks without dropping calls. Windows Mobile 6.0 includes support for wireless VOIP but users need to subscribe to a service like BT's Fusion in order to seamlessly move between the networks, Roling said. Microsoft also plans to announce on Monday that The Carphone Warehouse Group will offer a hosted mobile e-mail service to small and medium-size businesses based on a hosted server product from Microsoft. End users, who may use Windows Mobile 6.0 phones, will pay a monthly fee for the service.
180188
A pair of Taiwanese companies signed a technology agreement to develop 3G (third generation telecommunications) and 3.5G smartphones around the Windows Mobile OS, adding to the growing pool of companies developing mobile phones around the Microsoft Corp. software.
485102
A Russian mobile-phone operator, Mobile TeleSystems, is the latest service provider to team with Microsoft to offer Windows-based PCs through the companyâs Unlimited Potential program.
436212
PalmOne Inc. PLMO.O, the leading  maker of handheld computers on Tuesday said it licensed  Microsoft Corp. MSFT.O software that enables secure delivery  of corporate e-mail to portable devices.
311243
Mobile phones play an important role in Microsoft&#39;s software plus services vision, CEO Steve Ballmer said Tuesday.Microsoft&#39;s software strategy a few years ago revolved around software that was either embedded on devices or burned onto CDs and shipped to users, he said. Today, however, software works in tandem with the Internet, which can back up and update the software.&quot;There&#39;s no better way then the cell networks of the world to make this model happen,&quot; he said, speaking during the opening presentation at the CTIA Wireless IT and Entertainment conference in San Francisco. He envisions a time when software is wirelessly updated and works in tandem with services hosted on the Internet.But the software plus services concept won&#39;t be different for the PC and the mobile phone, he said. At the top of Microsoft&#39;s innovation agenda is unifying a variety of devices and applications. Microsoft is focused on enabling developers to create single applications that take advantage of phones, desktop computers, the enterprise environment, and the online environment, he said.Microsoft is enabling that in part by offering a consistent platform that developers can use to create applications for the PC and mobile phones. For example, a developer can write a thin client for mobile phones using HTML, Ajax, and, in the future, Silverlight. Microsoft&#39;s .Net and Visual Studio can be used to write rich applications for mobile phones. Microsoft also offers a compact version of SQL so that developers can write applications for Windows Mobile phones for database manipulation.The phone is particularly important in achieving Microsoft&#39;s unified view, he said. &quot;The PC is the most powerful device, but the phone is the most popular,&quot; he said. Particularly in the developing world where PC&#39;s may be cost prohibitive, cell phones may be more widespread.Microsoft is focused on providing software for partners to use and it is working carefully not to compete with them, he said. Unlike Google, Microsoft won&#39;t be participating in the upcoming 700MHz spectrum auction. &quot;What would it buy us to own a piece of spectrum?&quot; he said. &quot;It would probably do a lot to alienate the telecom industry. It does not do a lot to advance our goal, which is to take some exciting technology and spread it.&quot;Windows Mobile is a big opportunity financially for Microsoft from two perspectives, he said. If Windows Mobile runs hundreds of millions of devices, that&#39;s a great business for Microsoft, he said. &quot;Also, I don&#39;t think we can serve our customers&#39; broad desire to bring together desktops, devices, enterprise, and online if we ignore the mobile area,&quot; he said.
594663
PalmOne Inc., the leading maker of handheld computers, said Tuesday it licensed Microsoft Corp. software that enables secure delivery of corporate e-mail to portable devices.
482148
In an effort to show wide support for its newest Windows Mobile operating system, Microsoft Corp. is highlighting several announcements from handset makers on Monday at 3GSM in Barcelona.
222943
Microsoft  has struck a deal  with MTS , Russia's largest mobile phone operator, to  offer services and laptops installed with its Vista operating  system on subscription as it reaches out to small businesses.
286571
Microsoft has fixed a problem with Windows Mobile Device Center that made it difficult for Windows Mobile devices to sync with Vista.
297052
Wireless giant Qualcomm (Quote, Chart) has inked a licensing deal with Microsoft (Quote, Chart) it claims will make it easier to play audio and video on its handsets.
693069
The world's largest mobile phone maker, Nokia, and software giant Microsoft struck a deal on Monday to make it easier for consumers to buy digital music on-line and play it back on their handsets.
499134
Microsoft on announced it has inked a pact to put mobile versions of its Windows Live services onto handsets made by one of its chief competitors.