MSFT Moves into Wireless:
Microsoft Works to Extend Software's Reach to Wireless
Sep. 9 (San Jose Mercury News/KRTBN)--PASADENA, Calif.--
Microsoft Corp. has been quietly crafting a plan to link up with the world's largest cellular phone operators, and extend its dominance of the computer software industry into the budding wireless arena.
The plan involves a new platform, code-named "AirStream," which Microsoft says will bring some order to the chaotic process of crafting software and services for devices such as mobile phones and wireless handheld computers. The software giant is already working on AirStream with U.K.-based Vodafone, the world's largest cellular phone operator, and has also been in talks with AT&T and Spain's Telefonica.
The software giant spoke about its wireless plans at DEMOmobile 2000, an annual conference focused on the future of mobile technology. A prevailing theme here was using the Internet-connected PC to shepherd a growing herd of phones and handhelds that are scattered all over the world, often on wireless networks that don't allow them to communicate easily with each other.
"At Microsoft, we're working on all of the pieces of that puzzle," said Ben Waldman, vice president of the mobile devices division. "There's a lot that has to happen with security, authentication, content transfer and synchronization."
Microsoft software already has a dominant presence on the wired PC network, with the Windows operating system, Exchange and Outlook for e-mail, and the Internet Explorer Web browser. But there is new territory to be won as mobile devices become more powerful and capable of handling functions once reserved for desktop and laptop computers. The company recently made a push in the handheld market, developing the PocketPC operating system for PDAs.
As it stands now, Microsoft has considerably less power in the mobile universe. Mobile phone makers today have proprietary operating systems on the more than 600 million handsets, and Palm Inc. has about 90 percent market share in handheld computer operating systems. Phone.com has a commanding lead in the market for Web browsers on mobile devices.
Meanwhile, Microsoft has been showing off a prototype cell phone using a scaled-down version of Windows and the Explorer browser.
"It's kind of the hope that the services that are provided at the back end will be the thing that drives the phone manufacturers to the platform," said Rob Enderle, vice president for desktop and mobile technology at Giga Information Group.
"They've got a fundamental belief that the same kind of thing that made their technology attractive to the PC manufacturers and the handheld manufacturers will prove attractive to the phone folks. There is still an awful lot of doubt that vendors for phones are going to accept Microsoft."
Still, there is a lot of room for quick change in the wireless arena, a fact that was apparent at the DEMOmobile conference. Many of the companies that presented their products focused on ways to send data to a slew of devices in a myriad of formats, and touted their ability to adapt to whatever technologies emerged as the standard.
By Jon Fortt
Thanks TM for the email! |
