This is a serious undertaking ...on can ask why,
1. They don't 'need technically MSFT' anything....
Hot topic lately has been mobile Linux connectivity solutions, coming,,...
2. One can wonder if there is a secret diplomacy behind?
3. MSFT has just joined Bluetooth by everyones surprize.
Was this the prize ...?
This playing with MSFT (and the deep pocket$)
is like Odyssey in a cave of cyclopean Polyphemus.
'Cyclops, you ask my name and I will tell it
you; give me, therefore, the present you promised me; my name is
Noman; this is what my father and mother and my friends have alwayscalled me.' darkwing.uoregon.edu
Press Release
December 8, 1999
Microsoft, Ericsson announce strategic partnership to drive mobile Internet market
- Partnership to deliver vision of convenient and fast access to information any time, anywhere, on any device; Ericsson and Microsoft to form joint company
Microsoft Corp. and Ericsson today announced a strategic partnership to develop and market end-to-end solutions for the wireless Internet, based on a shared vision of convenient and fast access to information anytime, anywhere, from any device. Ericsson and Microsoft will form a joint company to market and deliver mobile e-mail solutions for network operators. Ericsson will own the majority share of the new company.
As part of the partnership — the first between the two companies — Ericsson will provide its Wireless Application Protocol (WAP) stack to Microsoft and will adopt Microsoft® Mobile Explorer for feature phones, giving operators, developers and consumers more choice and functionality in developing, delivering and accessing wireless information and services.
The joint company will focus on building, marketing and deploying solutions that utilize Microsoft Windows NT® Server and Exchange platforms, and Ericsson's infrastructure and mobile Internet technologies. This will give wireless operators access to the most reliable and feature-rich communications and mobile data infrastructure.
"The mobile Internet is part of Ericsson's vision of convenient and user-friendly information access and wireless e-mail," said Kurt Hellström, president of Ericsson. "Bringing together Microsoft's strengths in Internet and enterprise messaging software and our leadership as an open communications solutions provider of mobile voice and data will offer tremendous ease of use for consumers all over the world."
"Mobile Internet access and services are crucial for realizing Microsoft's vision of empowering knowledge workers and consumers through software any time, anywhere and on any device," said Steve Ballmer, president, Microsoft. "As the world leader in mobility and mobile communications, Ericsson is an ideal partner to help deliver this vision. This partnership is a strong confirmation of our commitment to help the industry deploy new mobile products and services worldwide."
Microsoft and Ericsson also agreed to collaborate in their support of developing open industry standards — including Universal Plug and Play (UPnP), WAP and Bluetooth — enabling next-generation wireless solutions that work more seamlessly with local area networks and other electronics products.
Companies to Collaborate on Microbrowser Technology
Ericsson will adopt Microsoft Mobile Explorer for feature phones on applicable Ericsson phones and this solution will include the Ericsson WAP stack. This new dual-mode microbrowser displays both HTML and WAP 1.1-compliant content, thus eliminating the need for operators and developers to choose between technologies. Microsoft Mobile Explorer is a modular mobile phone platform for enabling secure corporate data access, e-mail, Internet, location-based services and electronic commerce from feature phones and smart phones. Mobile professionals and consumers benefit by being able to access information and services based on either standard. Network operators benefit from a standard approach that can lower costs while boosting customer loyalty by providing value-added services.
Enabling End-to-End Wireless Messaging and Information Access
With the new joint company, Microsoft and Ericsson will work collaboratively to develop new solutions that seamlessly connect enterprise e-mail with public wireless e-mail services, based on Microsoft Exchange Server and Ericsson wireless infrastructure products. The company will also use the Microsoft messaging platform to optimize client software, access technologies and applications.
The new solutions will allow users to access information, personal information managers (PIMs) and e-mail from any wireless device, while giving carriers the ability to offer services based on the Microsoft Exchange platform.
Companies to Collaborate on Open Standards and New Technologies
Microsoft and Ericsson will fully implement current versions and work with other partners to develop the WAP, Bluetooth technology and UPnP. Also, Ericsson and Microsoft will promote the convergence of WAP and Internet standards to XML, to the benefit of networks operators and customers.
Recognizing the importance of Bluetooth technology, Microsoft and Ericsson will work together and with other Promoters in the Bluetooth SIG to evolve the technology to support future scenarios. In addition to working together to integrate Bluetooth technology into their respective products, Microsoft and Ericsson also have the mutual goal of ensuring a seamless experience for customers of Bluetooth-enabled products.
Press Conference
A press conference will be held tomorrow Thursday December 9, at Grand Hotel, Spegel Salen, Stockholm. The press conference will begin at 2 p.m. CET. There will also be a conference call at 5 p.m. More information about the conference call will be distributed later.
Ericsson is the leading provider in the new telecoms world, with communications solutions that combine telecom and datacom technologies with freedom of mobility for the user. With more than 100,000 employees in 140 countries, Ericsson simplifies communications for its customers – network operators, service providers, enterprises and consumers – the world over.
Please visit Ericsson's Press Room
Press Release
Dec. 8, 1999
Ericsson remains committed to Symbian and EPOC
Ericsson earlier today announced a strategic partnership and joint company with Microsoft, an important addition to Ericsson's strategic work with Bluetooth, Symbian and WAP. Working together on wireless e-mail solutions while fully committed to the support of open standards, Ericsson and Microsoft will each contribute products and know-how to solutions that provide superior benefits to operators and users.
As a innovator of technology such as the Wireless Application Protocol (WAP) and Bluetooth and a contributor to open standards, such as the operating system EPOC, Ericsson fully recognize the need to embrace open standards that are available to a global marketplace. The cooperation does not include joint development or licensing of operating systems.
"The close cooperation between Ericsson and Microsoft does not influence Ericsson's engagement in Symbian or Ericsson's Epoc-based projects," says Jan Ahrenbring, Vice President Marketing and Communications at Ericsson Mobile Communications. "Epoc is a robust, scaleable operating system and it is thanks to the fact that it is scaleable that we can incorporate other applications in our devices."
Ericsson and Microsoft are committing to deliver solutions that meet demand on timeliness, open standards, robustness and scalability. Over the past year, considerable excitement has been building around the opportunities in the mobile Internet marketspace foreseen by Ericsson. Today, it is clear that the mobile device segment is already growing faster than the PC segment. Today, there are around 450 million users of mobile telephony worldwide. Beginning 2001, all new Ericsson mobile phones will be equipped with the Wireless Application Protocol (WAP). In parallel, e-mail has become the killer application for Internet usage – approximately 18 per cent of the 325-million-plus global e-mailboxes added within the past four months. Ericsson is extremely well positioned at this crossroad of mobility and Internet usage that will change personal communications, as we know it over the decade to come.
ericsson.se
Ericsson, Microsoft to Form Mobile Internet Alliance (Update7)
(Adds closing stock prices.)
Stockholm, Dec. 8 (Bloomberg) -- Ericsson AB, the world's
third-largest maker of cellular phones, and Microsoft Corp., the
top software company, said they'll form an alliance to develop
software that brings Internet features to wireless phones.
Microsoft and Ericsson are joining to develop technology to
allow users to access the Internet, e-mail and other desktop
computer functions from their mobile phones. Ericsson will use
Microsoft's new Web browser for cell phones.
Ericsson is trying to catch up with its bigger rivals, Nokia
Oyj and Motorola Inc., as its phone sales slump in a growing
industry. Microsoft, left out of an Internet venture among the
largest wireless phone makers and Psion Plc using rival
technology, will now be able to push its software for computer
access through wireless phones, a market that could dwarf the
personal computer industry Microsoft currently dominates.
''This means enormous possibilities within an area where
only the imagination sets the limit,'' said Frank Larsson, chief
investment officer at Handelsbanken Funds, which manages 40
billion kronor ($4.8 billion) in equities, including Ericsson.
Analysts estimate that by 2003, more than 450 million
cellular phones and palmtop computers will be made, most of which
will offer Internet access, compared with 180 million PCs.
Shares of Ericsson, which will own a majority of the
venture, jumped 12 percent, to 549 kronor. Its American
depositary receipts rose 5 7/16 to 64 1/8. Microsoft shares fell
1 1/4 to 91 3/4.
Post PC
Access to the Internet is key to the rising popularity of
mobile phones. Nokia, Ericsson and Motorola last year entered a
venture, called Symbian, with Psion, to jointly develop software
to reach the Web without wires.
''If mobile phones are a growth industry, then mobile access
to the Web is going to absolutely explode,'' said Jean-Luc
Allain, who manages 2.3 billion euros ($2.4 billion) at Bacot-
Allain Gestion in Paris. ''This market's going to be huge.''
While Ericsson reaffirmed its commitment to use Psion's
technology for the operating systems controlling Internet access
from wireless phones, analysts said the agreement with Microsoft
was a threat to Psion's lead in that market.
''Microsoft gets its Mobile Explorer (software) onto the
phones, then they can start thinking about what's the best
operating system to use on a phone,'' said Tim Luke, an analyst
at Lehman Brothers Inc., who has an ''outperform'' rating on
Ericsson. ''It's a setback for Symbian.''
Psion shares slumped 367.5 pence to 2,638, or 12 percent.
Shares of Phone.com Inc., which will compete with
Microsoft's wireless software, fell 12 9/16 to 142 1/16.
Major Breakthrough
Ericsson will use Microsoft Mobile Explorer, a stripped-down
browser that can read both HTML, or Hyper Text Markup Language,
the code used for Internet information, and WAP's Wireless Markup
Language, a similar language that strips out space-consuming
graphics that small cellular phone screens can't handle well.
The companies said they're still negotiating financial terms
and who will own what stake in the venture. A press conference is
scheduled for tomorrow.
Redmond, Washington-based Microsoft, recognizing that more
Internet users will increasingly access the Web from devices
other than personal computers, is working to develop software
that powers Internet access on a range of devices, from mobile
phones to televisions to handheld computers.
So far Microsoft has failed to establish its products as the
dominant software for accessing the Internet from mobile devices,
trailing competitors such as Psion and 3Com. This agreement gives
Microsoft a leg up in that competition, analysts said.
''This is a major breakthrough for Microsoft, which has been
struggling to establish itself in the wireless market,'' Lehman
analyst Luke said. ''I think the next thing is for them to do a
whole lot of deals with vendors to push their technology into the
wireless world.''
Catch Up
In October, Microsoft announced a 50-50 venture with Japan's
NTT Mobile Communications Network Inc. to offer that company's
cellular phone customers Internet access.
Microsoft has also teamed up with British Telecommunications
Plc to develop Internet and multimedia services for consumers and
businesses to use without wires.
Ericsson has struggled to keep up with Nokia and Motorola.
In the third quarter, Ericsson's cellular phone sales fell 10
percent, a fifth quarterly decline. Nokia saw its phone sales
surge 58 percent in the same quarter. The Microsoft venture may
help Ericsson catch up, investors say.
''I'm encouraged by any deal that shows that Ericsson is
doing anything to catch up,'' said Johan Vystavel, a fund manager
at HWB Capital who owns Ericsson shares.
Rising Use
At the end of October, Ericsson raised estimates for 1999
sales and posted better-than-expected earnings because of rising
demand for network equipment and mobile phones.
The top three companies are all benefiting from forecasts
for rising use of cellular phones. Their stocks rose to records
this week after Nokia said it expects subscribers to almost
triple to 1 billion in three years, a year earlier than its last
forecast.
So far this year, Nokia has more than tripled, while
Ericsson and Motorola have more than doubled.
The joint venture, to be based in Stockholm and initially
have about 100 employees, will start selling products to carriers
in 2001, the company said. |
