Silicon Investor (SI) -- The First Internet Community

STOCKTALK

We've detected that you're using an ad content blocking browser plug-in or feature. Ads provide a critical source of revenue to the continued operation of Silicon Investor. We ask that you disable ad blocking while on Silicon Investor in the best interests of our community. If you are not using an ad blocker but are still receiving this message, make sure your browser's tracking protection is set to the 'standard' level.

Technology Stocks : Nokia Corp. (NOK) -- Ignore unavailable to you. Want to Upgrade?

To: Eric L who wrote (2067)	3/3/2002 6:11:57 PM
From: Eric L	Read Replies (1) \| Respond to of 9255

re: Redmond Takes on Espoo Juha Christensen, Microsoft's mobility VP, called WAP, MMS and other mobile standards that separate the desktop and mobile Internet experience "garbage." Will Your Next Phone Be Made in Redmond, Wash.? Ed Sutherland ThinkMobile February 25, 2002 Software goliath Microsoft, besieged by lawsuits and faced with dropping desktop sales, last week turned its attention to the mobile marketplace. Nokia, the No. 1 producer of cell phones should be worried, very worried says the Redmond, Wash.-based giant. Why? Microsoft execs say they are gunning for Nokia, hoping their Smartphone operating system will power a quarter of the cell phones sold. Microsoft currently has zero percent of the smart phone market. Smart phones combine the functions of a cell phone and PDA into one unit. The most recognized smart phone is Handspring's Treo. Juha Christensen, Microsoft's mobility VP, opened up on the No. 1 producer and designer of cell phones, saying the software maker is talking with several major phone makers who are looking for alternatives to Nokia. Christensen also called WAP, MMS and other mobile standards that separate the desktop and mobile Internet experience "garbage." >> Mobile Phones Another Market For Windows No wonder Microsoft wants little daylight between the desktop and mobile Internet. Sendo, a British startup looking to unveil its Z100 smart phone in March, points to the six million developers producing Windows applications as the reason it picked Microsoft's Smartphone OS. Like movie studios discovering videotape and DVDs as a new market for their releases, Microsoft has discovered the mobile world as a new market for its Windows-based software. Microsoft's recent partnership with Intel to produce smartphone designs could mean the duo would dominate the mobile phone industry, dictating how handsets are developed and what applications are delivered. Microsoft, controls 80 percent of the desktop OS market and Intel owns 80 percent of desktop chip sales. This new-found interest in mobility comes as the desktop market is at a financial low point. Just look at the numbers. Desktop Sales Drop as Phone Sales Climb Both Microsoft -- which licenses its Windows OS and sells PC software -- and Intel depend heavily on a healthy desktop market. During 2001, desktop PC sales in the U.S. dropped 25 percent. Gartner Dataquest says handhelds will grow 44 percent over the next two years while PC sales will grow less than half that amount -- 21 percent -- over the same time. Then look at the profit margin: 50 percent for handhelds; PCs often sell at a loss. What are Nokia, Ericsson and Motorola doing to fend off the desktop invasion? Nokia said last week it will include its own "series 60" smart phone software in a Texas Instrument chip to be sold to other companies as a reference design. Nokia says it will release a phone in the U.S. based on the Symbian smart phone OS later in 2002. Symbian, created to counterbalance Microsoft, is supported by Nokia, Ericsson and Motorola, among others. In one of those interesting twists of fate, Christensen, now a Microsoft VP, co-founded Symbian. PC Sector Becomes Mobile Fans Lest one assume the mobile sector could turn into another Microsoft against the World scenario, other firms known more for their desktop offerings are stepping into the wireless arena. AMD, a rival to Intel, earlier in February bought Alchemy Semiconductor, an Austin-based designer of processors for PDAs and wireless devices. Long-time Microsoft-foe Sun Microsystems joined recently with Apple and Ericsson to develop video and music for cell phones. In the end, what will Microsoft's and Intel's entry into the mobile market mean for the industry? The introduction of powerful brands will only accelerate changes already predicted for 2002. In this instance, change is good. << - Eric -