Microsoft Shifts Windows Mobile Into High Gear

With innovation beginning to snowball in the mobile devices space and smartphones expected to represent the lion’s share of market growth on that front, the industry has focused much attention on the operating systems for these sleek voice- and data-optimized handsets. To date an underdog in this crowded field, Microsoft Corp. made a bid for dominance in the space with the launch of Windows Mobile 6.0 at the recent 3GSM World Congress event in Barcelona, Spain.

The choice of operating system is an important one for carriers and their channel partners, because of the laptop-like processing power these handhelds offer. “Any smartphone has a defined operating system,” says Bill Hughes, an analyst at In-Stat. “It is an application platform to which developers can write, and others can sell on the basis of that into a vertical market with a customized offer.”

T-Mobile Dash users will be able to upgrade to Windows Mobile 6.0 for free via the T-Mobile Web site.

The established smartphone operating systems are BlackBerry, Palm Inc. and Symbian, with Windows Mobile 5.0 gaining a decent market share in 2006, thanks in part to its native ability to synch with Microsoft Exchange, according to In-Stat. Linux is another OS option, although it only supports Java applications, making for a limited palette for developers and carrier services. Now, to set itself apart from the competition and win a bigger slice of the market, Microsoft has partnered with a range of device manufacturers and operators to get the Windows Mobile 6.0 OS into the marketplace in a bigger way and, taking a page from its nemesis Apple Inc., launched the software within purpose-built devices that show off its new capabilities. To wit, Microsoft is working with HP, HTC, Motorola Inc., Palm, Samsung Electronics Co. Ltd. and other handset makers, in collaboration with carrier partners such as T-Mobile USA Inc. in the United States, Orange in Europe and SoftBank in Japan.

“The difference between the Apple iPhone and these is that we bring the knowledge of how to partner for success,” says Pieter Knook, senior vice president of the mobile and embedded device division at Microsoft. “The iPhone is a nice device — and an expensive device. We know how to partner with device makers and operators and bring technology to market.”

For its part, T-Mobile has seen an 80 percent increase in data device adoption quarter over quarter since the T-Mobile Dash launched with Windows Mobile 5.0 in October, says Leslie Grandy, vice president of product and service development for T-Mobile. “And so, we think Windows Mobile 6.0 will drive consumer adoption now,” she adds. “It’s a great opportunity.” The AT&T Inc. business formerly known as Cingular Wireless, and Verizon Wireless also have committed to supporting the operating system.

The new Windows Mobile features a simplification of the user interface, including a reduced number of keystrokes to get to often-used functions, native support for full versions of Microsoft Office applications (enabling users to launch and view full documents), an improved browser, and support for its new search and communications management portal service, Windows Live. “This release is a culmination of hundreds of hours of usability testing,” says John O’Rourke, general manager of product management at Microsoft, adding that simplicity will spark user adoption.

The mobile version of Windows Live is perhaps the biggest change in the OS. It allows users to search the Web directly from the mobile home page, and also consolidates e-mail, IM and other collaborative services. “With Live, users can log in, get their mail and have presence functionality,” says O’Rourke. “Contacts have pictures and presence status, and there’s one-click access to IM or calling.” Live can support up to five different mailboxes as well, and offers a single button stroke to perform common tasks like message forward or reply. It also supports HTML mail, meaning users can choose from different sizes and colors of fonts, and insert pictures.

For management, users can perform alpha-numeric searches of call histories, Outlook histories, the SIM card and MS Live mail — and can connect back to search the Microsoft Exchange server. It also has extensive calendaring functionality.

Microsoft has seen 90 percent growth year over year since fiscal year 2005, and Windows Mobile 6.0 is the platform that will solidify Microsoft’s place in the mobile OS pantheon, the company says. “This marks a moment in time for us as a product organization,” says Knook. “One year ago, England was trounced by Scotland in football. Just recently, England trounced Scotland. And just like that, there are turnarounds in this industry too, of which we are one.”

Download your free copy of our 3GSM eBook, “Where Mobile Goes Global,” at www.xchangemag.com/ebooks. This issue includes stories about:

• The Bumper Crop of New Wireless Devices
• Post-Merger Strategies of the Kings of Combo
• Great Expectations for Capitalizing on SMS
• The Latest from Google, Tellabs, Yahoo!, and Others