LAS VEGAS -(Dow Jones)- While Microsoft Corp. (MSFT) wants to expand beyond
business customers, it remains to be seen if the mix of improvements to its
Windows Mobile operating system will be able to get the job done.
The Redmond, Wash., software giant has pushed hard to get its foot in the
mobile door through its operating system, and now wants to bust it open. At the
CTIA Wireless trade show on Wednesday, it unveiled the latest version of its
operating system, which features tweaks to improve the user interface and better
appeal to consumers. Some critics, however, said the improvements won't be
sufficient to truly reach out to the mass market.
"Windows Mobile has been quite successful at meeting the needs of the
enterprise user," said Avi Greengart, an analyst at market research firm Current
Analysis. "That said, I eagerly await a complete overhaul of the user
interface."
Microsoft has made strides in getting its software into smartphones. The
company boasts that Windows Mobile will power 20 million smartphones. That
trails only privately held Symbian Ltd., which runs most of Nokia Corp.'s (NOK)
handsets, which also includes simpler phones.
As a result, it's better known in corporate circles. But the company wants to
reach out to more consumers. The shift comes at a time when more consumers are
considering upgrading their basic handsets.
"Windows Mobile is not just for business phones," said Robert Bach, head of
the entertainment and devices unit of Microsoft, in an interview with Dow Jones
Newswires. "It's a phone for people."
Windows Mobile has been regarded as a solid tool for professionals, but never
really appealed to casual consumers. The Apple Inc. (AAPL) iPhone's user
interface and Safari Web browser, for example, are seen as offering a better
experience.
Microsoft's newest version, Windows Mobile 6.1, allows users to more easily
surf full Web pages on the cellphone than they could in the past. The company
also upgraded the user interface so things are easier to reach and set-up. The
new version will be made available to phone manufacturers in the third quarter,
with devices hitting the market by the end of the year.
Many of the different upgraded features are found in other phones, Back said,
but he argued the innovation comes from the combination of the multiple changes
into one package.
There are no new game-changers in the latest update, but changes are
definitely needed, according to Maribel Lopez, founder and analyst at telecom
consultancy firm Lopez Research.
The upgraded operating system is the latest move that Microsoft has made to go
after the consumer market. In February, the company agreed to acquire privately
held Danger Inc., which makes software for the Sidekick mobile text devices. In
November, it acquired Musiwave SA, which provides mobile music services to
carriers and media companies.
If Microsoft Corp. can successfully pull off its announced acquisition of
Yahoo Inc. (YHOO), it could gain a major edge in the mobile arena. Yahoo has
been making a similarly strong push with its Yahoo Go mobile Web browser.
Bach declined to comment on the progress of any potential deal.
"I haven't spent much time looking at it," he said about the potential to fold
Yahoo's mobile business into Microsoft. "We'll wait and see how they come out."
On the enterprise side, Microsoft said it would make available its System
Center Mobile Device Manager, which allows corporate IT managers to better run
the smartphones on their internal company systems.
The service also includes better security and allows the smartphones to create
a virtual private network connection to the corporate system.
Microsoft, however, faces stiff competition from Research in Motion Ltd. (
RIMM). A legion of corporate workers still rely on their Blackberry email
devices, and the company has a lock on much of the enterprise market. Apple,
meanwhile, recently unveiled a set of enterprise programs in an attempt to get
into the segment.
Bach noted phones with Windows Mobile were comfortably ahead of the iPhone and
Blackberry devices.
-By Roger Cheng, Dow Jones Newswires; 201-938-2020; roger.cheng@dowjones.com
(END) Dow Jones Newswires
04-01-08 1816ET
Copyright (c) 2008 Dow Jones & Company, Inc.