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February 13, 2006
Microsoft Wants a Big Piece of BlackBerry Pie
TMCnet Associate Editor
Microsoft announced today that it is planning to roll out several new handheld devices designed to compete with Research in Motion’s ever-popular BlackBerry messaging device.
During the 3GSM Congress in Barcelona, Spain, Microsoft announced that it had won backing from several major cellular carriers - including Vodafone Group and Cingular Wireless - for a new generation of phones which will deliver e-mail to users via the company’s Windows Mobile operating system. Several cell phone and computer manufacturers, including Hewlett-Packard, have announced that they will be making BlackBerry-like devices featuring Microsoft's "push email" solution.
The news comes in advance of a Feb. 24 court hearing at which a federal judge may decide to issue an injunction against RIM to shut down its BlackBerry service in the U.S.
RIM faces a patent infringement case brought against it by NTP Inc., which holds several patents for specific software architectures used for sending and receiving email messages on mobile devices. RIM announced last week that it has a “workaround” solution (i.e. a new version of its messaging software) to keep its BlackBerry devices running in the event of a court-ordered shutdown.
Unlike the BlackBerry and its current competitors, phones running Windows Mobile can receive emails which are “pushed” directly from a company’s message server - without the need for a separate mobile server or additional license payments.
Despite this and other advantages afforded through Windows Mobile, most analysts think it will be a while before Microsoft can catch up with the success of the BlackBerry - which during the past several years has grown to become an “essential” device for hundreds of thousands of professionals and executives, who need the ability to manage the office remotely while “on the road.” All together, there are more than 4 million BlackBerry users worldwide.
RIM’s CEO Jim Balsillie said in published reports today that despite the challenge by Microsoft, he expects the BlackBerry will remain the “standard” for mobile email for many years to come. He pointed out that although Windows Mobile has an advantage with its “push email” abilities (it does not require a stand alone email server), it isn’t as inexpensive - or as secure - as Microsoft claims it is.
“It’s insecure,” Balsillie said in a report on Reuters. “And Microsoft and Nokia use about five times more of the network than we do. Network capacity is scarce and battery power is scarce. That’s why operators can price BlackBerry aggressively.”
Microsoft is reportedly hoping to attract customers to its mobile e-mail service by offering a low price - particularly for corporate clients already using its Exchange Server 2003 software for managing e-mail accounts.
Ben Wood, an analyst with Gartner, was quoted in the Wall Street Journal as saying Microsoft's solution "still has some issues" in terms of the functionality it offers.
“RIM’s solution is richer in terms of some of the security and management features,” Wood told the Journal.
Some analysts, however, see this as a serious threat to RIM, and are predicting that Microsoft will eventually take over as the leading mobile e-mail provider.
HP and three other handset makers are expected to unveil the first smartphones equipped with Windows Mobile "push e-mail" technology today during the “opening day ceremonies” of the 3GSM World Congress. HP’s device to support the new technology is its new iPAQ HW6900 Mobile Messenger, which offers Bluetooth and WiFi connectivity.
Vodafone will reportedly sell the new phones under its own brand, in a joint marketing deal, targeting companies that already run Microsoft’s Exchange software on their servers.
Exchange is the collaborative “glue” behind Microsoft’s popular Outlook application, which also manages appointments and electronic address books.
Together with Cingular Wireless, Orange and T-Mobile, Vodafone will also deliver phone software upgrades to subscribers who are already running the Windows Mobile 5.0 operating system on their smart phones.
Patrick Barnard is Associate Editor for TMCnet and a columnist covering the telecom industry. To see more of his articles, please visit Patrick Barnard’s columnist page.
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