Mobile telecommunications company Vodafone on Monday signed an agreement with software giant Microsoft (News - Alert) to develop and standardize its mobile phone applications.

 

In a press release, Vodafone explained that the deal dictates the two companies “will work in close co-operation aiming to ensure that Vodafone applications and services are tightly integrated with a Windows Mobile experience, resulting in improved mobile phone functionality as well as an enhanced mobile experience for customers.”

 

The Microsoft agreement is part of a larger initiative on Vodafone’s part to streamline its current mobile phone platform portfolio. The company said that, during the next five years, it will be reducing costs and increasing efficiencies by focusing on three mobile phone platforms: Microsoft Windows Mobile, Symbian/S60 and Linux.

 

Sometime during the first half of 2007, Vodafone said, it will be launching the first device—in partnership with Samsung (News - Alert)—to use software that’s part of the three-platform initiative.

 

Vodafone’s Global Director of Terminals, Jens Schulte-Bockum, said in a statement that, “By focusing on these three core terminal platforms, Vodafone expects to be able to reap the benefits of a range of efficiencies such as reduced handset development costs, as well as the quicker and more cost effective roll out of new services.

 

Schulte-Bockum added: “This initiative aims to ensure that we do not have to create a different set of software to provide services on a wide range of platforms, so that our customers benefit from enhanced yet simple-to-use services and lower costs.”

 

A Reuters report Monday noted that to date there has been little standardization in the mobile software market, and as a result “applications such as e-mail, instant messaging and music players currently have to be written in an array of different software languages to enable them to work on different handsets.”

 

Reuters quoted Microsoft Mobile and Embedded Devices Senior Vice President Pieter Knook as saying that Vodafone is not alone in wanting to cut down on costs associated with developing so many different software platforms.

 

“Vodafone is the first to go into this direction, but there are others doing similar things and we will be talking about them in due course,” Knook said in the Reuters report.

 

Reuters also noted that of the three systems Vodafone has chosen to focus on, Symbian/S60 is the most popular because it was created by Nokia (News - Alert)—and that company uses the platform on all of its smartphones.

 

Series 60 software, Reuters noted (citing data from research group Canalys), is used on 79 percent of the 7.3 million smartphones sold during third quarter 2006 in Europe, Middle East and Africa. Windows Mobile was used with 17 percent of phones.

 

Linux, meanwhile, will be used on Vodafone’s cheaper phone models, Reuters said.

 

 Mae Kowalke previously wrote for Cleveland Magazine in Ohio and The Burlington Free Press in Vermont. To see more of her articles, please visit Mae Kowalke’s columnist page. Also check out her Wireless Mobility blog.