|
News
Issue #2002 - 15
(April 2002)
(Updated Apr.
17, 2002)
INFRASTRUCTURE, PRODUCTS & SERVICES
Microsoft Making Nokia
Uncomfortable
The growing presence of PC
software goliath, Microsoft, in the wireless arena is making others,
notably mobile phone giant Nokia, very uncomfortable.
Microsoft is reaching into every sector of the wireless industry
from persuading second-tier manufacturers to install its software in
their new mobile devices to convincing operators to offer customers
PocketPC-enabled phones.
Looking to take a large slice out of the $14-.5-billion mobile
device market, Microsoft, according to some analysts, could change
the landscape of the handset market.
"Microsoft’s aim is to destroy Nokia’s high margins in
mobile phones and leave the mobile phone markets with a low-market
hardware business," Bill Lesieur, industry analyst with
Technology Business Research of New Hampshire, told Dow Jones
Newswires. "Nokia has one of the strongest brands in the world,
so Microsoft needs to dilute the brand power by getting mobile
operators to adopt the use of private label phones."
The Redmond, WA, company is aiming to do just that. Recently, it
inked deals with German operator Deutsche Telekom AG and British
mmO2 PLC as well as American carriers Verizon Wireless, Cingular
Wireless and Voicestream to offer its breed of smartphones under
their own brands.
By going directly to the operators, some observers say, Microsoft
is undermining the handset makers.
However, Robbie Wright, Microsoft’s director of mobility
marketing for Europe, Middle East and Africa, denies that Microsoft
is trying to undercut mobile phone manufacturers. The company is
attracting a new breed of phone maker willing to build
Microsoft-powered devices but do not demand its signature on the
front, he told the newswire.
For example, HTC Corporation of Taiwan and Sendo PLC of the U.K.
design and build Microsoft smartphones for mmO2 and Cingualr
Wireless, respectively. In each case, the carrier’s brand label is
front and center.
Microsoft may be enjoying its newfound success outside the PC
arena, but some analysts say it won’t last because the big three
mobile phone manufacturers, Nokia, Motorola, and Sony Ericsson, are
determined to keep Microsoft off their playing field.
For more information: http://www.microsoft.com
(Additional source Dow Jones Newswires)
MobileInfo.Com’s Comments & Advisory:
Note: This news release may contain
forward-looking statements. Readers should take appropriate caution in
developing plans utilizing these products, services and technology
architectures. All trademarks used in this summary are
the property of their respective owners.
|
