CANNES, France - Feb. 24, 2004 - Today at 3GSM World Congress 2004, Microsoft Corp. announced a series of developments in its work with wireless industry partners to deliver new business value to customers via world-class software and popular services. These developments are expected to spur new customer experiences and open the door to new revenue opportunities for mobile operators, device makers and application developers.
"The desire to access wireless applications and services has finally hit the mainstream," said Pieter Knook, senior vice president of the Mobile and Embedded Devices Division at Microsoft. "This profound perception shift presents an opportunity for the wireless industry to raise the bar on the wireless connectivity experience with the marriage of flexible software, compelling services, sleek devices and reliable networks that move people to rethink the way they communicate and access information and entertainment."
Speaking on a theme of "Enabling advanced, universal services," Knook will deliver a keynote address on Wednesday, Feb. 25, in the Main Hall of the Palais des Festivals.
New Customer Experiences on the Horizon
At 3GSM World Congress, a world-class device maker and a key mobile operator acknowledged the business advantages of Microsoft® Windows Mobile(tm) software for Pocket PCs and Smartphones to empower mobile professionals and businesses looking to mobilize their work forces.
- Leading mobile operators acknowledge revenue opportunities. KPN, the largest Dutch mobile operator, and TIM, Italy's largest mobile operator, joined more than 50 mobile operators and service providers worldwide that have announced commitment to ship Windows Mobile-based devices.
- Innovative new category of devices. Motorola Inc. unveiled two MotoPro wireless devices tailored for enterprise customers:
- The Motorola MPx, featuring Microsoft Windows Mobile software, in a never-before-seen form factor, brings real-time assistance to mobile professionals - at work, on the road, at home and at play. The MPx delivers the power of the office desktop and the ultimate e-mail experience through a unique and compact dual-hinge design. This design allows people to access information via a QWERTY keyboard in landscape mode or touch screen with stylus while in portrait mode - making the MPx a legitimate "one-of-a-kind."
- The Motorola MPx 100 helps busy professionals manage work and personal demands with one amazing device. Combining a familiar user interface and radically enhanced candy bar design, the Motorola tri-band GSM-GPRS device helps "detox the inbox" with easy-to-use e-mail, messaging, media and Bluetooth connectivity.
In light of the growing popularity of Windows Mobile software among business customers and the key concerns of this audience, Microsoft will publish its Windows Mobile security white paper titled "Windows Mobile-Based Devices and Security - Protecting Sensitive Business Information" to address this subject. The white paper will be available online at http://www.microsoft.com/windowsmobile/resources/whitepapers/default.mspx.
Microsoft Empowers Enterprises With New Services To better connect enterprises to their mobile work forces, Microsoft and Fenestrae, a world-class provider of integrated messaging software, today unveiled plans to deliver an outsourced Microsoft Exchange-based solution that enables telecommunication and enterprise customers to deliver a range of communications tools. The solutions allow desktop users of the Outlook® messaging and collaboration client to send short message service (SMS) messages to mobile phones.
In addition, Microsoft's platform investments in real-time location solutions will continue to empower more enterprises to deliver compelling wireless services to their mobile work forces and the mobile operators that connect them. The recent release of MapPoint® Web Service 3.5 includes new enterprise-specific capabilities and detailed street-level location information for 21 countries in Europe, North America and Brazil, paving the way for new location services for more customers.
Mobile Content and Services Advance Consumer Experiences By extending the availability of its popular MSN® services and multimedia offerings, Microsoft continues to herald mobile innovation, opening the door to new revenue opportunities for mobile operators that deliver compelling experiences to their customers.
Customers of more than 60 mobile operators in more than 25 countries have access to Microsoft's popular MSN Mobile service. As mobile operators look to increase data usage across their networks by delivering differentiated mobile Web services, Microsoft's investment in rich-client solutions such as MSN Mobile and Pocket MSN will bring rich and familiar services - including MSN Hotmail® and MSN Messenger - to operators and, ultimately, consumers.
Furthermore, all Windows Mobile 2003-based devices fully support Windows Media® 9 Series for playback of digital media, including the ability to transfer music from a PC to enjoy on the move. Because content encoded using Windows Media 9 Series can be delivered using minimal bandwidth (half the file size of MP3), mobile operators can maximize existing network capacity while generating new revenue streams through digital music and video services.
Microsoft is exhibiting in Hall 1 at the Palais des Festivals, Stand A14, and in the Microsoft Partner Zone in Hall 4. Microsoft also is participating in several conference events, including the following:
- Microsoft press conference. Tuesday, Feb. 24, 10:10-11 a.m., on the fourth floor of Auditorium K
- Cocktail reception for members of the press. Tuesday, Feb. 24, 6-8 p.m., at the Majestic Beach Restaurant
- Pieter Knook's keynote address. Wednesday, Feb. 25, 10:10-10:40 a.m., in the Main Hall, Palais des Festivals
Microsoft
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