Microsoft Corp. is expected to unveil its new Windows Mobile 2005 operating system, codenamed Magneto, in conjunction with its developer’s conference this week in Las Vegas.
According to several sources familiar with the company’s announcement, Microsoft’s new offering will replace its current Smartphone, Pocket PC and Pocket PC Phone Edition operating systems with a single, combined platform. The new platform will also feature a variety of enhancements including new and updated applications, support for QWERTY keyboards and more options for manufacturers and wireless carriers.
Specifically, the platform will include a scaled-down version of Powerpoint as well as updated versions of Excel and Word for mobile devices. It will also feature software improvements for longer battery life, a persistent storage technology to protect against lost data, and updated support for e-mail attachments. Although some devices running Microsoft’s operating system already feature a tiny keyboard, the new version will be more closely tied to keyboard operations. For manufacturers and carriers, the platform will offer additional customization options. And perhaps most importantly, sources said the new platform will be “hardened,” resistant to bugs and glitches.
Microsoft declined to comment on its Windows Mobile plans.
The company likely will unveil its new operating system at its Mobile and Embedded DevCon 2005 in Las Vegas. The company’s chairman and chief software architect, Bill Gates, is scheduled to give a keynote Tuesday morning.
Windows Mobile 2005 will mark another major step for Microsoft’s mobile ambitions. As mobile phones outsell computers, the company for years has been working to promote a scaled-down version of its Windows operating system for portable devices.
Microsoft sells several mobile platforms. The company’s Windows Mobile tagline encompasses products for smart phones and personal digital assistants. Windows Mobile for Smartphones is designed for clamshell or candybar-style phones and is intended for one-handed use. Windows Mobile for Pocket PC is designed for PDAs with touch screens, while Windows Mobile for Pocket PC Phone Edition is for wireless PDAs. In its most recent quarter Microsoft posted revenues of $80 million on a net loss of $8 million in its mobile and embedded devices division. In the same quarter a year ago, Microsoft recorded revenues of $61 million on a net loss of $36 million. Microsoft has two loss-making divisions: its mobile and embedded devices business and its home and entertainment operations.
Although Microsoft has scored some major gains in the mobile and embedded market, the company’s progress has been somewhat erratic.
After the Palm Pilot broke open the PDA market in the late 1990s, Microsoft quickly rushed in with its Pocket PC operating system. Although the two platforms battled neck and neck for years, Microsoft emerged the clear winner. According to research and consulting firm Gartner, Microsoft accounts for 46 percent of the worldwide PDA market while the Palm OS claims around 20 percent. Gartner does not count smart phones like PalmOne Inc.’s Treo 650 in its numbers but does include wireless PDAs.
In the wireless industry, the story is a little different. According to research and consulting firm Canalys, the Symbian operating system commands 61 percent of the smart device market while Microsoft is in second place with 18 percent. Canalys counts PDAs, wireless PDAs and smart phones in its numbers. Symbian owes its success mainly to Nokia Corp.
Microsoft managed to make a major splash when it entered the smart-phone race in October 2002. The company took a hit, however, when former licensee Sendo claimed Microsoft used it to break into the wireless market. Sendo dropped Microsoft’s platform in favor of Symbian. Since then Microsoft has racked up a number of licensees, most notably Motorola Inc. and Samsung Electronics Co. Ltd., and gained a number of close carrier partners, including Orange and others. Taiwanese vendor HTC Corp. builds most Microsoft mobile devices, selling the products to original equipment manufacturers like Motorola.
However, Microsoft’s road continues to be bumpy. Motorola recently canceled plans to sell its high-end MPx device running Microsoft’s platform, and Hewlett-Packard Co. had to briefly suspend sales of one of its wireless PDAs due to severe software bugs.
“I think they’ve learned some hard lessons,” said John Jackson, a mobile-phone analyst with research and consulting firm Yankee Group. Microsoft “is now present globally” in the wireless market.
Jackson said the key for Microsoft now is to team closely with carriers in order to meet their device specifications, and to improve its worldwide reach. Jackson said the company should also move its scope into the mass market, where Symbian and PalmSource Inc. are already playing.
