OXFORD, United Kingdom—Having been formed with much fanfare in September 1999, the joint venture between Ericsson and Microsoft to co-develop mobile Internet software appears to have been less than a success. The venture, which never released any significant applications, will now be absorbed into Ericsson’s global services unit to “allow it to grow more easily to meet the strong demand for its products.”
Microsoft, which failed to take up its 30-percent share in the company, said the mobile e-mail product that had been co-developed is already in use by three cell-phone operators, and the company expects to continue to work closely with Ericsson on further mobile projects. Both firms denied they had recently held a crisis meeting in an attempt to resolve outstanding issues regarding the partnership.
The break-up is thought to have occurred after Microsoft realized it was too closely aligned to Ericsson given that Nokia had succeeded in gaining the number-one position in the cell-phone market. To counter Nokia’s growing dominance of the wireless market, Microsoft has been negotiating with various mobile-phone operators in Europe, such as Telef
