Windows Phone Thoughts: The MSFP Status Check

"Cingular Wireless, Orange, T-Mobile and Vodafone today announced free upgrades to the Messaging and Security Feature Pack (MSFP) for all their Windows Mobile 5.0 customers, enabling Direct Push functionality and providing enhanced device management and security for messaging applications. Palm Inc. and i-Mate also reaffirmed their commitment to free MSFP upgrades. In addition, new Windows Mobile-based devices were unveiled today, all of which will ship with Direct Push technology: the HP iPAQ hw6900 Mobile Messenger, the Gigabyte Communications g-Smart (offered by Chunghwa Telecom Co. Ltd. in Taiwan), the ASUS P305 3G-enabled smartphone, and the Fujitsu Siemens FS Pocket Loox. In addition, HTC Corp. has unveiled a new product portfolio of Windows Mobile-based devices that are Direct Push-enabled and will be made available globally to T-Mobile and other operators beginning in the second quarter of this year."



A number of operators and manufacturers have just announced free upgrades to the MSFP. T-Mobile Netherlands is expected to release it in the second quarter of 2006. Vodafone will unveil a range of MSFP-enabled devices from March. Cingular will roll out the MSFP for the newly-announced 2125 Smartphone and 8100 Pocket PCs this half year. Devices such as the HP iPAQ hw6900 series, the Gigabyte g-Smart, the Asus P305 Smartphone, and Fujitsu-Siemens' Pocket LOOX T800 series will all ship with the MSFP.

The MSFP, combined with Exchange Server 2003 SP2, will enable Microsoft's direct push e-mail solution. You can learn more about it here.