Windows Phone Thoughts - Daily News, Views, Rants and Raves

"Microsoft and Nokia, long adversaries in mobile phone technology, have agreed to a partnership to equip many Nokia cellphones with the Microsoft Office software, according to a person with knowledge of the agreement."

Just like licensing ActiveSync technology to Apple for the iPhone, it's not surprising to see the Office group at Microsoft reaching out to extend their technology to other platforms. Unfortunately this erodes an advantage that Windows Mobile has, but given how stagnant Windows Mobile has been over the past few years, you can't blame other groups at Microsoft for wanting to work with other platforms. Oh, and speaking of the iPhone, it looks like Microsoft might be reaching out there too. And in the meantime, Microsoft had to build their own Facebook app while Facebook built one for the iPhone. That tells you a lot about how the industry perceives Windows Mobile, even though Windows Mobile as a platform is still moving 16+ million units a year. Perception matters.

"In a move that could make organizing a mobile worker's life easier, Nokia (NYSE: NOK) announced Tuesday it is enabling Microsoft Exchange ActiveSync on all of its S60 3rd edition handsets. The company did have a downloadable option for ActiveSync since 2006, but it was only available for limited handsets and the company told InformationWeek it didn't do a good job publicizing that option. The S60 series phones are all powered by the Symbian operating system, which is optimized the OS for convergence with current multimedia applications as well as making enhancements to its security. "

That makes 4 mobile platforms that now have some form of ActiveSync built in that allow server syncing with Exchange - Windows Mobile, PalmOS, iPhone 2.0 and Nokia's Symbian S60 series. Nokia has said the option will be coming to the E and N series devices as well.

While this strengthens the Windows Server/Exchange platform, I cannot help but think this weakens the Windows Mobile position. It has bee one of the strengths of the platform distinguishing it from others as an enterprise solution. Now, it is more and more just one of the choices a business professional has.

Later this afternoon, Nokia will announce a May release date for its first Windows Mobile handset, the N97w. It resembles the N96 in many ways - similar form factor, 128MB RAM, 256MB ROM, 16GB of storage space, a microSD slot, A-GPS, an FM radio, DVB-H, and TV-out - but it does pack some newer and extended features such as quad-band GSM/GPRS/EDGE and tri-band UMTS/HSDPA connectivity, 802.11n and Bluetooth 2.1 support, and a 7.1-megapixel camera featuring Carl Zeiss optics and a dual-LED flash. It also has a 2.8" 262K-colour, QVGA touch screen, fit for displaying Windows Mobile 6 Professional in all its glory. There's no denying it - the N97w has a list of specs that would make any HTC device weak at the knees. A price has yet to be announced, although expect to receive details later this afternoon. Now, who wants one?