Where others lead, Microsoft follows...

Mobile Technology: Weds 11th February 2009

With the success of ihpone's App Store, Microsoft is getting ready to launch it's own application market place for Window's Mobile smartphones, called Bazzar. At the same time they are completing development on their new mobile operating system, Windows Mobile 6.5. Accord to the research firm, IDC, Microsoft are currently third in the worldwide market. Nokia's Symbian and RIM's Blackberry are first and second in the high end mobile market. In spite of the number of column inches dedicated to the iphone, Apple only has the fifth largest share of the market, however it is gaining ground quickly and offers a serious threat to Microsoft's mobile offering.

One of the biggest problems facing Microsoft is that it does not manufacture hardware, but gets it's revenue from licensing it's OS to other manufacturers. Contrary to this, Symbian, Google's Android and Linux all offer their OS for free. Microsoft's position in mobile has been hindered by the fact that it is focussed heavily on business applications. However, consumer applications such as social networking now have equal importance for smartphone users.

Until now, there has not been a single point for users to discover Microsoft's mobile applications, unlike Apple and Google who have their respective App Store and Market portals. Microsoft's My Phone is an application which synchronises contacts, appointments and photos to the web. Unlike Apple's offering, which is paid for, MobileMe will be available for free. However, industry observers believe that Microsoft and the other smartphone providers will need to develop something truly revolutionary to stop the inevitable rise of Apple.

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Microsoft prepares smartphone challenge to Apple