Microsoft-based smartphone arrives in Europe
Published: 07 Jul 2004 10:15 BST
Dutch carrier KPN on Tuesday began selling a new mobile phone in Europe that uses Microsoft software, a move that could put pressure on handset maker Nokia.
The phone, Sierra Wireless' Voq Professional Phone, will make its debut in the United States on AT&T Wireless' network in the next two weeks, according to a Sierra Wireless representative.
The commercial debut of the Voq phone gives Microsoft a boost in the intensely competitive market for smartphones, which are cellular handsets that are capable of PDA-like features that can synchronise easily with desktops to view contacts, calendars and other listings.
Microsoft's main competitor in the market is Symbian, a smartphone operating system maker founded by major handset makers. Nokia is close to having financial control over Symbian.
Symbian currently dominates the market for smartphone operating systems, but analysts expect Microsoft to ramp up the competition through the decade's end.
For now, neither company has seen a huge payoff from the market. Smartphones claimed just 1.7 percent of the worldwide mobile phone market in the second quarter of 2003. Nokia was the leader in smartphones, with 1.2 million units shipped. Sony Ericsson was in second place, with 200,000 units shipped.
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