Mobile devices Toolkit

Can Magneto repel Microsoft's mobile rivals?

Tags:
Mobile,
Windows,
Magneto

Ina Fried CNET News

Published: 09 May 2005 19:00 BST

Imagining Magneto
As for what's in Magneto, handheld enthusiast sites have offered some indications, including one review of a leaked version of the operating system.

The review describes a number of new features, including an improved one-handed navigation of the device, a more powerful version of the mobile Word program, a viewer for PowerPoint documents and the ability to add photos to contacts allowing for photo caller ID.

A Microsoft representative declined to comment on the features or the timing of Magneto's release beyond what executives have said.

In an interview last year, the man charged with improving Windows Mobile said one of his main priorities was improving the overall quality of Microsoft's mobile operating system.

"We spent a tremendous amount of engineering resources in the last few months to make quality and stability the highest priority," said Ya-Qin Zhang, the former head of Microsoft's China research lab who now serves as a vice-president of the company's mobile device unit.

Another important feature is making sure Windows Mobile-powered devices can seamlessly move from one wireless network to another.

"The important thing is to make sure that there is seamless roaming and handover and a consistent experience," Zhang said. "That is a critical technology that we need to enable."

Although some have said Microsoft is trying to position itself as a BlackBerry killer, company chairman Bill Gates doesn't seem to be aiming for a knockout blow.

"There'll always be tons of operating systems," Gates said in a recent interview with gizmo site Engadget. "We're trying to make the best software we can and we have no shortage of ideas where we can make that phone way better than it is today."

The company has also made a number of deals on the mobile side that seem to reflect that view. On the one hand, Microsoft has struck a deal with Research In Motion to allow the BlackBerry to run Microsoft's corporate instant-messaging technology.

At the same time, Microsoft is trying to compete with RIM both through devices running Windows Mobile and by licensing server technology to devices that run rival operating systems. Microsoft has licensed its ActiveSync technology to OS rivals palmOne and Symbian.

Another area analysts see as key to being taken seriously in the mobile phone business is making sure the product is attractive to mobile phone carriers. The operators of mobile phone networks, more than the device makers, act as a gatekeeper to what makes it into the hands of businesses and consumers.

"It's really important for them to align their OS with the needs of carriers," said Ross Rubin, an analyst with The NPD Group. In particular, Rubin suggested Microsoft should support making changes to its operating system on the go, as well as establishing a platform for all manner of sales.

Microsoft seems to have realised this early on. The company has struggled to get many of the leading mobile phone makers to embrace its operating system, but it has managed to get devices, often made by contract manufacturers, onto top-tier carriers' networks.

Analysts also point out that Microsoft doesn't have to get everything right this time around. Said IDC's Burden, "The next edition of Windows Mobile is certainly not going to be the last one."