U.S. Carriers Back Microsoft Mobile Products

Microsoft Verizon Wireless VoiceStream Wireless Cingular Wireless

Verizon Wireless and VoiceStream are planning to offer PocketPC 2002 Phone Edition devices for their 2.5G networks by the second quarter, said Andy Haon, director of mobility at Microsoft. Cingular Wireless, meanwhile, will support by the second half a Microsoft Smartphone manufactured by Sendo, Birmingham, England, he said.

The news is significant because it signals that U.S. carriers are behind mobile products that are based on Microsoft's software components, said Alex Slawsby, an analyst at IDC.

"The key thing everyone is looking for is execution -- price point, carriers, the impact those devices have on industry," he said. "To come to market with established carriers is a critical step forward."

Devices using Microsoft's PocketPC 2002 Phone Edition integrate wireless, voice and data capabilities so that a typical PDA can also be used to make cell phone calls. The devices will work much like Handspring's Treo model, which is expected to go on sale in the United States this week. Handspring has melded phone and PDA functionsinto a device that is slightly larger than today's cell phones.

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Microsoft unveiled the Phone Edition software at a trade show in France last month, when Microsoft officials also demoed a device from Hewlett-Packard.

Slawsby said Treo, which was originally expected to ship last year, has some competition to watch out for. "If the product had come to market when it was supposed to, it would have had more of a honeymoon period before the competitive environment heated up," he said.

Microsoft's Smartphone is a version of the Windows CE operating system optimized for phones. Cingular is the first U.S. carrier to reveal support for such devices, although European carriers already have signed onboard.