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Microsoft Enters the Cell Phone OS Market

Posted by timothy on from the press-9-for-customer-service dept.

PuZZLeR writes: "Today, Microsoft unveiled a new operating system for mobile phones (named 'Windows Powered Smartphone 2002') and plans to fully enter the wireless data devices with voice capabilities by utilizing both cellphones and PDA devices. TI already created a reference design for the Ms powered phone. While this sounds like Microsoft is going after Handspring, RIM or Danger, cellphone OS manufactures, like Nokia and OpenWave are expected to counteract to the announcements. Today, Nokia announced it will offer mobile phone makers its own development kit and OS."

13 of 272 comments (clear)

  1. Woo Hoo!!! We get viruses easier!!! by booyah · · Score: 5, Funny

    I cant wait till I awnser the phone and get

    "Hi, How are you? I send you this call in order to have your advice"

    Yeah!!!

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    #include sig.h
  2. It will be way too big! by burtonator · · Score: 4, Funny

    OK.

    Most cell phones don't have that much data storage... right?

    ... but what about IE? IE can't be separated from windows so they will have an extra 20M there... ;)

    Right... :)

  3. Bil''s "Road Ahead" by Telex4 · · Score: 5, Interesting

    If anyone's ever read Bill Gate's book "The Road Ahead", this will sound chillingly familiar. In this book, he described how he'd like to see every appliance integrated into a central system (all of course designed by Microsoft ;-). This is just one more stepping stone.

    His vision, then, would be that you turn on your phone, log into the Hailstorm cellphone server, check your hotmail and sms in one, perhaps unfold your laptop running XP and download the messages, go home and turn on your TV running a microsoft-style tivo, put on your MS Stereo running off an XP music server, and so on. Total saturation, with total control from Redmond.

  4. Who cares? by mosch · · Score: 4, Troll
    Does anybody here really give a shit? I mean, honestly, for a site that bitches about MS so much, slashdot gives them a helluva lot of free press.

    Why not spend the effort advertising the Sanyo SCP-5150 instead, a very cool, full-feature phone that can meow out of the box, in addition to the normal wireless web, color LCD, blah the fuck blah.

    Or maybe we could concentrate on the Kyocero palm-phones, available for sale right this very instant, interoperates with all your stuff, and is a really cool phone.

    Let's stop watching MS pull out the same old bullshit, but with a start button, and start advertising products that matter, and don't support monopolies!

    1. Re:Who cares? by BlackSol · · Score: 5, Insightful

      Why?
      Because Microsoft is the (currently) largest commercial software producer. (yes thats a period)

      When the largest company in any name space announces a new product for a new product space its indicative a (possible) new trend in computing.

      So new trend + OS + mobile phone + applications = News for Nerds Stuff that matters.

      Also it may also encourage your stock picks on your 6 month portfolio rebalance. I mean I wouldn't bet on any comercial company in a product space to compete directly with microsoft.

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      $sig=$1 if($brain =~ /idea\s+(.*)/i);
  5. Nokia fights back. by alex_siufy · · Score: 4, Interesting

    Here.... The short version:


    " Top-ranked mobile phone maker Nokia said on Monday it would offer other mobile handset suppliers a complete design kit for making Internet-ready phones, seeking to stave off a push by Microsoft Corp. into the mobile market.

    The move by Nokia, maker of one of every three mobile phones sold globally, takes aim at computer software giant Microsoft, which said earlier on Monday it was offering phone makers a standard kit of software and computer chips to build new "smartphones."     "

    The article also mentions that out of the top 5 mobile phone manufacturers, only Samsung is coming out with phones based on the Microsoft junk, at the end of this year.

    It'll be .NET (Microsoft) versus Java (Nokia) on the mobile front too...

  6. Apologies in advance by kill-hup · · Score: 4, Funny
    ..but reading the names on the "features" links:
    • You only need one hand
    • Small, but powerful

    just gave me a good laugh.
    It's been that kind of day, sorry ;-)

    --
    Sinepaw.org: Grape Winos
  7. Re:I can see it now... by PoiBoy · · Score: 4, Insightful
    And here's the best quote in that article:

    Of the top five cellphone manufacturers, only Samsung Electronics has said it would use Microsoft Windows-powered Smartphone 2002 software.

    From the looks of things Nokia has a decent shot of keeping Microsoft out of yet another business.

    --
    Sig (appended to the end of comments you post, 120 chars)
  8. Re:Who cares? mod that up baby! by Em+Emalb · · Score: 4, Insightful

    "I mean, honestly, for a site that bitches about MS so much, slashdot gives them a helluva lot of free press."

    Amen brotha. You know why? More people love to bitch about MS that anything else. So far I have seen about 15 posts talking about BSOD's, Ctrl-Alt-Delete, viruses, etc...not a SINGLE ONE talks about the technology or the phone.

    sad ain't it?

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    Sent from your iPad.
  9. Re:Great Naming Again! by Drachemorder · · Score: 5, Funny

    At least they didn't base it on Windows ME and call it "Mini-ME".

  10. Re:My GOD! by jgerman · · Score: 5, Funny

    I don't know, will we ever see ANY news posted here regarding Microsoft and not have to wade through the hyperbole posts about how many cliche posts we have to wade through?

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    I'm the big fish in the big pond bitch.
  11. Linux based phones also in the works by micahjd · · Score: 4, Interesting
    Take a look at this: http://www.ridgerun.com/products/phone/tour/

    With software like Microwindows, PicoGUI, and Qtopia available, a lot of companies will probably be finding Linux useful on PDAs and smaller embedded devices like Cellphones.

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    -- 2 + 2 = 5, for very large values of 2
  12. Re:Phew by sharkey · · Score: 5, Funny

    "Hello. It seems you are trying to make a call.
    Would you like some hints on dialing your phone?
    Did you know that you can change the ring on your phone to 24 gratingly annoying, off-key tunes?
    To shut down your phone, please press the TALK button."

    --

    --
    "Outlook not so good." That magic 8-ball knows everything! I'll ask about Exchange Server next.