Once again, Microsoft is seeping its way into the smartphone market through a deal with Qualcomm that will put Redmond’s operating system right on cellular silicon.
The two companies have begun porting the Windows Mobile OS to Qualcomm CDMA chipsests, which will help cut product development time for smartphone vendors as well as being able to produce smaller devices.
The deal could help to raise Microsoft’s profile in the smartphone world. The firm already has its mobile code in a number of phones, such as Palm Inc.’s 700w Treo and the upcoming Q from Motorola Inc.
In general, however, the software giant still doesn’t have the force of competitors such as Nokia Corp., which has a 76 percent market share in Europe and other countries.
Shoreline Research analyst Tim Scannell says that the deal may well also fit in with both companies’ ambitions in the mobile content field.
“Qualcomm, as you may recall, has plans to launch a mobile media broadcast network that will be based on satellite technology rather than traditional cellular,” as is the case with Verizon and Sprint PCS, he tells Unstrung in an email. “The Qualcomm approach provides a bigger bandwidth and possibility for channels, and is closer to the cable television model of broadcasting. The thinking is that mobile broadcasting will quickly become an accepted medium… something that Hollywood has quickly latched onto as it re-purposes and re-channels TV content.”
Qualcomm chipsets with the Microsoft OS on board are due to start shipping in the second half of 2006.
Once again, Microsoft is seeping its way into the smartphone market through a deal with Qualcomm that will put Redmond’s operating system right on cellular silicon.
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