Microsoft Corp combined with Acer Inc, Daewoo Telecom Ltd, Matsushita Electric Co’s Panasonic, Philips NV and The Vestel Group at the giant Cebit trade show in Hanover, Germany yesterday to preview web-enabled telephones using Microsoft Windows CE operating system. French Canadian group Matra-Nortel was also said to be involved by one report. Simultaneously, 3Com Corp announced a wide ranging cooperation with Alcatel NV to promote the convergence of handheld computing and mobile telecommunications devices.
Microsoft’s devices – code-named Hermes – combine traditional telephone services such as voice messaging and caller ID with data capabilities for internet access and email. They include both a numeric keypad and a touch-screen display and keyboard. They are aimed at consumers without PCs who want low-cost access to the internet. Powered by Windows CE, the devices will include applications for address book, caller ID, email, answering machine, notes and full web browsing, the company said. The 640 x 480 touch screen will display most web pages without modification.
Initially, phones will access the internet via standard analog modems running at 33.6Kbps. But, said Microsoft, future version will also support ISDN and ADSL connections for higher speed access. Beyond basic display size and resolution requirements, Microsoft says OEMs are free to customize hardware designs, applications and screen displays. We are working closely with OEMs, telecommunications companies and ISPs to establish a program of evaluation, trial and deployment of these devices, said Jonathan Roberts, group director of information appliances at Microsoft.
Products could be on the market within a year, priced between $300 and $500. The move is being viewed as a threat to handheld systems makers such as 3Com Corp and Psion Plc. 3Com’s joint development with Alcatel is also expected to result in products shipped to customers this year. The two say they intend to cooperate through an open public forum to define high-level application programming interfaces between any hand held computing device and any mobile phone or telecommunications terminal. And they are working on a software platform to provides services such as information management, unified voice and data messaging and access to web-based information via web clipping techniques. The platform will be based on 3Com’s existing Web Clipping service and Alcatel’s Home Top software. Existing standards, such as Bluetooth, will also be used.
Initially, 3Com’s Palm Computing organizers, which currently account for around 72% of the market – with Alcatel’s OneTouch GSM mobile phones. Integration into a single device, either GSM functions to the organizer or organizer functions to the terminal, is envisaged later. Clearly referring to Microsoft, Patrick Liot, president of Alcatel’s professional and consumer divisions said that contrary to other initiatives, which are closed or proprietary, this Alcatel/3Com open public forum will bring fast results to the whole of the industry.
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