Archive notice: This article was originally published on April 2, 2008. Links and embedded videos are preserved as part of the historical record.
Yesterday, Tuesday, at CTIA Wireless 2008 http://www.ctiawireless.com Microsoft unveiled Windows Mobile 6.1. The smartphone operating-system update promises easier handling for users, with quick access to functions through the start screen. In the second half of the year, Microsoft intends to deliver mobile, multimedia “browsing like on a desktop PC” with Internet Explorer Mobile 6. For business customers, Windows Mobile 6.1, in conjunction with the also-unveiled System Center Mobile Device Manager 2008, promises security and simple management.
“The smartphone has long since ceased to be used exclusively in a professional setting,” explains Robbie Bach, president of Microsoft’s Entertainment and Devices Division, at CTIA Wireless. Microsoft aims to take account of this with simpler navigation. An expanded start screen offers quick access to programs and functions such as email, music, pictures and SMS. Similar to instant-messaging programs, SMS conversations are now displayed with previous messages. A menu makes it easier to set up email accounts or wireless connections. A range of new features, then, with which Microsoft particularly wants to accommodate end users. Manufacturers such as Asus, HTC, Motorola and Samsung will offer devices with the new operating system as early as the second quarter of the year, and mobile operators will also offer updates.
In mobile Internet, Microsoft intends to follow up with Internet Explorer Mobile 6. The announcement promises “browsing like on a desktop PC” for smartphones. According to Microsoft, an optimised zoom function will be essential to this, including automatic adjustment of the display to the screen size. To make multimedia and the rich Internet more accessible on the mobile web, video compression technology and familiar browser extensions Flash and Silverlight will be used, for example. The plan is for the browser update to go to industry partners in the third quarter and become available to end users before the end of the year.
For business customers, the Redmond company wants to score points with security, particularly System Center Mobile Device Manager 2008. In conjunction with the new operating-system version, it helps companies manage and protect business-relevant smartphones. “Microsoft’s mobile solutions give companies control and flexibility when providing information to their employees on the move,” says John O’Rourke, General Manager of Microsoft’s Mobile Communications Business. Mobile Device Manager helps with managing mobile devices within corporate IT, encryption to protect against data loss on stolen or lost mobile phones, and mobile access to corporate data through more secure virtual private network connections.
