Microsoft Corp plans to sell more software for running hand-held organizers that can double as wireless phones, demonstrating several new devices and touting a relationship with Intel Corp.
The largest software maker plans to show organizers made by Hewlett-Packard Co and a Taiwan-based computer company that can make phone calls and use its Pocket PC operating system at a wireless industry conference yesterday in the French Rivera resort of Cannes, Vice President Ben Waldman said in an interview.
PHOTO: REUTERS
Microsoft is particularly interested in selling more software for expensive, feature-laden devices that appeal to corporate buyers. Those clients are looking increasingly for so-called personal digital assistants that have wireless access to e-mail, the Internet and corporate networks and can make phone calls.
"Microsoft has to have that to fill demand," said Ken Smiley, an analyst at Giga Information Group. Microsoft, based in Redmond, Washington, plans to make its announcements at the 3GSM World Congress wireless conference.
Worldwide shipments of hand-held computers rose 18 percent to 13.1 million units last year, although sales leader Palm Inc's market share fell 9.5 percent, researcher Dataquest Inc said last week. Palm's devices run on the company's own operating system.
A recent Giga survey of large business customers intending to have employees use these devices showed that about 66 percent plan to choose hand-helds running Pocket PC, so meeting the needs of those clients is particularly important, Smiley said.
H-P's Jornada 928 Wireless Digital Assistant lets users view e-mail and Web pages, retrieve corporate data and make phone calls. The device is about the size of other H-P organizers lacking the phone features.
France Telecom SA's Orange unit will provide wireless service for the 928, due in Europe by the end of August, said John Spofford, vice president of H-P's smart hand-held appliance division. H-P also plans to offer services such as games and stock-trading programs for the devices, Spofford said. He wouldn't comment on pricing.
The HTC hand-held will be distributed by BT Group Plc, the UK's biggest phone company, in the UK, Ireland, Germany and the Netherlands in the first half, Waldman said. Microsoft hopes the device also will be on sale in the US in the first half, though Waldman declined to name US partners or discuss prices.
The devices are built around the new Pocket PC 2002 Phone Edition operating system, which adds features to let the units handle phone calls. The software ensures that the phone features don't interfere with others. If a user is playing a music video on a device, the volume drops when the phone rings, for example.
Microsoft also said it will work with Intel to create a design specification for device makers planning organizers with phone features and cellphone handsets with organizer features. It also worked on a design for such phones with chipmaker Texas Instruments Inc. Microsoft plans to announce today that Taiwan's Compal Electronics Inc (
Taiwan is projected to lose a working-age population of about 6.67 million people in two waves of retirement in the coming years, as the nation confronts accelerating demographic decline and a shortage of younger workers to take their place, the Ministry of the Interior said. Taiwan experienced its largest baby boom between 1958 and 1966, when the population grew by 3.78 million, followed by a second surge of 2.89 million between 1976 and 1982, ministry data showed. In 2023, the first of those baby boom generations — those born in the late 1950s and early 1960s — began to enter retirement, triggering
One of two tropical depressions that formed off Taiwan yesterday morning could turn into a moderate typhoon by the weekend, the Central Weather Administration (CWA) said yesterday. Tropical Depression No. 21 formed at 8am about 1,850km off the southeast coast, CWA forecaster Lee Meng-hsuan (李孟軒) said. The weather system is expected to move northwest as it builds momentum, possibly intensifying this weekend into a typhoon, which would be called Mitag, Lee said. The radius of the storm is expected to reach almost 200km, she said. It is forecast to approach the southeast of Taiwan on Monday next week and pass through the Bashi Channel
NO CHANGE: The TRA makes clear that the US does not consider the status of Taiwan to have been determined by WWII-era documents, a former AIT deputy director said The American Institute in Taiwan’s (AIT) comments that World War-II era documents do not determine Taiwan’s political status accurately conveyed the US’ stance, the US Department of State said. An AIT spokesperson on Saturday said that a Chinese official mischaracterized World War II-era documents as stating that Taiwan was ceded to the China. The remarks from the US’ de facto embassy in Taiwan drew criticism from the Ma Ying-jeou Foundation, whose director said the comments put Taiwan in danger. The Chinese-language United Daily News yesterday reported that a US State Department spokesperson confirmed the AIT’s position. They added that the US would continue to
The number of Chinese spouses applying for dependent residency as well as long-term residency in Taiwan has decreased, the Mainland Affairs Council said yesterday, adding that the reduction of Chinese spouses staying or living in Taiwan is only one facet reflecting the general decrease in the number of people willing to get married in Taiwan. The number of Chinese spouses applying for dependent residency last year was 7,123, down by 2,931, or 29.15 percent, from the previous year. The same census showed that the number of Chinese spouses applying for long-term residency and receiving approval last year stood at 2,973, down 1,520,
RSS