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Get ready for Windows smart phones
July 16, 2003
Phones powered by Microsoft's SmartPhone software are heading here, reports ALFRED SIEW.
Get ready to 'boot up' your phone. The next mobile gizmo you buy may come with a Windows logo on it.
The three mobile phone operators here told Computer Times that they are currently evaluating cell phones which run on Microsoft's Smartphone software. They are likely to offer them to customers when the tests are complete.
These smart phones are more akin to a personal digital assistant (PDA) than a typical mobile phone.
They feature many functions which users can find on a PDA that uses the Pocket PC operating system. These include e-mail messaging, calendar functions and an Internet Explorer browser. Some even come with a MultiMedia-Card (MMC) memory card slot and built-in camera.
Earlier this year, AIS in Thailand and Smart Communications in the Philippines were among the first operators in Asia to sell an early version of the smart phones to subscribers.
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| Windows in the phone is a boon to mobile workers, says Mr Loh. |
Mr Hui Weng Cheong, SingTel's vice-president of consumer products, said his company is bringing in a second generation of smart phones possibly by the end of the year.
When contacted, Mobile- One and StarHub also confirmed that they are interested to sell the phones to their subscribers.
The Microsoft-powered phones are usually made by Taiwanese manufac-turers such as HTC, Compal and Mitac. Like PCs, these phones are highly customisable.
The makers offer the phone's components - for example, the radio transceiver - as 'building blocks' which cell phone opera-tors can mix and match.
Customised phones
Mr Hui said this is good news to operators because they can differentiate their phones from their competitors. SingTel, for example, can have a red, one-touch 'Web' button on its phones.
He said Taiwanese manufacturers would offer customisation 'even if you order about 100,000 units'. For the same volume, Nokia would not do the same, he noted.
The Windows smart phones will attract corporate businesses with a mobile field force, say experts. Microsoft already has extensive back-end software offerings for the enterprise. Now there is Windows in the phone too.
Mr Raymond Loh, a consultant specialising in enterprise software at Hewlett-Packard, said mobile workers would be able to hook up their phones to their back-end databases and appli-cations in the main office.
Early problems
But for all their potential, Microsoft-powered phones still have to find their feet in a tough market.
Branding is one problem. The phones may be marketed as 'SingTel Smartphones' and Singaporeans who like brands such as Nokia or Moto-rola may take some convincing, pointed out SingTel's Mr Hui.
Product support is ano-ther problem for operators, he added. Phone makers such as Nokia take care of their own repairs here. When it comes to a SingTel smart phone, the operator may have to offer its own technical support.
Mr Andrew Buay, chief operating adviser at Globe Telecom in the Philippines, said that a current lack of applications for the smart phones may slow down their adoption.
He said early versions had to be sold in the country 'almost for free' because many people only knew how to make phone calls with them and were not making use of the 'smart' features.
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