AT&T Wireless and Motorola Buy Into Smartphone Concept

Back in July PC World reported that the Federal Communications Commission had given approval for a new clamshell cell phone running Microsoft's Smartphone operating system.

Today, AT&T Wireless, Microsoft and Motorola announced the Motorola MPx200 GSM/GPRS mobile phone in the United States. That clamshell cell phone runs Microsoft's Smartphone OS. AT&T Wireless, which did not reveal pricing, will offer the phone starting in the fourth quarter. Orange, which already offers another Smartphone, will start selling the MPx200 in Europe next month.

Interestingly, the phone runs the 2002 version of the software and not the newer, rebranded OS unveiled in June.

Today's announcement is an important step forward for Microsoft's U.S. cell phone strategy. After several false starts, Microsoft has found a major U.S. carrier and manufacturer to back its Smartphone OS. But it is little more than a first step and into a market not yet ready for this kind of device.

In June, my colleague Avi Greengart concluded in his report, "Next-Generation Handsets: How to Succeed in Wireless Without Really Converging," that the U.S. market isn't yet ready for multi-functional phones.

A Smartphone like the MPx200, which runs software similar to that used on Pocket PC handhelds, offers advanced calendaring, contact management, Web browsing, photo manipulation and other features typical of convergence phones. Avi's report found that in the United States, unlike some overseas markets, convergence features are not buyers' top feature priorities.

Posted by Joe Wilcox at September 15, 2003 07:41 AM