17 February 2003 T-Mobile, the mobile phone division of Deutsche Telekom, will release the first mobile device in the US to run software giant Microsoft’s Pocket PC mobile operating system.
The T-Mobile-branded Pocket PC Phone Edition device will deliver integrated voice and wireless data services over General Packet Radio Services (GPRS) mobile networks in the US. Based on the wireless network of US operator VoiceStream, T-Mobile will sell the device for $549.
At the 3GSM World Congress technology forum in Cannes today, Microsoft will also announce that South Korean electronics giant Samsung will be the first manufacturer to release a mobile handset for the European market to use the Pocket PC software this summer. Pocket PC software will run on Samsung’s SGH-i700 device.
So far Samsung and Taiwan’s HTC are the only mobile equipment manufacturers to license Microsoft’s software platform. Eleven manufacturers, including Nokia, Samsung, SonyEricsson and Motorola have licensed the mobile operating system of Symbian, the London-based consortium of mobile equipment manufacturers.
However, Samsung is hedging its support for Microsoft with similar licensing deals with both Palm and Symbian. Indeed, Samsung has announced today at 3GSM that it is paying £17 million for a 5% equity stake in Symbian.
