BARCELONA, Spain-Microsoft Corp. furthered its efforts in the wireless e-mail space with an announcement that Cingular Wireless L.L.C., Orange SA, T-Mobile International and Vodafone Group plc plan to offer its push e-mail service. The service works on devices running Microsoft’s Windows Mobile operating system.
The news comes as little surprise. Microsoft has previously discussed its push-based wireless e-mail offering, and a variety of carriers already sell devices running Microsoft’s OS.
“Cingular has been a leader in delivering end-to-end solutions as a trusted partner to enterprises since the inception of wireless e-mail,” said Jeff Bradley, vice president of business data services at Cingular. “Microsoft’s highly anticipated Direct Push e-mail experience delivered in the Messaging and Security Feature Pack is a key part of Cingular’s strategy to continue to provide best-in-class wireless solutions to our customers. The new Cingular 2125 Smartphone and 8100 series Pocket PCs-the first of what will be an array of Windows Mobile 5.0-enabled devices available from Cingular in 2006-will be upgradeable to the Messaging and Security Feature Pack in the first half of this year.”
Microsoft said its Direct Push technology-which works with Windows Mobile 5.0 devices and servers running Exchange Server 2003 Service Pack 2-gives users wireless access to their e-mail without additional servers or software. The offering stands as competition against the likes of BlackBerry maker Research In Motion Ltd., Seven, Visto Corp., Nokia Corp. and others.
