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BT, Microsoft extend tie
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October 14, 1999: 11:37 a.m. ET
Software, telecom giant to develop wireless devices using Windows CE
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LONDON (CNNfn) - A week after launching the first joint service under an eight-month-old alliance, Microsoft Corp. and British Telecommunications said Thursday they would team up to develop the wireless handheld devices of the future.
Microsoft (MSFT), the world's largest software maker, and BT (BT.A), Britain's dominant telephone company, plan to combine resources to develop handheld wireless devices based on the Microsoft Windows CE operating system.
The companies also plan to build a new generation of mobile phones tailored to BT's existing mobile networks to deliver multimedia content and games.
The companies envision a not-too-distant future in which wireless gadgets such as mobile handsets, pagers and palmtop or laptop computers increasingly will supplant desktop PCs as the pipeline of choice for accessing the Internet or sending and receiving e-mail.
The plans mark an extension of "Project Nomad," an existing collaboration announced in February that allows users of mobile phones to read, send and receive e-mail and calendar information. Project Nomad services were launched Oct. 6.
"Microsoft's platforms and services, combined with BT's mobile networks, will enable users to access rich, interactive information anytime, anywhere and on any device," Bill Gates, the chairman and chief executive officer of Microsoft, said in a statement Thursday.
The BT-Microsoft partnership faces tough competition from the Symbian venture involving U.S.-based Motorola (MOT), Sweden's Ericsson, Finland's Nokia and Britain's Psion (PON). The venture aims to provide mobile users with the same type of long-distance, high-speed access to information envisioned by BT and Microsoft.
Symbian announced a tie Wednesday with 3Com (COMS) subsidiary Palm Computing Inc. to use the popular Palm interface on Nokia phones and other Symbian platforms.
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