microsoft

Microsoft has recently announced a free beta MSN Direct client for Windows Mobile Standard smartphones.

It is a screen plug-in that uses Internet for data delivery, and currently supports news, weather, and stocks, which are displayed right on the home screen.

The beta version is now available for download.

Microsoft began its mobile advertising campaign in the US.

The first ads from Bank of America, Jaguar, and Paramount Pictures have been placed on US MSN Mobile. But this is just the beginning: the company's ad-strategy presupposes expansion from mobile environment to the XBOX Live service.

Until now Microsoft's mobile ads could be seen in Belgium, France, Spain, Japan, and the UK.

Microsoft are ready release its latest Windows Mobile 6.1 OS, which is already present on the Wi-Fi-enabled Motorola Q9.

Its main improvements include a much more convenient UI, the ability to set your own homepage in Internet Explorer, copy/paste functionality, and threaded SMS system.

Microsoft has just released the latest version of Office Mobile application suite for Windows Mobile 6 based smartphones.

Version 6.1 fully supports Word and Excel documents, as well as Power Point presentations created in Microsoft Office 2007. Other improvements include enhanced viewing experience for charts in Excel Mobile and the ability to view and extract files from .

What you see here is the Zune Phone from Microsoft.

So what can you say looking at this picture? Yes, it looks like Microsoft has just copied the design of the Apple iPhone...

Well, surely this doesn't do Microsoft any credit.

Microsoft and Sprint have made available a new free advanced mobile search service that uses Live Search and GPS information to provide local results for mobile searchers.

Just log on to Sprint's WAP portal, and start searching for content, local listings, maps and the web for information. If the GPS on your device is turned on, it will automatically narrow the results to those available in your area.

Apparently, Microsoft plans to launch soon their new Zune Phone, another rival to the Apple iPhone.

The upcoming handset will run on Windows Mobile 6 and promises to be a full-featured multimedia smartphone. Not much is known right now about the device, and there was no word on pricing and availability.

RIM's shares rose more than 3% to close at $85.41 on the NASDAQ Friday due to rumors about Microsoft's intentions on buying the smartphone manufacturer.

However, the whole idea doesn't make much sense as RIM's current market value is about $47bn, and Microsoft would rather grow its own technologies instead of purchasing such a major company for them.

Nokia, the world's largest mobile device manufacturer, and Microsoft, a global leader in online communications and communities, have joined together to provide customers with a new suite of Windows Live services specifically designed for Nokia devices.

Starting today Nokia customers in eleven countries with compatible S60 devices can download the new suite enabling access to Windows Live Hotmail, Windows Live Messenger, Windows Live Contacts and Windows Live Spaces.

Microsoft has extended Nokia's license to include Microsoft PlayReady in its future S60 and S40 mobile phones. PlayReady digital rights management technology allows users to easily transfer multimedia content between devices such as mobile phones and computers. The technology supports most standard media formats, and is fully compatible with previous Windows DRM content.