Microsoft "Product Of The Week Club": Competition For RIMM?

Apps & Software

Published: October 23, 2007 5:42 am

These days it seems that Microsoft (MSFT) cannot get enough products out the door. This week it is a new software set that allows high end wireless devices do most of the things that the Blackberrry from RIM (RIMM) can.

Reuters writes that "The Microsoft System Center Mobile Device Manager 2008 will allow technology administrators to send applications to phones, control security and generally simplify management of devices." Microsoft wants to be for the high-end mobile device what it is now for the PC.

Not likely. RIMM has a couple of big advantages, ones that Microsoft probably cannot surmount. RIMM makes the hardware and the software. Microsoft will have to go to someone like Nokia (NOK) for handsets. And, Nokia (NOK) is moving into phone software itself to fight falling margins on phones.

In addition, corporate users like their Blackberries. And corporate IT guys know the software and mail server function. The Blackberry has the high ground like RIMM has in corporate handhelds and Apple (AAPL) has in portable media devices.

Microsoft can take its new mobile computing software and file it with the Zune: dead before the launch.

Douglas A. McIntyre

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