Microsoft wants to kill the BlackBerry dead with Windows Mobile 2005
posted Apr 2nd 2005 2:59PM
If their recent deals to license their ActiveSync technology to Nokia, Symbian, and palmOne are any indication, Microsoft is working hard to steadily encircle the BlackBerry with the next version of Windows Mobile, aka Windows Mobile 2005 aka Magneto. The plan? CRN reports that Microsoft is finally going to unveil Windows Mobile 2005 at the Mobile and Embedded Developers Conference in Las Vegas next month, and that they're going to be taking a serious swipe at RIM by adding BlackBerry-like support for push email and live content updating to Windows Mobile-powered Pocket PCs and Smartphones. The CrackBerry's pretty damn entrenched, but Microsoft knows a thing or two about dislodging a market-dominating competitor, and so will be reviving a familiar tactic: to compete with RIM's server product they're going to be giving away their Exchange 2003 Server Pack 2 update, which adds support for push, for free.
This is very interesting indeed. Being a longterm Blackberry user i find this not so much disturbing but welcoming. Although i believe Blackberry has achieved the Apple status, it may never be the biggest player once MS enters, but it will always have a strong dedicated loyal userbase.
How exactly is this non-monopolistic behavior? :P
How exactly is this monopolistic behavior? Bringing out a better product to compete with your competitors? Isn't that the definition of capitalism?
This is what it's all about: couple of companies fighting for customers!
Sounds like that Good Technology company that makes a Blackberry-like/lite app for a bunch of PDA's & phones is cooked. MS may not be able to kill Blackberry but they can squash Good without even noticing.
The Blackberry has always been most popular with Fortune 1000 companies that have the internal IT resources needed implement and integrate their push technology. Microsoft wants to make sure that there are no barriers to adoption for their PDA OS. As such, their "Free" push technology is a smart competitive move. As for it being monopolistic... Go tell it to the ACLU (American Comunist Lawyer Underwriters)
As a long time Palm user, I am thrilled that PalmOne is looking at adopting ActiveSynch as a synchronization platform. Having struggled with sychronization issues and TERRIBLE tech support, especially on their Tungsten T-series, I would welcome a "higher caliber" sychronization solution. I also think that a ubiquitous synch solution that works with multiple vendors hardware, be it phones, PDAs, TV Remotes, etc. poses a huge advantage for both the end user as well as those writing software for multiple platforms.
#3. Did you read the article? "to compete with RIM’s server product they’re going to be giving away their Exchange 2003 Server Pack 2 update, which adds support for push, for free"
I'll spell it out for you - they are leveraging the desktop OS/MS Office monopoly by giving away free "push" email technology in Exchange server" a part of MS Server 2003. I'm sure you've heard of it. Current users pay RIM for push.
MS will make up for it (free push) in OS sales - which RIM cannot do. The strategy is called "embrace and extend". Netscape was one of the first to fall to it. Realplayer was in the crosshairs when they sued succesfully in the EU. Others have also fallen.
Don't use the crackberry and don't care about having my emails sent to me 24/7. But a lot of people do and MS knows it. I'd be sellling my RIM shares if I had any.
IMO, Microsoft makes junk for products when it came to the mobile arena. I was stupid enough to choose a Pocket PC pda over a Palm because it looked better on paper. Stupid thing needed a hard reset every two weeks even with the latest updates. The new WM2005 will be also be bugged out like crazy, but then again, when is Microsoft ever bug free? But because it's Windows, people will buy it. Corporations care about the bottom line usually and if Microsoft is cheaper, well then, who cares about quality, right?
The only problem I see with this is that it will require Exchange. Most companies don't run Exchange (believe it or not) and many of the ones that do are planning on switching away from it because A) its too damn expensive, B) it requires much more hardware (RAM, processor) than it should (bloat), and C) it has regular security issues since it only runs on Windows (which we all know has serious problems). Exchange has some of it's own security issues from time to time, but none as bad as the OS itself.
Not no mention the fact that Exchange doesn't come with anti-virus or spam filtering. Add in those things (can only get from a 3rd party) and the price starts to skyrocket.
There's so many great groupware solutions now it just isn't worth it to commit to Exchange. Not to mention all the Linux-based network appliances that do everything exchange does and more for a tenth of the price (they even work with Outlook!).
1. ActiveSync isn't that great a technology. It's not nearly as robust as TrueSync or whatever.
2. Push technology is great but until MSFT makes a reliable Mobile OS, it ain't gonna matter. I use an Audiovox XV6600 on VZW. I reset the device probably an average of two times a day... sometimes more, sometimes less. No way will corporates deal with this kind of unreliability.
And no other companies regularly add features to their existing products to meet challenges from new competitors or extend their market reach. Wow. The amount of whining crybaby behavior in this industry is just amazing.
RIM has to keep their product more compelling, be relegated to a niche position, or get out of the business. It works that way in every business that exists.
They can put what ever features into the OS they want. It already has a "Push to Pull" feature. They are just adapting that to what the market requires... Offering "Push" features for free to existing customers in not doing any illegal. Did anyone pay for Service Pack 2 for WindowsXP? It was an important enhancement so they offered it for free. RIM will likely be hurt by this, but they are combating the issue by licensing Blackberry Connect to as many handset opperators (Windows Mobile devices included) as it can.
"Not no mention the fact that Exchange doesn't come with anti-virus or spam filtering. Add in those things (can only get from a 3rd party) and the price starts to skyrocket."
This will be something of the past since MS has aquired a company that develops anti virus software ( the name slips my mind..) and MS already alsi have a beta version of an anti spyware software: http://www.microsoft.com/athome/security/spyware/software/default.mspx
"The only problem I see with this is that it will require Exchange. Most companies don't run Exchange (believe it or not) and many of the ones that do are planning on switching away from it because A) its too damn expensive...."
Sort of misses the point doesn't it? Granted, RIMM makes most of their money on hardware at the moment, so I imagine there are a fair number of people out there using alternatives to Exchange, but how many of them are likely to be using Blackberries? I don't know the answer to that, but in my experience, if you have a BB, it's usually to use with a BB server and therefore Exchange.
The BB server basically exists only because MS has sucked at mobile email to date. If they can fix that, then sys admins will probably happily start to get rid of BB server as it would reduce their costs (a big driver in IT these days) and adminstrative headaches. It always amazed me that RIMM and Good were able to make businesses out of what essentially amounts to a feature that was lacking in Exchange.....just my 2 cents...
By the way PalmSource has a 'Blackberry Connect' product that they will supposedly be releasing soon. It will work on Treo's to connect them with existing BlackBerry Enterprise Servers in a companys environment.
http://www.palmsource.com/palmos/mailblackberry.html
Without a keyboard Windows Mobile Devies will not compete with the BB.
WinMobile is trying to get design wins vs. everyone, not just RIM. I don't see this as tied to the MS server group offering Exchange ActiveSync to WinMobile's competitors. Rather I see it as the Exchange team trying to get wins vs. their own competition.
let's see MS win something without leveraging that little monopoly of theirs.. OOPS.. not gonna happen
cue Xbox Programming Engine that lets Xbox games run on Windows... Sigh
The 'Royale' theme (XP media centre plastic blue style) would look good on a PPC.
Junk.
Anything signed MicroSHIT is junk. People get screwed by Microshit products everyday, but yet they flock to buying them over and over. I simply don't get it. Is the world that stupid?
If you gave me the best PC ever made or the best MicroSHIT product ever made, the first thing I would do is sell it!
I will start with saying that ; My company has BES (running against exchange 2000 servers) and I put it there.We have about 50 blackberry connect devices, including 72XX, 70XX's nokia 9500's and 6820 (? the one that splits in two anyway) and a pair of XDA users.
As a technology Push email is fantastic; i am always amazed that it arrives on my communicator before it makes it into outlook when i am in the office. So microsoft is right to offer it; however teh way it is doing it is what i find strange. I would suggest its a move to try and get people to upgrade their enterprises to exchange 2003. Many companies are happy enough with their exchange 2000 or 5.5 setups or simply can't justify the 1000's it costs to switch to 2003 and push might give them the reason to do it.
For me the simpe fact that BES supports more than one mail server is enough to continue with it. It is simple to install, and doesnt require vast hardware resources. Oh and compared to an upgrade to exchange 2003 its remarkably cheap !
At the end of the day if you have exchange 2003 its seems like a great new feature. What would be better would be a single standard for push mail; wasnt nokia also working on its own push too? I would much rather be able to use any phone with any push technology; until the MDA iV comes out it would seem that blackberry has it locked; as the pen interface is a joke for actually inputting data quickly or whilst on the move, the "keyboard" on the XDAiis is a unique input system to say the least.
Looking at blackberry compatible devices such as the 72xx, 70xx and the nokia 9500s the nokia soap bar phones etc for now we wont be looking to switch for now. But the blackberry users drive what device they have; they want something easy to use, long battery life and simple to deal with messages. The killer feature might be -- decent attachment handling by the MS devices.
The market is pretty evenly split for corporate email servers between MS exchange, and Lotus Notes. Blackberry's enterprise server works with both, and RIM makes pretty solid hardware. MS will get some market share, but RIM won't be going away anytime soon.
Now if MS strikes a deal with PalmOne, and creates a version of Magneto for the Treo -- they might have something.
Hm. It stated "push to talk" ....Nextel currently has the only "push to talk" two-way radio technology....and I do not understand how this Window's program can change a phone other than a Nextel product into a "push to talk"....
I DO understand it says "push email", and I do understand what that means...but "push to talk" is something entirely different. Can anyone explain?
Thanks...