MWC: Microsoft Wants to Be Your Companion, for Everything

With the somewhat eerie statement that with Microsoft inthe mix, no one will ever again be alone ¬ "in a world of change, we can be your companion" – the software giant from Redmond, Wash., announced a shift in strategy Monday at Mobile World Congress in Barcelona, Spain. Robbie Bach, president of the entertainment and devices division, said at a press conference that from now on, Microsoft will be out to capture the mobile consumer.

To support the strategy, it unveiled two new mobile apps from partners: Zumobi, which is a widgets application so users can customize the phonetop, and a Galaga-like old-school video game. More to the point, it announced that it plans to acquire software company Danger, the folks behind the T-Mobile USA Sidekick device, and Sunday night it also announced a new Windows Mobile device, Xperia from Sony-Ericsson, aimed at the person on the go that wants to straddle the personal and the business sides of their life. "We are interested in the person who wants to remain constantly connected to data, pictures and media for a personal experience," Bach said.

Up to now Microsoft has focused primarily on dominating the world of IT staffers everywhere, and its Windows Mobile devices, with their Outlook synch and secure remote office capabilities, have been seen as aimed squarely at the business person. Not so now, Bach explained.

In the future, "cellular is not going to be about voice," he explained. "It’s going to be about having a multipurpose platform to support a wide variety of uses. So we are going to span users’ lives, from work to home."

The Sony-Ericsson Xperia X1 device – which marks the first Windows Mobile device from the vendor, leaving Nokia as the only major not supporting the OS – has a touchscreen (sound familiar?), a slide-out keyboard and it’s optimized for music and pictures. Meanwhile, the Danger acquisition will give Microsoft a competency in social networking and multimedia. "This completes the picture of us making the transition from just being in the business side of things," said Bach.

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