Microsoft, Nokia team to put Office apps on mobile phones

IDG News Service - Microsoft Corp. and Nokia Corp. are working together to put a version of Microsoft's Office productivity applications on Nokia handsets, the companies said today.

In a teleconference, Microsoft Business Division President Stephen Elop and Nokia Executive Vice President for Devices Kai Oistamo unveiled the alliance, which should give Microsoft leverage against Google Inc. and others that are attacking its Office business with free or low-priced, Web-based productivity applications.

Under the terms of the agreement, the two companies will begin working together immediately to design, develop and market productivity applications for mobile professionals, bringing an application called Microsoft Office Mobile to Nokia's Symbian devices, they said in a press statement. They will also do the same for other Microsoft communications, collaboration and device-management software.

The applications will be available first on Nokia's E-series phones, which are optimized for the business market, but eventually will extend to other Nokia handsets. Microsoft and Nokia also will jointly market the applications to business customers and carriers, they said.

The Microsoft-Nokia deal brings two competitors together. Microsoft's Windows Mobile platform for handsets competes with Symbian, the OS for most Nokia phones. However, Windows Mobile has never found solid footing in the mobile market, while Nokia's Symbian is still the market share leader for midrange handsets, said Directions on Microsoft analyst Matt Rosoff.

Putting Office applications on Nokia handsets is a savvy business move for Microsoft, he said, and will also help both companies compete against their mutual rivals Apple Inc. and Research in Motion Ltd. Apple's iPhone remains primarily a consumer phenomenon, while RIM's Blackberry OS is popular with business users.

Elop and Oistamo said the partnership is based on Microsoft's and Nokia's common goal to make mobile workers more effective as mobile devices become more evolved and powerful. "This partnership was founded with the customer in mind and understanding that mobile workers of the future will need to get more out of their mobile phones," Oistamo said.

"This whole relationship is about expanding ... from a business-productivity perspective," Elop said. "We need to take the broad productivity experiences and put them in the hands of as many people as possible."

The deal does not mean that Microsoft is conceding to Nokia's Symbian as the dominant OS for smartphones, Elop said. Oistamo said that Nokia has no plans to offer Windows Mobile on its own handsets.

Both said the two companies will remain fierce mobile competitors even as they collaborate to bring Office to more mobile workers. Microsoft already offers Office Mobile on Windows Mobile handsets and plans to put a new version of the application on mobile phones next year.