| SMARTPHONE - FAQs
Q: What is Smartphone?
A: Microsoft® Windows® Powered Smartphone opens a new chapter in mobile
phone technology by combining the best of mobile voice and data
communications with the best of personal information management
software. Smartphone delivers a rich set of applications, highly
integrated telephony functionality and an open development platform.
Mobile phones built on the Smartphone platform offer both voice and text
communication; and rich wireless data applications in one easy-to-use
device as well as making it a truly personal and powerful mobile phone
for both work and leisure.
Like the Pocket PC, Smartphone is based on Microsoft® Windows CE 3.0, a
powerful real-time operating system for embedded systems. Smartphone is
optimized to deliver the best possible voice and text messaging
communication experience in a handset mobile phone that meets customers'
expectations for cost, size, performance parameters, and aesthetic
design.
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Q: Who is manufacturing Smartphone?
A: The following companies have announced support for Smartphone:
Compal
HTC
Mitsubishi
Samsung Electronics
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Q: What's the difference between Pocket PC and Smartphone?
A: With Smartphone we introduce a new phone experience to the market. We
are integrating PDA-type functionality that users know and love into a
voice-centric handset that is comparable in size to today's mainstream
cell phones. Smartphone is designed for one-handed operation with keypad
access to both voice or data features. It is optimized for voice and
text communication, wireless access to outlook information and encrypted
browsing of corporate and Internet information and services. The Windows
Powered Smartphone gives you a choice to communicate via voice or text
along with the ability to access information and services so you can
stay in-touch while on the go.
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Q: Which mobile operator are you working with?
A: AT&T Wireless (US), Telefónica Móviles (Spain), Cingular (US),
T-Mobil (Germany), Vodafone (UK), Verizon Wireless (US), Orange (UK) and
Telstra (Australia) are our announced trial partners. These are all GSM/GPRS
mobile network operators. Stay tuned for other geographies and network
types.
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Q: Why should a mobile operator carry Smartphone?
A: There are four main benefits to carriers: 1) Smartphone helps mobile
operators meet the wireless data needs of their business customers, 2)
Smartphone helps mobile operators deliver an exciting device to
consumers, 3) Smartphones help mobile operators strengthen their brand,
and 4) Familiar Microsoft software benefits both consumers and
developers.
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Q: How much will Smartphone Cost?
A: Pricing is up to the individual handset manufacturers and deals they
make with operators. In most countries, the network operators will
subsidize the price of the phone to the end user. We expect the final
price to consumers will be in the range of the price of a mid-to-high
tier mass-market cell phone.
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HARDWARE AND MANUFACTURERS
Q: Is Microsoft going to build the
hardware?
A: No, Microsoft will focus on developing great software for phones, not
hardware. As we have done in the past with other mobile devices, we are
working with OEMs who will actually build and sell the hardware.
Announced OEMs are Samsung (www.samsung.com and Mitsubishi Electric
Telecom Europe (Original Equipment Manufacturers) as well as Compal and
HTC (Original Device Manufacturers).
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Q: Why are you so focused on original device manufacturers such as
HTC and Compal?
A: We're delivering a smartphone platform and offer that platform to
several different handset manufacturers. As you know, Samsung is a major
phone vendor and they are very committed to Microsoft's Smartphone
platform. We are engaged in discussions with all major phone
manufacturers around our smart devices.
Major shares of the world's mobile phones are made by original device
manufacturers in Far East already today. By engaging with them directly,
we speed up the time to market for Smartphone product and enable new and
existing brand owners to bring them to market at low cost and low
initial investments.
At the end of the day, consumers have the choice to purchase the device
they prefer, based on brand, design, functionality and price.
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Q: Why are you working with Intel and TI on reference designs?
A: Reference designs enable new and existing smartphone manufacturers to
enter the market without large investments in software, radio or
electrical engineering. Instead, they can leverage the expertise and
economies of scale we and our partners provide while focusing on their
own strengths whether that's brand, industrial design, retail and
distribution presence or low-cost manufacturing.
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FEATURES AND BENEFITS
Q: Who's the target customer for a
Smartphone device?
A: The quick answer is anyone who uses both a mobile phone and some sort
of system to organize their personal information - Outlook®, electronic
organizer or PDA. In addition, we believe that Smartphone will be very
attractive to consumers with the rich communication, mobile data and
entertainment capabilities.
Outlook users will be able to synchronize their email, Calendar and
Contacts, Tasks over the air without having to connect the phone to a
desktop.
Since it's an open Windows-based development platform, manufacturers and
developers can quickly and easily add applications and services to the
product that meet the needs of other and niche markets.
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Q: How would you summarize the benefits Smartphone offers in one
sentence?
A: Like no other mobile phone, the Windows Powered Smartphone with
Microsoft software gives you the ability to communicate via voice and
text and access information you need when you need it.
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Q: What are the key benefits of Smartphone?
A: One phone for work and life:
The innovative Windows Powered Smartphone is a truly personal and
powerful mobile phone for both work and life.
Choice of ways to communicate and access information:
The Windows Powered Smartphone gives you a choice to communicate via
voice or text along with the ability to access information and services
so you can stay in-touch while on the go.
Familiar Microsoft software enables an easy and intuitive experience:
The Windows Powered Smartphone with Microsoft software gives you a
familiar and consistent experience that allows you to interact with your
information and services on your mobile phone in an easy and intuitive
way.
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Q: What cool applications does the phone have?
A: Smartphone is packed with an operating system and applications that
make for a great customer experience. Carriers can take advantage of
this platform to market Smartphone to its customers in an effort to
improve customer financials and increase market share. The list of
applications below is a great start, but with the addition of
Microsoft's enormous developer base more exciting and useful
applications will hit the market soon.
Windows
Similar user interface, icons and design that you're used to
Behaves the way you expect and maintain data fidelity between PC and
Smartphone
Multi-tasking capabilities enable users to switch effortlessly between
different applications as demands shift. During telephone calls, users
can check the calendar or email lists, prepare new messages, read
information from cached web sites and pull together to-do lists in
Tasks.
Use the same profiles and user accounts you've set up on your PC such as
Exchange, Passport, Windows passwords, MSN® Messenger Contact.
Programmable Homescreen
The Smartphone homescreen is programmable and fully customizable
enabling quick access to relevant Internet service notifications and
content through a personal and unique user experience.
Personalization
Make Smartphone your personal and unique device with ring tones, color
schemes, home screens, images, web favorites and mobile services.
Pocket Outlook
Pocket Outlook allows you to read and write email and manage your
Contacts, Calendar, Tasks-keeping your information in sync while on the
go. The unified Inbox stores emails, meeting requests, SMS messages and
voice mail notifications in one central place. Inbox can be configured
over the air to receive email from multiple types of sources including
Outlook, IMAP or POP3/SMTP email services.
ActiveSync®
Information on Smartphone is consistent and up-to-date with your PC.
Desktop or server over-the-air synchronization with Outlook gives you
the latest email, calendar and contact information while mobile and
messages can be created while offline to minimize airtime.
Pocket Internet Explorer
Access web pages with color, graphics and scripts.
Access any WAP site
Shop using industry-standard security technologies and access
confidential personal or corporate information
Support for standard Internet and wireless protocols: XML, HTML 3.2,
WAP1.2.1, SSL, PPTP
Mobile Favorites in Internet Explorer on your desktop are synchronized
with your Favorites folder on your phone
MSN Messenger
Instantly chat with family and friends while mobile.
Windows Media™ Player
Enjoy music or watch videos using the multimedia capabilities.
Smartphone supports MP3 and WMA streaming and local music and video.
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Q: Keying in lots of information on my current phone is painful and
tedious. Why doesn't Smartphone include a touch screen?
A: To meet the needs of today's mobile phone users, Smartphone has to be
a great phone first. For us, that means keeping the phone on you at all
times and using it whilst in motion. In other words, being able to
access key scenarios quickly with one hand is important. We have
developed an advanced user interface around this philosophy of
one-handed navigation with predictive voice and text support so to
achieve an optimal user experience with minimal text input required.
In addition, added cost and reduced durability due to touch screens are
also factors important to mobile phones.
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Q: How much will the services on Smartphone cost?
A: Pricing for data connect time is up to each individual Carrier. The
pricing models for web services driven by MSN Mobile are still being
defined.
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TECHNICAL QUESTIONS
Q: Technical requirements: How much
memory does it have? What processing power?
A: Smartphone uses a combination of RAM, ROM and flash. The actual
configurations as well as processors used will vary depending on the
hardware manufacturer.
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Q: What is the average battery life for a Smartphone phone?
A: This depends on individual hardware manufacturers, but we expect the
phones to have 100 hours of standby time and 4 hours of talk time. We
generally say that these phones can stand around 2 day's constant use.
Again, this will vary depending on the hardware manufacturer.
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Q: Does it support color?
A: Yes. All our OEMs have announced that their first phones will include
16-bit color displays with a resolution of 176x220 pixels. We do enable
gray scale versions on the market too that would sell at a less
expensive price.
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Q: What cellular protocols does it use?
A: Our initial phones will run on GSM and GPRS. Stay tuned for
announcements around support for other networks.
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Q: Do you support MMS, EMS, J2ME, SyncML in Pocket PC and Smartphone?
A: Microsoft is very active in the Industry and expends a great deal of
effort to work with the major Industry initiatives around enabling
protocols and interfaces and technologies. We are very active with IEEE,
IETF, W3C, GSMa, WAP, WECA and many others. We take a very serious view
of our Industry involvement as many companies view our involvement in a
Standards organization as a sign that we are actively supporting or
driving a particular effort when in some cases we may just be following
the progress, we are very cautious about the level of promotion we place
around much of our standards work.
That said, we deliver open platforms to our OEM and mobile operator
partners enabling them to add and extend the platforms with the
applications and capabilities they need to deliver value to their
end-customers. There are several third-party offerings already for our
platforms around EMS, MMS, SyncML etc.
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Q: How can I find out more about Smartphone?
A: We publish all Smartphone information on www.microsoft.com/smartphone
as it becomes available.
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Source:
Microsoft Corporation
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