Good news to road warriors: Microsoft is launching its own mobile email platform, in an apparent move to compete against the BlackBerry technology. Highly popular among the business crowd, mobile email devices allow mobile phone subscribers to receive email messages on their mobile phones or dedicated email devices (which usually double as mobile phones, actually). Research in Motion’s (RIM) BlackBerry has been the device of choice for quite some time now, but is facing challenges in the legal arena and was almost shutdown because of a patent infringement case.
Microsoft is partnering with Vodafone for the launch of Windows Mobile E-Mail, and the service will initially be offered in the UK, Germany, and France. Windows Mobile E-Mail will also enable users to view and edit Microsoft Office Word documents and Excel spreadsheets on their mobile devices.
Mobile email is starting to become a necessity, business solutions consultants note, with employee mobility being an important human resources consideration in starting a company.