But after early failures, the software company has swallowed its pride and is steadily on its way to becoming one of the most important suppliers of mobile software infrastructure.
Microsoft's first impulse, industry observers and even some Microsoft executives say, was to trundle into the offices of hardware manufacturers and tell them exactly what the mobile landscape - based, of course, on Microsoft's products - would look like.
"The biggest problem for Microsoft has been early arrogance in the area," says Ken Dulaney, vice president of mobile computing at Gartner Group. "They assumed everyone would flock to them."
Now, it's Wireless Strategy 2.0 for Microsoft. These days, a more contrite Microsoft, perhaps cut down to size due to the government's antitrust lawsuit, is more willing to collaborate.
Microsoft executives concede that some of its earlier attempts to produce mobile computing software were disappointing, but insist they've learned from the experience. "Two or three years ago, we were saying, 'We've got this device space figured out,'" says Scott Gode, director of marketing at Microsoft's Mobility Group. "Now Microsoft is very pragmatic and forward-looking in this space."
What Gode means is that Microsoft will offer technology and services that span the entire range of the wireless space - including device software, server software, content and applications, and even the tools to create content for wireless devices. It will also develop its products to work with those from competing vendors.
"Our aggressiveness to say we have a solution for every part of the mobile chain doesn't mean we're ignoring installed bases, whether that means tapping into data in an Oracle database or serving data to a RIM [Research In Motion] device," Gode says.
The many-tentacled creature that is Microsoft is pursuing the wireless Web in three broad areas:
Devices: One of the company's historical strengths has been Windows, the dominant end-user interface and the operating system people use to access and create digital information. In the wireless realm, Microsoft's instinct is to "own the client" and become the leader in providing similar software for mobile devices of all shapes and sizes. The company's two main mobile platforms are Pocket PC - the revamped version of Microsoft's handheld OSes introduced last year - and the Microsoft Smart Phone Platform, code-named Stinger, designed for phonecentric devices that also provide data access features. Microsoft also offers Mobile Internet Explorer, browser software intended for phone manufacturers to use in mobile handsets that can't accommodate the Stinger code.
Servers: Mobile Information Server, code-named Airstream, is Microsoft's attempt to provide the link between data that resides on wired networks - such as email on a Microsoft Exchange server sitting in a company's headquarters - and the end user's wireless devices. Microsoft says the first official release of Mobile Information Server should ship in the first half of this year.
Content and applications: MSN Mobile is a free "wireless portal" that serves up news and information from MSN - as well as access to Web-based applications such as Hotmail - and is designed for Web-enabled phones and handhelds.
An important truth about the wireless Web is that, contrary perhaps to Microsoft's wishes, there will not be a single player dominating the field.
Among wireless device makers and carriers, a wariness about Microsoft's reputation of bullying tactics has worked to the company's detriment, analysts say. Some consumer electronics companies remain reluctant to work with Microsoft. "Vendors just don't want Microsoft to dominate this space, and they're doing everything they can to work around it," Gartner Group's Dulaney says.
Such sentiment has helped mobile software competitors such as Palm and Symbian, a consortium formed by U.K. handheld vendor Psion and several mobile phone manufacturers. Openwave Systems, formed by the merger of Phone.com and Software.com, also provides Web minibrowser and email technology for mobile phones.
