MICROSOFT’S CHIEF executive Steve Ballmer says the company’s partnership with Nokia will accelerate the adoption of its mobile operating system, as the company seeks to create a third ecosystem to rival Apple and Google.
“The last year has certainly seen a lot of change for our industry,” Mr Ballmer said yesterday at the Mobile World Congress in Barcelona. “It’s clear today that the mobile industry is moving from a device battle to a platform battle.”
He said Nokia’s Windows-based phones would drive volume for Windows Phones and he expected the company to deliver “phenomenal” Windows handsets.
Mr Ballmer gave his keynote speech a day after Nokia chief Stephen Elop said the deal the mobile maker had struck with Microsoft was worth billions.
Talk of the deal’s benefits has done little to calm investor nerves, with Nokia shares down over 5 per cent yesterday.
The stock has lost almost 20 per cent since the deal was announced last week.
Microsoft also said its Windows Phone 7 would be getting an update early in March to allow for multi-tasking and other improvements.
It said it would develop a version of its Internet Explorer 9 browser for WP7 handsets, and also planned to allow the phones to be used with its Kinect controller for the Xbox 360 console.
Rival handset manufacturer LG yesterday unveiled its 3D-enabled mobile phone and tablet. LG is hoping the Optimus 3D, the world’s first full 3D smartphone, and the 3D-enabled LG Optimus Pad, will propel it to the top of the mobile devices market.
“I’m confident that this year LG will emerge as a leader in the next generation of smartphone and tablet devices,” LG chief executive Dr Jong-seok Park said. “What you see here today is just the beginning.”
The Optimus 3D does not require special glasses to view the 3D content and can also capture 3D images and video. The phone comes with dual-core, dual-channel and dual-memory, and is expected to be available later this year.
The Honeycomb-powered Optimus Pad also includes a 3D camera and is expected to begin shipping in March.
“With a flood of tablets hitting the market, we felt strongly that the LG Optimus Pad needed to set a new standard for what a tablet should be,” LG said.
Irish firms were also making announcements. Telecoms firm Maxroam said it was teaming up with Ryanair to offer passengers cheaper roaming rates when abroad.
The Maxroam Sim cards allow users to receive calls and messages free of charge, and make savings while using data, making calls and sending text messages using the special Sim card.
Meanwhile, Twitter chief executive Dick Costolo told congress attendees that the social networking website was already making money, but denied that talks with Google could result in a $10 billion takeover.
Asked if Google could afford a $10 billion acquisition, Mr Costolo said: “I don’t know where these things come from, it’s just a rumour.”
