Wednesday, May 05, 2004

seattlepi.com Microsoft Blog: Windows Mobile and Palm

seattlepi.com Microsoft Blog: Windows Mobile and Palm "Microsoft's Windows Mobile software running on a palmOne handheld device or smartphone? It might sound far-fetched, given the longtime Pocket PC/Palm rivalry, but Pieter Knook isn't ruling it out.
Asked about the possibility yesterday during a discussion with Seattle-area reporters, the senior vice president in charge of Microsoft's Mobile and Embedded Devices Division called such a scenario "perfectly feasible."
The development that made it feasible was last year's decision by Palm Inc. shareholders to separate it into two independent companies, one for hardware and another for the Palm operating system. The hardware company, known as palmOne, was bolstered at the same time with the acquisition of Handspring, the company behind the Treo line of smartphones.
"They are a hardware company and we are a software company," Knook said yesterday, adding later, "They would be an interesting partner for us."
Pressed on the issue, Knook wouldn't say whether Microsoft and PalmOne have held any discussions to that effect. "We talk to lots of people," he said. "I wouldn't be in a position to tell you even if we had."

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