Microsoft yesterday moved to capture a slice of the fast growing corporate mobile e-mail market by taking on the Blackberry, the iconic handheld device. The Blackberry, which allows users to send and receive e-mails while on the move, has enjoyed phenomenal success. Lehman Brothers, the US investment bank, estimates there will be 5.3m users by the end of the year and more than 9m by the end of 2006. Blackberry is produced by Research in Motion, the Canadian technology company.
Microsoft will offer a free upgrade to its customers who are using its latest e-mail server software that will enable them to “push” messages to “smartphone” devices including those running Microsoft's Windows Mobile operating system software. “Push” e-mail technology automatically forwards messages to the user's mobile phone. Microsoft mobile e-mail software users previously had to dial up the server to get messages.
