Microsoft My Phone opens to public

Microsoft this week pushed its own answer to Apple’s MobileMe service into public beta, inviting all Windows Mobile users to test out the My Phone platform.

The My Phone beta is available for all users of Windows Mobile 6.0 or 6.1 smartphones, and syncs information between the handset and the web, paving the way for backup services, photo publishing and social networking tools.

As part of its drive to make Windows on the mobile phone more flexible and attractive to consumers, My Phone offers a first glimpse at the Redmond Giant’s strategy. The platform will allow users to back up phone information to a password protected online storage space hosted by Microsoft, allowing restoration even to a different device; users can access and update contacts and calendars on the web, and have the information synced with the handset; and users can share content such as photos online.

During the beta phase, Microsoft My Phone will be free, but the firm hinted that this might not always be the case. Apple charges users $99 a year for access to MobileMe, including 20GB of online storage. By contrast, Microsoft gives you 200MB of free storage.

My Phone is just one part of Microsoft’s mobile strategy, which will see the vendor launch its own app store in the fourth quarter of this year, with a showcase of around 20,000 apps, of which two thirds will be targeted at consumers.

Speaking to telecoms.com recently, Roderick van der Graaf, EMEA enterprise marketing manager for the mobile communications unit at Microsoft, was keen to point out the importance of mobile to the company. By way of illustration, when the firm introduces version 6.5 of its mobile handset operating system in the fourth quarter of this year, the word ‘mobile’ will be dropped from the branding.

“Mobile is a key part of Microsoft,” said van der Graaf, “but Microsoft itself is just a small part of the platform, which also includes operators, handset manufacturers and developers.”

Version 6.5 of the Windows mobile platform will see the company push even further into the consumer space with a flashier user interface and easier access to information by reducing the configuration and number of clicks required.