PalmOne Partners With Microsoft For Mobile Email
PalmOne has an existing partnership with RIM for Blackberry software, but now they have announced an additional partnership with Microsoft, also for mobile email software. It’s interesting to observe the “coopetition” between PalmSource, PalmOne, Microsoft, and RIM, but the essence of this deal is lower costs: the RIM Blackberry solution requires extra server software be installed above Exchange or Lotus 123 server software to handle the Blackberry functions, while the Microsoft mobile mail functionality can be extended straight out of existing Exchange server environments. Thus MSFT has an cost/complexity advantage in enterprises where it has an installed base (sound familiar?) This is a good move for PalmOne, and increases the range of mobile e-mail options they can offer their enterprise customers, while it’s a small setback for RIM.
