New Microsoft Smartphones Debut

Microsoft is announcing new hardware and operator partners for its Windows Powered Smartphone software and a new MSN mobile Internet service, kicking off its third year at the 3GSM World Congress event in Cannes, France.

Microsoft's 3GSM announcements Monday are a clear follow-up to last year's sneak preview of Windows Powered Smartphone devices and Pocket PC Phone Edition hardware.

Mitac International has a clamshell-type phone based on the Microsoft Smartphone software on show, while Winstron, an Acer spin-off, is the first to license a blueprint for a Microsoft Smartphone from Microsoft and Intel, says Annemarie Duffy, a Microsoft spokesperson.

T-Mobile International will be the third mobile operator to sell a device running Microsoft's Smartphone software. The German company will offer in Europe, starting midyear, the same handset from High Tech Computer that Philippine mobile operator Smart Communications on Friday said it would start selling soon, Duffy said.

The HTC triband phone has a color screen, 32MB of memory, and a MultiMediaCard expansion slot. Its software includes slimmed-down versions of Microsoft's Outlook, Internet Explorer, MSN Messenger, and Windows Media Player.

T-Mobile will also be the first to offer Pocket MSN, a new mobile Internet service and software from Microsoft for smart phones and phone-equipped personal digital assistants running Pocket PC Phone Edition. The software on the device links to a mobile Internet service and allows the user to send instant messages and read Hotmail e-mail. Pocket MSN is a step up from the already available MSN services via Short Message Service text messages, according to Microsoft.

Meanwhile, Orange, which launched the world's first Microsoft-based smart phone in October, will announce at the event that it is joining Microsoft's program for application developers for smart phones. Orange will be able to choose applications certified by Microsoft and add those to the menu of the Orange

Also at 3GSM, Samsung Electronics will launch the Global System for Mobile Communications version of its I700 device. The I700, unveiled last summer, runs Microsoft's Pocket PC Phone Edition and is a PDA and phone hybrid.