Microsoft will increase its focus on making mobile phones
part of its strategy to spread IT to people in developing nations, based partly
on a prototype already developed for the purpose called Fone+.
It's a subtle change from the past now that Craig Mundie, chief research and
strategy officer at Microsoft, has taken over the company's Unlimited Potential
Group, which focuses on the developing world. The group used to focus on ultra-low-cost
laptops, shared computing and other initiatives, but the leadership change appears
to put Windows Mobile and handsets into a primary role to spread computing to
poor areas of the world.
Fone+ is an idea that's been around for a few years at Microsoft. Now, after
testing prototypes, Mundie says it's clear such devices can lower the costs
of computing for the poor.
The idea is to connect a low-to-mid-end smartphone based on the Windows Mobile
OS to a TV via a docking station so data on the handset can be displayed on
the TV screen. That way, people can use the computing power in the smartphone
on a big screen.
"We're at the point now where all phones go from dumb to smart. And I
think that’s a major focus for us in terms of how we can bring access to
the Internet and some of these technologies, particularly around health care,
to this rural poor population," said Mundie in an interview at Microsoft's
Government Leaders Forum in Jakarta, Indonesia Thursday.
"It’s a lot cheaper than having to buy a whole separate computer,"
he added.
Even in the poorest places in the world, people have televisions, he said,
and Microsoft wants to use that existing technology to spread computing.
Low-cost computers, Internet-based services and special types of software addressing
specific challenges will be the other three pillars of Microsoft's long-term
research and development efforts aimed at developing nations.
Mobile phones are more widespread than computers these days, with the number
of handset users estimated at over 3 billion worldwide. They're also prevalent
in the third world, where farmers and others use them as an important tool for
business, for example, to check market prices in several locations in order
to get the best prices for their produce.
Mobile phone networks are also widespread. Most of the world's population is
covered by mobile phone networks, according to the GSM Association and CDMA
Development Group.
Anoop Gupta, corporate vice president of the Unlimited Potential Group, said
Fone+ is still under development and Microsoft doesn't have a timeline to put
out a specific product.
"It’s an internal project right now," he said. "The basic
notion is that today the distinction if you look at the compute power, memory
and resources inside your phone and inside an Asus ultra-low cost PC, that difference
is becoming smaller and smaller."
He also emphasized Microsoft's commitment to continue looking at all ways to
make computing more accessible to the poor.
"We continue to explore and look at both phone-up models and PC-down models
as well look for the right devices for emerging markets," he said.
