| Microsoft snaps up Portuguese mobile developer |
Jun. 26, 2008
Microsoft has announced its intent to purchase MobiComp, a Portuguese developer of software for smartphones running Windows Mobile, Symbian, or J2ME. MobiComp has published utilities for backing up data over the air, posting content to social networks, and pushing data to devices in a "ticker" format.
Terms of the acquisition were not disclosed, but Microsoft reportedly plans to retain MobiComp's office in Braga, Portugal as a mobile research and development center. Nuno Duarte, general manager of Microsoft Portugal, was quoted by Reuters as saying that the purchase will be Microsoft's largest-ever investment in the country.
 MobiComp's MobileKeeper Backup and Restore MobiComp's MobileKeeper Backup and Restore (pictured above) is a client/server program touted as being able to backup device content via 2.5G and 3G cellular networks. The software operates at preset intervals automatically, but also allows users to browse data backups manually via "virtual drive" functionality, according to MobiComp. MobileKeeper Backup and Restore clients are said to be available for Windows Mobile, Symbian S60/S80/UIQ, J2ME, Brew, and SyncML.
MobiComp's Active mTicker, which currently supports Windows Mobile and Symbian S60/UIQ, has been marketed to mobile operators as a "mobile, zero-click application that pushes personalized information at subscribers." Its always-on, scrolling ticker runs along the bottom of a phone's screen when the device is in idle mode, and has been deployed since 2006 by TMN, Portugal's largest mobile operator.
 The architecture of MobiComp's Active mTicker (Click to enlarge) Active mTicker, whose architecture is illustrated above, can be used for the following types of content, according to MobiComp:- Promotion of products such as games, ring tones, wallpaper, video-on-demand or mobile TV; plus advertising from third parties
- Aggregated, operator-defined channels (news, lifestyle, business, etc) that users can choose to subscribe to
- User-defined channels that can include RSS feeds, blogs or email updates
- An electronic programme guide for mobile TV
MobiComp's MobileKeeper Sharing and Communities, made available with the two above products as part of a MobileKeeper Suite, is described as the "perfect tool for the burgeoning trend of mobile social networking." Users can publish content directly from their phones to social networking sites such as Facebook and photo sharing sites such as Flickr, says MobiComp.
Todd Peters, corporate vice president in Microsoft's mobile communications business, said, "People expect their phones to deliver the best experiences from PCs and the web right to their pockets. Investing in the right solutions from companies like MobiComp will extend the capabilities of Windows Mobile and Windows Live to help us provide the most innovative and seamless way to stay connected."
Carlos Oliveira, co-founder and CEO of MobiComp, added, "We’re thrilled that our work over the past eight years can now be extended by partnering with Microsoft’s world-class portfolio of mobile services."
More information about MobiComp can be found at the company's website, here.
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