AT&T Wireless cosies up with Bill Gates

AT&T expects to become the first provider to offer Microsoft's location-enabled instant messaging services. It will allow consumers to obtain maps and driving directions as well as looking for the nearest gas station or McDonalds' restaurant.

Significantly, the instant messaging side is integrated right into Microsoft's Outlook client software.

Why pick AT&T Wireless? Chiefly because AT&T is promising to offer a Microsoft Pocket PC Phone Edition powered device by Q1 2002. It might even offer a Windows Powered Smartphone 2002 device too if Samsung and Sendo are ever able to ship such a beast.

The other reason is, unlike Sprint or Verizon, for example, AT&T is rapidly rolling out a wireless IP offering based on GPRS/GSM technology - support for which is built into both Microsoft mobile o/s.

Significantly AT&T hopes to provide 'one-button-synch' facility over its GPRS network which will enable Outlook client devices to synchronise wirelessly with a Microsoft Exchange server.

The announcement is timed to take some wind out of Sprint PCS' sails since that rival operator is due to launch its CDMA2000- based Third Generation Wireless Network offering 144 Kbit/s. µ