Microsoft takes big stake in Sendo

SOFTWARE KING Microsoft has taken a large share in UK mobile handset manufacturer Sendo and aims to use the phone company's technology to create a GPRS ready PDA likely to be released by the end of the year.

Microsoft will take a stake in Sendo likely to be over $10 million but accounting for less than 10 per cent in the privately held firm, which also has investment from Hong Kong outfit CCT Telecoms and Bowman Invesment. CCT Telecoms provides factory facilities for the firm.

Sendo specialises in small, light handsets and already sells models in over eleven countries but Microsoft is believed to be interested in an up-and-coming PDA called the Z100.

This unit, which Sendo has already demonstrated, uses a 176 x 220 "quarter VGA" 65,000 colour TFT display, and has a 16 x 9 aspect ratio, meaning that, theoretically, widescreen movies can be displayed on a handheld. It is powered by Texas Instrument "OMAP" chip technology.

It also includes integrated fax, email and SMS, and has infra-red (IRDA), USB and RS-232 interfaces, with probable future Bluetooth support.

Microsoft will put application software stocks on the Z100, we understand, powered by the Windows XP-based Stinger operating system. The PDA will be aimed at both the corporate and consumer markets. For example, it could be used to be play games, or for telephone visual conferencing, or, in the business sector, be used to access SAP databases and the like.

Both Microsoft and Sendo may well brand the phone/PDA, but we are unlikely to see one until the end of the year, and, only then, if GPRS networks can deliver stable platforms. µ