Yep, they’re not just iClone’ing phones anymore. The App Store is on everyone’s must rip list, and what else? It rhymes with iPhone and works a lot like MobileMe…
According to WMExperts, it’s Microsoft’s new My Phone (née SkyBox).
Okay, so the name re-un-de-breaks Microsoft’s usually mind-boggling branding — we’re guessing it harkens back to My Computer and My Documents of yore — and including not only PIM data but text messages, photos, videos, and device backup, is something we’d really like to see in the next version of MobileMe.
Our own editor-in-chief, Dieter Bohn, will be live and on location in Barcelona for Mobile World Congress, so we expect he’ll send back all the details, but with everyone at Microsoft already using Exchange (heck, even Apple licenses it!) we have to wonder where My Phone fits in, what if any similar features ActiveSync might get as a result, and why it is exactly Microsoft insists on producing so many products with more overlap than a hair weave?
Posted on Monday, Jan 19, 2009 by Rene Ritchie
File Under:News; Tags: app store, iclones, mobileme, skybox, skyline, skymarket, windows mobile, windows mobile 6.5, winmo
Welcome to 2009, where Microsoft will — at some point later this year or next — release versions of what Apple released in 2008!
Our frenemies over at WMExperts have the details, and we have the snide remarks:
SkyMarket looks to be the App Store done Microsoft’s way. Does that mean each app will ship in Home Basic, Home Premium, Professional, Really Professional, Ultimate, and 8 more server SKU’s?
SkyBox, which if MobileMe is “Exchange for the rest of us”, makes SkyBox “MobileMe for the same of you?”. We can only guess it’s a repackaging of Hosted Exchange and Live! services, so join in on the Sync Toy/Live Sync/Live Mesh/Azuze MPD-brandfusion. It will, reportedly, run on non-WinMo devices (which is actually a Very Nice Thing).
SkyLine, either a business version of SkyBox(!) or a Mobile clone of iDisk, depending on who’s reading the tea leaves.
Microsoft, like RIM, Google, and Palm have to go in this direction. Apple opened a floodgate with the AppStore, no doubt about it, so while we poke some friendly fun, we also hope this gives Apple more competition, like the new Palm Pre, so that Apple has to up their game and give us iPhone faithful more functionality faster than we might otherwise get.
Anyone racing to pick up an HTC FUZE and try it out?
