Microsoft is promising for a couple of months now that it;s likely to bundle a lot of its core Windows Reside offerings into a suite. But Microsoft still hasn;t made that type of an announcement.But when you dig into Microsoft;s recently minted Reside Companies take care of “the world;s largest mobile device manufacturer” Nokia, which the pair unveiled on August 22, it;s basically a offer to preload the Reside suite on Nokia phones.From Microsoft;s press release:“Starting today, Nokia customers in 11 countries with compatible (Nokia) S60 devices can download the new suite enabling access to Windows Live Hotmail, Windows Live Messenger, Windows Reside Contacts and Windows Reside Spaces. Starting next year, customers who purchase compatible Nokia Series 40 handsets will also have access to these popular Windows Live providers.”Starting immediately,
Microsoft Office Professional 2007, S60 phone users can download the Live suite; early next year,
Office 2010, the S40 users will get it preinstalled on new phones. Users in Denmark,
Windows 7 Activation, Finland, France, Germany,
Microsoft Office 2007 Professional, Netherlands, Norway, Spain, U.K., Sweden, Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates are inside the first round of these supported. More countries will come online over time, according to Microsoft.The fine print: “Initially the service will be available as a free trial,
Office 2007, and then customers in select markets wanting to continue using the service may be asked to pay a monthly fee.”Those “sneaky geniuses” over at the independent LiveSide.Net blog think this is a pretty big deal, too.“This new Windows Reside suite for Nokia mobile devices is an important development for Microsoft,” said Chris Overd, one of the principals with LiveSide.Net, “as it brings the core Windows Reside services to the largest handset manufacturer within the world. This has the potential to significantly increase user engagement across the platform, transforming Windows Live away from the PC right into a true set of Internet providers available from multiple devices.”“The PC, Internet and mobile phones are gonna merge over time, even in Western markets,” said Phil Holden, director of Microsoft;s Online Providers Group Mobile Providers. That;s why “we are teaming with the Number 1 device maker.”