MSN Direct Goes Mobile
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News Brief. Today, Microsoft unveiled a preview of MSN Direct for Windows Mobile phones. |
MSN Direct is Microsoft's mobile information service first launched for SPOT (Smart Personal Objects Technology) watches, which started selling in late 2003. Since then Microsoft has extended SPOT to other devices—how about weather on ye olde coffee maker—and MSN Direct to GPS devices. The service is now where it should have been all along, on mobile phones.
I had planned to test MSN Direct over the weekend, but my Windows Mobile phone isn't supported. Right now, the service is only available for standard Windows Mobile 6. MSN Direct doesn't support the Pro version or touch-screen devices, which are two knocks against the AT&T Tilt that I use.
But the service looks promising. Microsoft provides users access to splash screens for entertainment, news, stock and weather information. Microsoft doesn't charge for the service, but carrier data charges absolutely apply. Microsoft clearly plans to finance the service through advertising. That's even obvious from the screen shots. From that perspective, MSN Direct is a big deal.
Right now, the Holy Grail of advertising is the mobile phone. It's where Google, Microsoft, Yahoo and many other media and technology companies are pushing hard. With MSN Direct, Microsoft has just put one helluva hook for potential mobile advertisers: A persistent service where users wouldn't likely complain about advertising. Free services and ads are like bread and butter on the Web. They go together. Now, Microsoft has brought some of that familiar free-with-ads experience to the mobile phone.
With MSN Direct, Microsoft is tapping into the future direction of mobile information. Right now, data is more about texting, e-mail and search. But a rapid shift is coming—it's already well underway—to persistent, informational widgets.
Where MSN Direct comes up short is localization. Last week, I asked Scott Rockfeld, the group product manager for Microsoft's Mobile Communications group, if MSN Direct would use location-based services to personal information. For example, MSN Direct could deliver movie times or traffic information based on the phone location, either using cell towers or GPS, or both.
Not yet, Rockfeld said.
Comments (3)
My freedom of speech rights have been violated at MS Watch. My posts are being deleted but
the VCSY stock scam spam continues... This is what the stiflers of free speech don't want
you to hear:
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white. So a lawsuit from a broke company - VCSY - against Microsoft is ALL VCSY has going
for it. Nothing else. Not a dime. Well, actually it's less than zero, because VCSY is WAY
in the hole. How many of VCSY's 30 employees are showing up for work everyday for no pay?
Not enough to answer any questions submitted to them. And VCSY's lawyers are being paid on
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out, I am placing a link directly to Google finance VCSY page. Or feel free to look it up
yourself.
http://finance.google.com/finance?q=OTC:VCSY
Posted by Ayeman | February 11, 2008 1:16 PM
Hey I-Man you stupid bonehead tool. You link to your own stupid drivel you post on Yahoo finance. You are a dung-for-brains idiot. All anybody has to do is read dung-stock vcsy's financials. DUH! It is a dog, loser, dead-for-years stock (look at their historical prices). Anybody who would buy that piece of dung stock, gets what they deserve: NOTHING. Someone stated that buying vcsy stock was like going to the casino. That is not true. At the casino you have SOME chance of making money. buying or keeping vcsy is throwing away your money. You will get more value out of burning any of the paperwork you have from vcsy and using it for heat. Worth more than the dung-stock. Heck, it isn't worthy of being called dung-stock. Dung has more value!
Posted by Ayeman | February 11, 2008 1:29 PM
Joe;
I have been wondering why Microsoft didn't take the lead in this long ago, I mean before Apple built up the iPhone?
It wouldn't surprise me that Microsoft will expand on Zune in a year to make a Zune Phone or something.
Posted by Douglas S. Taylor | February 11, 2008 6:16 PM