Cisco, P&G link Microsoft apps with Orative

Orative, an "anti-phone-tag" software maker, says Cisco Systems and Proctor & Gamble are among the first to use its new product--software that connects Symbian cell phones to Microsoft Outlook e-mail, contacts and calendar features. Orative's mobile messaging software provides an early example of the possibilities of a recent landmark deal letting Symbian license Microsoft software and develop applications for Symbian phones to work with Microsoft Exchange Server 2003 e-mail, calendar, contacts and other personal-information tools.

Symbian's operating system create smart phones--a nickname for the small percentage of cell phones with advanced, PC-like features such as word processing, creating spread sheets or the ability to view hour-long videos. Smart phones' hefty price tags are among the reasons sales have stayed extremely low--they represent less than a half of a percent of the 1.2 billion cell phones now in circulation.