Microsoft readying My Phone cloud service
Microsoft appears poised to officially unveil a Web-based service that will let users store, share, and back up data from their mobile phones.
Provided, that is, that the phones run Microsoft's Windows Mobile 6 phone operating system. And the service will be available as only a limited beta to start with.
Details of Microsoft's impending My Phone service slipped out inadvertently when the Web site went live ahead of its scheduled debut. The site appears to have been spotted first by Engadget Mobile, which also referred to the service as SkyBox.
Microsoft's My Phone service is intended to provide backup and other services for Windows Mobile 6 users.
According to the Microsoft My Phone site, the service will let users back up and restore the phone's data, access contact and scheduling information, and share photos. Users will get 200MB of free storage, but beware--a synchronization attempt that exceeds the limit will cut off any files beyond the 200MB mark.
Matthew Miller at ZDNet got confirmation of the coming My Phone launch from Microsoft. Here's an excerpt from the company statement, via Miller:
(W)e are excited about the new Microsoft My Phone service, which will be available as a limited, invite-only beta. This is a significant milestone for Microsoft as it connects the phone to the PC and Web, making mobility a key pillar for the company's software+services strategy.
More details about the service are due at the Mobile World Congress in Barcelona in mid-February.
Last month, Microsoft's top Windows Mobile executive, Andy Lees, told CNET News' Ina Fried that the company would be using the Barcelona event to unveil the first steps in a renewed mobile phone strategy, including services that help connect the phone to the PC and Web.
"You are going to see a bunch of announcements at Mobile World Congress but also it is going to be the beginning of a 12-, 18-month period where you are going to see a whole bunch of different stuff," Lees told CNET News.
Microsoft is also expected to provide additional information about Windows Mobile 6.5, and people are holding out hope, as well, for information about a possible mobile apps store called SkyMarket.
Last week, Microsoft said that it has no plans to make a phone.
Jonathan Skillings is managing editor of CNET News, based in the Boston bureau. He's been with CNET since 2000, after a decade in tech journalism at the IDG News Service, PC Week, and an AS/400 magazine. He's also been a soldier and a schoolteacher. E-mail Jon. 
the phone looks suspiciously like a zune 30...
Is "bunch" a new code name? Or is it "stuff"?
I've had this capability on my non-Windows phone for a couple of years and love it.
I have had access to MobilMe (previously known as Dot Mac) for some years, but it's only become rock solid since about November 2008 (after Steve Jobs knocked some heads together).
Apple had it easier in that it controls the devices syncing with it cloud service. Microsoft doesn't have that control. Also, Microsoft has a habit of dropping its services it doesn't feel are working out so I would be reluctant to trust them with my data.
(only recently have I found MobileMe living up to its promises with the requisite stability, availability, and reliability. Still not 100% there, but making progress. How many years until Microsoft figures out its online strategy and has services that work at the same level?)
It's funny how Microsoft has been consistently missing the point in all that they have been doing over the last year or two - "bringbackthelove.com", "I am a PC", and now this. They obviously consider Apple a formidable competitor, yet, as a brand, Microsoft misses the authenticity and genuine interest in their users to make any of these initiatives fly. Consumers simply don't believe them, the general concept about Microsoft today is that they are in business to be the dominant player at the expense of their customers.
They miss the platforms, passion and commitment from their customers to make initiatives like "My Phone" fly.
Their first next step should not be the launch of new technology, but to figure out how to get their customers to love them and turn them into advocates. In the end, who is better at what technology is not what drives leadership - it's about who gets more love from their customers.
Seriously, Microsoft, you need to do some sort of team project coordination up front to avoid this type of thing. If I can't keep track of the differences in all these offerings what hope does Joe Q Mainstream have to avoid being utterly confused by all of it?
How many sync products does one company need? Do you think the different departments talk to each other or even know about each other?
Isn't it ironic that a company that seems so out-of-sync internally is offering so many sync services? Perhaps Microsoft should sync-up its own departments and people before they offer another service to sync-up phones.
Myphone is for its upcoming phone and other windows mobile hardware on the market.
livemesh is a remote desktop program where u can tie your scanners, printer, etc. you can also bring wapple devices to the program. on microsoft myphone you cant.
skydrive is a sweet and simple online harddisk where you store huge files and datas and share with other folks. besides it has a social way of sharing with friends and a group of people can have 25gb combined to be one hard drive.
i dont use live sync, active sync so i cant comment.
But myphone is a current sync program that is made for the upcoming mobile phone. so shot
METOOsoft r good at photocopying I'll give them that !
Funny how that is.
Don't worry, I'll wait for you to look up some of the longer words before you reply.
But hey, let's pretend that your comment was actually serious. You made the claim that spam phone calls, phone viruses, phone blue screens of death come with any Microsoft product. Please list the products that cause this. You made the claim, therefore you can back it up with evidence, right?
Go right ahead and list those products.
*Or Shamelessly Ape Their Competitors, Whichever is Easier
- by iBuzz February 8, 2009 9:57 PM PST
- @Maccess:
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Showing 1 of 2 pages (32 Comments)Microsoft is trying to "add value to the license." Right now, Windows Mobile adds little if any value over the free OS alternatives like Android and Symbian. And with the declining market share of Windows Mobile, and a general disinterest in Windows Mobile from the general public, handset makers and carriers aren't exactly falling over themselves trying to license Windows Mobile for many new phones.
Microsoft has to convince the handset makers and carriers that there is some value to Windows Mobile. And this MyPhone thing is the best they have thought of so far even though there are similar services available. They had to come up with something that they can march out in their sales presentations.