Microsoft in talks to Acquire Adobe to unite against Apple
If rumors are to be believed, Microsoft CEO Steve Ballmer and Adobe CEO Shantanu Narayen were in a meeting to discuss over Apple and its control of the mobile phone market and how the two companies could collaborate in the battle against Apple. A possible acquisition of Adobe by Microsoft was among the options.
Formally, Adobe and Microsoft have been opponents with challenging software and the companies became really aggressive in 2007 when Microsoft began promoting Silverlight, its software plug-in for the Web that directly competes with Adobe Flash.
According to sources, the two companies had talked about the obstruction that Apple’s chief executive, Steven P. Jobs, had placed on Adobe’s Flash software for its hand-held devices and whether a partnership by Adobe and Microsoft could fend off Apple, which continues to grow at juggernaut speeds. Microsoft had courted Adobe several years ago. But the deal never moved past informal talks as Microsoft feared that the Justice Department would most likely block the acquisition on antitrust grounds.
The source noted that Microsoft was the dominant force in technology, Google and Apple were not the giants they are today.
Nokia Laptop (Booklet 3G) to sell for $299 in the US
Nokia’s Booklet3G, a Windows 7 based notebook computer will be sold in November through AT&T and Best Buy. It will be on offer for $299.99 with a 2 Year AT&T Data Connect plan.
PRESS RELEASE
Tuesday, October 13, 2009
Sleek, strong Windows 7-based mini-laptop hits Best Buy stores for 299.99 USD in time for the holidays
New York, NY, USA – Drawing upon its rich heritage and leadership in the mobile industry, Nokia is opening a new chapter in mobility with the introduction of the Nokia Booklet 3G to the U.S. together with AT&T, Best Buy and Microsoft. Developed for connectivity just about anytime and virtually anywhere, the Nokia Booklet 3G is refining what consumers can expect at the crossroads of mobility and the personal computer.
“Nokia understands mobility like no other company and recognizes that the most ‘powerful’ device is the one that doesn’t have you running for the power plug or network point” said Olli-Pekka Kallasvuo, president and CEO of Nokia. “By combining the Booklet’s sleek design, impressive features and competitive price together with the new Windows 7 operating system from Microsoft, AT&T’s nationwide 3G coverage and Best Buy’s unmatched national retail footprint, we believe we have a winning combination for U.S. consumers” (more…)
Nortel, Microsoft Alliance Talk up Products, Roadmap
WirelessWeek writes…Nortel President and CEO Mike Zafirovski and Microsoft CEO Steve Ballmer laid out plans and products of their joint venture that target the enterprise market.
Specifically, the duo said they aim to break down the barriers between voice, e-mail, instant messaging and multimedia conferencing by offering VoIP and unified communications systems to businesses via the Innovative Communications Alliance, the joint venture they formed in July 2006.
Nortel and Microsoft said they’ve bagged agreements with dozens of customers and have “hundreds” of prospects interested in taking advantage of unified communications.
Speaking at an event at Studio 8H in Rockefeller Center, Ballmer and Zafirovski outlined how companies can improve employee productivity and effectiveness, and reduce the costs and complexity of communications. They also announced 11 new implementation services from Nortel and the opening of more than 20 joint demonstration centers where customers can experience the technology firsthand.
“We are executing forcefully on the vision of this alliance and have made tremendous progress,” Zafirovski said. “We completed the planning stages and are now delivering unified communications solutions to businesses around the world. Our goal is to close the gap between the devices we use to communicate and the business applications we use to run our businesses, giving employees the power to use information more quickly and effectively.”
Ballmer added that average employees receive upwards of 50 messages every day on up to seven different devices or applications, and software can and will address the challenge of managing communications.
“Together, we will evolve VoIP and unified communications to integrate all the ways we contact each other in a simple environment, using a single identity across phones, PCs and other devices,” Ballmer said.
The alliance said its new UC Integrated Branch incorporates Nortel and Microsoft technology on a single piece of hardware to deliver VoIP and unified communications in remote offices. The new gear will be available in the fourth quarter of 2007.
A unified messaging platform that provides interoperability between Nortel’s Communication Server 1000 and Microsoft’s Exchange Server 2007 is scheduled for release in the second quarter of 2007, and a conferencing solution that combines the functions of Nortel’s Multimedia Conferencing to Microsoft Office Communicator 2007 is set to be available in the fourth quarter of 2007.
In addition, the companies said they plan to extend their unified communications solution, which includes a unified desktop and soft phone for VoIP, e-mail and instant messaging, to the Nortel Communication Server 2100, a carrier-grade enterprise telephony product supporting up to 200,000 users on a single system.
Looking forward to 2008 and beyond, Nortel and Microsoft said they hope to move business communications onto a software platform designed to drive a higher-quality user experience and reduce total cost of ownership.
