Microsoft unveils Chinese Pocket PC 2002

TAIPEI: US software giant Microsoft Corp on Thursday unveiled a Chinese

version of its new Pocket PC 2002 software for handheld computing, in a bid to

tap into Greater China's corporate market.

"We need to build localized products so we can really do the things we

want to do here," Dave Wright, general manager of Microsoft Asia's Mobility

Group, told Reuters in an interview. Wright said the Chinese Pocket PC 2002

could achieve significant growth in terms of market share by working closely

with local developers and manufacturers.

Wright said Microsoft will begin marketing the Pocket PC 2002 in China soon,

and did not offer any sales forecasts for Taiwan or China. But he cited market

researcher International Data Corp's (IDC) projections that Microsoft would

claim a market share of 31.4 per cent in 2003 from 24.1 per cent this year in

the Asia area excluding Japan, compared with Palm's 31 per cent in 2003 and 27.5

per cent in 2001.

"The way we are going about approaching the marketing is through our

partners," Wright said. "If you look at the target market we are going

after, we are going to have significant market share over everybody very

soon."

Acer Inc, Asustek Computer Inc, and Compal Electronics are among Microsoft's

six Taiwan-based original equipment manufacturing (OEM) partners that will

incorporate Chinese Pocket PC 2002 into their handheld devices. In total, 22

hardware vendors worldwide have signed on to support Pocket PC 2002, which

Microsoft is touting for both its business functions and its multimedia

applications, including a streaming audio and video player, which captures

sounds and images directly from the Internet.

The Pocket PC 2002 system is an attempt to win new customers in the business

market by offering support for wireless networking and improved security --

areas that Microsoft thinks industry-leader Palm Inc has neglected. While Wright

said Palm was competition for its product, he said the Pocket PC 2002 could

provide functions to customers that Palm could not. "Do I consider Palm

competition? Yes I do, in some ways. But, in other ways, I don't," Wright

said.

Asia is Microsoft's fastest-growing region in the past few years, accounting

for about 20 per cent of global revenue in the fiscal year ended June 30.

Windows is the main PC operating platform in China and Taiwan, but piracy in

former is a big problem.