MSN Mobile, a version of the MSN Web portal for mobile phone users with browsers that use the Wireless Access Protocol (WAP), has been redesigned for the more advanced displays on modern mobile phones. The redesign is meant to drive mobile phone users to MSN and Windows Live Web sites and services, which would increase advertising revenue for Microsoft's Online Services group.

The most notable improvement: the portal can now automatically detect many models of mobile phones (a complete list is available on the MSN Mobile Web site) and deliver a tailored version of the portal with the appropriate markup language, optimized style sheet, and images scaled to the size of the display. The portal itself features images, such as news and sports photos, instead of being limited to text links, and a redesigned navigation scheme lets users access services such as Windows Live Hotmail with fewer clicks.

Publicity about the redesign could draw some new users to the site, but Microsoft also hopes the redesign will help it convince carriers to make MSN Mobile the default home page for the WAP browsers they ship with their phones.

Microsoft continues to pursue a multiprong approach to the mobile market, and the MSN Mobile redesign is only one of several recent improvements to its mobile offerings; others include a downloadable search client for Windows Mobile and Java 2 Mobile Edition phones and a suite of client software for carriers and phone OEMs that will let them integrate Windows Live services (such as Hotmail and Messenger) into the Windows Mobile interface on the phones they ship.

Mobile users with WAP browsers can access the new portal at mobile.msn.com. PC users can find more information about the portal at that site.

Recent Microsoft offerings for mobile users are covered in "Live Software for Smart Phones" on page 30 of the Apr. 2007 Update.

Microsoft's approach to mobile services, including background on the MSN Mobile brand, is covered in "MSN Mobile Deals with Platform Providers" on page 27 of the May 2004 Update.