Acquisition Targets Consumer Smart Phones

The acquisition of Danger signals Microsoft’s continued interest in consumer-oriented smart phones, mobile phones offering advanced capabilities beyond a typical phone, often with PC-like functionality. Danger makes the Sidekick smart phones and also delivers a server infrastructure for mobile applications, which Microsoft is likely to keep, as well as a Java-based mobile OS, which it almost certainly will not. The acquisition could lead to a Zune-branded mobile phone.

Danger’s Platform

Danger produces a Java-based client OS for mobile phones and hosts a complementary server infrastructure. The devices themselves are manufactured by Sharp and Motorola and sold in the United States and Europe by wireless carrier T-Mobile.

The server infrastructure, hosted by Danger, hosts content and applications for the devices and automatically transfers and synchronizes user data, such as e-mails and photos, between the device and server. Users can then access their accounts and data from a PC through a Web interface. Data is compressed and encrypted before being sent or received by devices. Third parties can create applications, such as a custom MySpace client, and content, such as ringtones, which can then be purchased and downloaded to the device over the wireless phone network.