Communicator Goes Mobile

Corporate users of newer Windows Mobile Smartphones and Pocket PC phones will be soon able to access instant messaging (IM) and presence services provided by Live Communications Server (LCS) 2005 systems. A free client, named Communicator Mobile, will let users of Windows Mobile 2003 Second Edition and Windows Mobile 5.0 devices exchange instant messages with other LCS users and, in some cases, conduct Voice-over-IP (VoIP) calls with users on PCs or Windows Mobile devices.

The new Communicator Mobile client is unrelated to the MSN Messenger client that comes preinstalled on all Windows Mobile devices. (For details on how the two clients contrast, see the sidebar “Two IM Clients for Windows Mobile“.)

Fills a Key Gap

Microsoft is gradually filling the gaps in its products for real-time communications (user presence, IM, telephony, VoIP, video, and data conferencing) both inside and among organizations. In 2005, the company extended secure and auditable IM and presence services to Internet users and other organizations that run LCS 2005; it released a Web-based client for LCS 2005 and a new desktop client, Office Communicator 2005; and it added new telephony capabilities. The combination of LCS SP1, Communicator 2005, and a gateway to the PBX allows users to control PBX functions, such as dialing numbers or setting forwarding options, from the Communicator 2005 client, and users can conduct VoIP calls with other Communicator 2005 users and those on the public switched telephone network (PSTN).