Microsoft, Nokia Announce Office Mobile on Symbian

In a move that’s sure to make Dataviz and Quick Office weep, Microsoft and Nokia announced a partnership today to deliver Microsoft Office Mobile and other business software to Nokia’s Symbian smart phones. Nokia’s E-series devices are among the first that will take advantage of this new partnership, which includes the $99 E71x on AT&T. These devices will support Microsoft’s ActiveSync software which allows yhou to sync your contacts, e-mail addresses, and calendar entries from your computer to your phone. With full Enterprise support, that means all of these can sync wirelessly, if your company uses an Enterprise server. Microsoft Office Communicator Mobile, which will start shipping next year, will provide the ability to view, edit, create, and share Microsoft Office documents, full enterprise instant messaging and conferencing, mobile access to SharePoint intranet and extranet portals, and enterprise device management. What’s that mean in the big picture? For us here in the States, it could mean that companies using Microsoft’s Enterprise software for smart phones may be more comfortable allowing their employees to carry Nokia’s Symbian devices instead of limiting them to Windows Mobile devices, perhaps helping Nokia to increase its smart phone sales in the U.S.