Microsoft Gets Its Mobile Runnin'

A recent string of partnership announcements means more business for Microsoft's(MSFT Quote) fledgling mobile unit.

But don't assume it's a natural for the world's largest software maker to duplicate its desktop success in the wireless world.

In addition to taking on the popular BlackBerry email device from Research In Motion(RIMM Quote), Microsoft faces an even larger battle against heavyweight Symbian, the market leader in the worldwide smartphone market.

The Symbian operating system, developed through a London-based joint venture of wireless and electronics companies, commands a sizeable lead over Microsoft's Windows Mobile OS overseas.

In the U.S. it runs on only six smartphone models. But as the smartphone market gains ground in the U.S., Symbian is gearing up for a bigger showdown against Microsoft. One salvo could come as early as this week with Symbian announcing another handset win in the U.S.

"I'm not prepared to make an announcement but would say 'watch the space this week,' " Symbian's vice president of U.S. operations Jerry Panagrossi said in an interview Wednesday.

Already this week, coinciding with the Cellular Telecommunications and Internet Association convention in San Francisco, Microsoft Mobile announced two major deals.

On Tuesday, the software behemoth joined Motorola(MOT Quote) and Sprint Nextel(S Quote) in announcing the first Windows Mobile-based, push-to-talk smartphone, which will take advantage of Nextel's walkie-talkie network.

That announcement came a day after PDA pioneer Palm(PALM Quote) announced it would use Windows Mobile in its next Treo smartphone, which until now has exclusively used spinoff PalmSource's(PSRC Quote) operating software.

The Microsoft-Palm partnership was widely viewed as a move aimed to squash BlackBerry in the PDA market. But given Symbian's well-heeled backers and its track record in Europe and Japan, Symbian stands as a greater challenger to Microsoft in the more prodigious smartphone market.