Microsoft to acquire mobile services developer

Microsoft has announced plans to acquire a firm specialising in mobile data, particularly in providing phone users with mobile access to content. The move will extend the capabilities of Windows Mobile and Windows Live, Microsoft said.

MobiComp is a firm that pioneered technologies for the backup and restoration of mobile data to the cloud, as well as mobile posting of content to web sites such as Facebook. Microsoft has not disclosed terms of the planned takeover.

Todd Peters, corporate vice president of Microsoft's Mobile Communications Business, said the move would help extend the firm's mobile platform with innovative and seamless ways for users to stay connected.

“People expect their phones to deliver the best experiences from PCs and the web right to their pockets,” he said.

MobiComp already has services that can back up personal content stored on a phone, publish updates to online communities, and deliver content such as news and entertainment to phones.

While primarily aimed at consumers, such facilities might also be used to drive new business-focused services for users of Windows Mobile handsets. For example, its Active mTicker delivers subscribed information via a scrolling “ticker” that runs along the bottom of a phone screen when the device is in idle mode.