Microsoft maps out wireless offering
C|Net | at | by Mike
Microsoft is hot on the trail of location-based services for cell phones. On Monday at the CTIA Wireless 2004 show here, the software giant announced partnerships with U.S. cell phone service provider Sprint and with Bell Mobility in Canada to sell services, mainly to businesses, that exploit a mobile phone's ability to broadcast its exact location.
The Canadian carrier is already selling new services based on Microsoft server software, also introduced here Monday, that lets developers plug directly into the "geotracking" databases of cell phone service providers. Sprint, meanwhile, is set to unveil location-based services based on the Microsoft initiative by midyear, according to Steve Lombardi, technical evangelist and product manager for Microsoft's MapPoint Web Service.