Microsoft Corp., Seattle, and Ericsson have launched a joint venture to provide e-mail and Internet services for mobile phones by the end of the year.
The new company, Ericsson Microsoft Mobile Venture AB, is headquartered in Stockholm, Sweden, where 70 percent-owner Ericsson is also based. Ulf Avrin was named president of the venture.
By year end, plans call for providing services that will tie people's cell phones to their corporate e-mail accounts and computer networks. Ericsson Microsoft's software will also include calendars, to-do lists and other personal organization functions, the two companies said.
The joint venture is part of a broader strategic alliance that is also expected to produce the next generation of so-called "smart" phones" which are expected to provide better access to the Internet.
