Microsoft finishes Danger takeover
updated 09:25 am EDT, Tue April 15, 2008
MS Finishes Danger Buyout
Microsoft today announced that it has completed its acquisition of Danger, bringing the Sidekick maker entirely into the larger company. Danger will now become a core component of the new Premium Mobile Experiences group at Microsoft and will be part of the Mobile Communications group inside of the Entertainment and Devices division. The freshly acquired company's founders now report directly to Roz Ho, corporate VP for the Premium Mobile Experiences group and former head of the Macintosh Business Unit.
Microsoft doesn't provide specifics as to the intentions behind the acquisition, but intends to create "cool, new, fun" experiences with cellphones, according to Ho.
The now-finalized buyout has already triggered claims that Microsoft may be designing cellphone hardware. While the new organization may change circumstances, Microsoft has normally kept its Windows Mobile division separate from the Entertainment and Devices division, which develops the Xbox 360 and Zune in addition to other, more hardware-focused projects. The acquisition is rumored to be worth $500 million, a reportedly high amount for a company like Danger.
Danger itself has never manufactured its own hardware, instead designing or co-designing Sidekicks with companies such as Motorola and Sharp while also creating the software used for the devices. The firm's efforts have often focused on non-traditional cellphone functions such as messaging and media, suggesting that Microsoft is looking to develop a vertically integrated phone.
Microsoft has in the past denied working on phones of its own, claiming the practice goes against its device-agnostic philosophy, but has contradicted its own stance with the wholly proprietary Zune. Microsoft continues to support its more widespread Windows Media format but has focused much of its attention on its own portable devices, which have taken marketshare from Microsoft partners.
the big difference
04/15, 09:40am reply
microsoft buys up what's out there to join the fray; apple goes out and picks the fight.
legacyb4
Mac Elite
Joined: May 2001
the difference
04/15, 09:56am reply
ms invests, apple innovates
Haroscarfel
Fresh-Faced Recruit
Joined: Nov 2007
bureaucracy
04/15, 10:22am reply
Nothing screams overbloated bureaucracy like the "Premium Mobile Experiences group at Microsoft and will be part of the Mobile Communications group inside of the Entertainment and Devices division."
So getting out my Microsoft corporate dictionary and secret marketing decoder ring...
Premium - something we think we can charge a lot of money for because the non-Premium stuff is hopelessly crippled so as to be useless
Mobile - anything not associated with the bloatware we call Vista
Experience - a way to confuse, annoy, and frustrate our customers with pop-up warnings, nagware, and complex registration processes
ender
Fresh-Faced Recruit
Joined: Mar 1999
yep
04/15, 11:21am reply
nothing says MS quite like "cool, new, fun".
nat
Junior Member
Joined: Mar 2002
Roz Ho...
04/15, 01:43pm reply
" The freshly acquired company's founders now report directly to Roz Ho, corporate VP for the Premium Mobile Experiences group and former head of the Macintosh Business Unit."
So, at least some things remain the same - people continue to fail upwards at Microsoft.
ZinkDifferent
Fresh-Faced Recruit
Joined: Jan 2005
roz ho?
04/16, 05:09am reply
"Microsoft doesn't provide specifics as to the intentions behind the acquisition, but intends to create "cool, new, fun" experiences with cellphones, according to Ho."
having been to multiple MacWorld keynotes where Roz Ho was a guest... i can assure you that her saying "cool, new, fun" was most likely delivered completely wooden, mechanized, and 100% non-engaging or compelling in any manner whatsoever.
in other words... the complete opposite of actual "cool, new, fun".
010111
Junior Member
Joined: Aug 2002