Microsoft Announces Launch of Mobile Browser in Q3 - Internet Channel - Xinhua News Agency

Microsoft announced Tuesday at the CTIA Wireless 2008 show that it will release the Internet Explorer Mobile browser to handset manufacturers in the third quarter, with devices likely to hit the market by year's end.

BEIJING, April 2 (Xinhua) -- Microsoft said on Tuesday that it would roll out a new mobile phone browser this year.

Microsoft announced Tuesday at the CTIA Wireless 2008 show that it will release the Internet Explorer Mobile browser to handset manufacturers in the third quarter, with devices likely to hit the market by year's end.

Microsoft has a share of the smartphone market through its Windows Mobile operating system, but faces fierce competition from Apple, RIM and Palm.

Before the launch of the iPhone last June, which integrated cell phone, browser and music player into one device, most mobile phones could only access stripped-down sites because Web-based pages took too long to download due to large graphics and were difficult to read on small screens. The success of the iPhone has prompted other handset makers to follow suit.

The software giant also unveiled the latest version of its mobile operating system - Windows Mobile 6.1 - at the event. The system makes it easier for users to browse through the menu of phone functions.

Microsoft previously estimated that sales of its mobile operating system would grow faster than the overall smartphone market in the next few years. It also expected that the mobile phone market could quadruple in size in the next three or four years to reach annual sales of 400 million units.