Microsoft Aims for 100 Million Windows Mobile Devices by 2007

Microsoft's Mobility Unit has been given the goal of selling 100 million handhelds and smart phones running Windows Mobile over the next three years.

This goal was set by Microsoft chief executive officer Steve Ballmer, according to ComputerWeekly.com, who was told by a company spokesperson that this is a sign that Microsoft is committed to the platform. The spokesperson went on to say that a large percentage of these are expected to be smart phones, rather than handhelds.

There is no doubt this is an aggressive goal that won't be easy to meet. Microsoft is just getting started in the smart phone arena. The first handset running a Microsoft operating system debuted in Europe only a year ago and Motorola introduced the first Windows powered smart phone in the U.S. last month.

However, the market for smart phones is starting to take off and Microsoft hopes to catch up to the front runner, Symbian. This might be the first year in which smart phones outsell handhelds and the number of smart phones sold each year is expected to increase dramatically.

Meanwhile, the market for handhelds is expected to remain fairly static. However, Microsoft's share of the handheld market has risen recently.

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