Danger’s operating system powers some of the most consumer-friendly phones for accessing the Internet…
“Hot on the heels of Microsoft’s proposed takeover of Yahoo, the Seattle-based mega-corp announced the acquisition of Silicon Valley based gadget maker Danger Inc…”
Barcelona — Microsoft on Monday took a decisive step into the mobile Web arena with a deal to buy “Danger Inc.,” a maker of mobile software and services that designed one of the slickest devices on the market: the T-Mobile Sidekick.
The software giant said the acquisition was crucial to its success to win consumers over to its brand of mobile Internet. It did not disclose how much it had agreed to pay for privately held Danger.
“The deal is a strong indicator that the company is not ceding ground to Apple and Google in the mobile space.”
A statement by Microsoft highlighted the fact that it saw Danger’s customer base as “young and enthusiastic, internet-savvy and socially inclined”.
The statement added: “The Danger team has a deep understanding of consumers and a hold on what people want from mobility, making it an ideal group to work with in delivering connected experiences.”
“The gadget, also known as the Hiptop, has been popularized by a number of American celebrities, including socialite Paris Hilton.”
In buying Danger, Microsoft would get an operating system that powers some of the most consumer-friendly phones for accessing the Internet. Danger OS-driven data services include Web browsing, e-mail, instant messaging, games, multimedia applications, and easy access to online social networks, such as MySpace.
“Sharp and Motorola are manufacturing partners for Danger-powered devices.”
Microsoft plans to fold Danger into its entertainment and devices division headed by Robbie Bach, in order to align such properties as MSN, Xbox, Zune, Windows Live and Windows Mobile with Danger’s Gen X-friendly features.
“The addition of Danger serves as a perfect complement to our existing software and services, and also strengthens our dedication to improving mobile experiences centered around individuals and what they like,” Bach said in a statement.
Speaking at the Mobile World Congress in Barcelona, Bach, said: “It completes the picture for us in terms of making the transition from just being on the business side of things to being on the consumer side of things.”
The SideKick allows users to instant message, talk on the phone, send e-mails and access the web, with a distinctive swivel screen that flips around 180 degrees to reveal a full keyboard.
Danger, based in Palo Alto, Calif., was co-founded in 1999 by Andy Rubin, Joe Britt and Matt Hershenson. Rubin has moved on to a new job running Google’s Android mobile venture.
Rubin has said in interviews the company was called Danger because he had bought the danger.com domain name several years earlier. The name was a reference to a robot in the TV show Lost in Space, which continuously issued “Danger!” warnings to the cast.
Microsoft appears to be going after the lucrative teen market with its latest mobile play, said Andy Belt, a practice leader at the Monitor Group, which focuses on the telecom, media and technology sectors.
“You can not succeed in mobile by being all things to all people. RIM, for instance, excels in the enterprise e-mail push market. Microsoft, by contrast, is homing in on another key component of the mobile market,” he said in a statement.
Microsoft claims Windows Mobile is available in more than 160 phones made by more than 50 hardware manufacturers, which sell the devices to more than 160 mobile operators worldwide. Nevertheless, Microsoft-powered phones lag in the emerging smartphone market, which grew by 60% last year over 2006, according to market researcher Canalys. The devices were one of the fastest growing segments in the technology industry.
As the buzz around Google subsided with the understanding that no challenger to Apple’s iPhone was about to be unveiled, attention turned to Microsoft’s surprise acquisition, announced at the Barcelona trade fair in the afternoon.
Michael Gartenberg, analyst for Jupiter Research, said on his blog that news of Microsoft’s acquisition was the “real excitement” of the first day of the Mobile World Congress.
He added: “The T-Mobile SideKick has had moderate success in the US markets appealing to celebrities, sports figures and of course all the demographics that look up to these folks.”
“The SideKick had strong appeal as the anti-Blackberry for younger audiences and it will be really interesting to see how Microsoft integrates the technology, business model, and overall device cachet to a culture more at home to selling to enterprise CIOs than it is to selling rock stars.”
“Danger’s T-Mobile Sidekick, also known as the hiptop, is widely considered to be one of the best-designed mobile phones there is for Web applications.”
Sony Ericsson, known for its stylish Walkman music phones and Cybershot camera phones, said on Sunday it would start producing a line of phones based on Microsoft’s Windows Mobile operating system later this year.
Microsoft, especially in the context of its $40 billion-plus bid for Google rival Yahoo, now looks an increasingly serious contender to become the face of the mobile Web, shaking off its stuffy corporate image.
UK-based research firm CCS Insight called it “a sign Microsoft is stepping up efforts on mobile software to close the gap with Nokia, Apple and others”.
“Everybody is zoning in on the mobile platform as a way to extend their lives or monetize their future,” said CCS analyst Shaun Collins.
The company in December filed for an initial public offering with the Securities and Exchange Commission. A date and price range for the offering was not released, but the company planned to raise as much as $100 million on the Nasdaq, The New York Times reported.
As of Sept. 30, Danger had 923,000 subscribers to its data services. The company’s investors include Redpoint Ventures, Mobius Technology Ventures, Motorola, and T-Mobile.