The largest mobile phone and software companies in the world announced collaborations to provide Exchange e-mail and personal information management (PIM) to Nokia phones and cross platform compatibility between music players and services at the 3GSM Congress in Cannes, France this week.

First, Nokia cozied up to Microsoft to license the software giant's Exchange Server ActiveSync protocol. palmOne inked a similar deal last fall.

Through the agreement future Nokia mobile phones and smartphones will be able to sync directly with Exchange Server, the most widely enterprise e-mail solution.

Nokia can now build a direct over-the-air synchronization link between handsets running its Series 60 and Series 80 software platforms and Microsoft Exchange Server 2003 for e-mail and other PIM data, such as calendar information and contacts.

The mobile phone company said it would continue to support the Open Mobile Alliance (OMA) Data Synchronization protocol and its own Nokia PC Suite, a local connectivity solution that uses OMA Data Synchronization for PCs and Nokia mobile devices.

To Nokia it is simply expanding customer options.

Seniro VP & GM of Nokia's Enterprise Solutions Mary McDowell said the company "is committed to answering the broader needs of enterprises across the world by giving them access to the widest possible choice of e-mail and PIM solutions on the market today and tomorrow. Licensing this protocol provides our customers with a seamless solution for integrating our mobile devices into their back-end."

The terms of the licensing agreement were not disclosed. Neither did Nokia reveal when we would see its first ActiveSync-enabled handsets.

Singing the Same Song
Nokia and Microsoft plan to ensure consumers can listen to music from the newly launched mobile music solution offered by Nokia and Loudeye on both Nokia handsets and Windows XP PCs.

This Loudeye-based mobile music service is based on the OMA Digital Rights Management (DRM) and MPEG Advanced Audio Coding (AAC) standards. It enables wireless subscribers to search, listen, download, and pay for music using an operator branded music application on their mobile phone or smartphone.

The two giants also announced an ongoing collaboration to bring support for Windows Media Audio, Windows Media Digital Rights Management (DRM) 10, and Media Transfer Protocol to music oriented Nokia handsets, while adding support for OMA DRM and the MPEG Advanced Audio Coding family of codecs into Windows Media Player via a plug-in.

Microsoft VP of Windows Digital Media Amir Majidimehr asserts the two deals demonstrate recognition "that interoperability and ease of use are crucial to delivering a seamless consumer experience and enabling digital music to be enjoyed on the move."

So in the end the deals aim to broaden the range of music choices for consumers and delivery options for content owners and service providers, as well as ensure easy device connection and content flow between the mobile phone giant's handsets and software giant's PC platform.

As Nokia Executive VP & GM for Multimedia Anssi Vanjoki said, "This agreement makes it easier for consumers to download music they want to listen to, without having to worry about whether or not the file format is supported - it's all about enabling choice without compromising compatibility."