Microsoft and DoCoMo join forces for mobile in India

Microsoft India has announced that it is partnering with Indian mobile operator Tata DoCoMo, in preparation for WinMo 6.5. The long-term partnership will see the two companies releasing telecoms products and services for the rapidly expanding Indian market.

Tata DoCoMo?

Tata DoCoMo is a joint venture mobile operator between Indian and Japanese companies. Indian Tata Teleservices and Japanese NTT DoCoMo pooled resources to launch the GSM network, and try to create a 3G network that will cover the entire Indian nation.

What’s the deal?

Microsoft and Tata will be creating applications and services together for the Windows Mobile 6.5 platform. Initially, the two will be launching WinMo 6.5 devices everywhere in India that Tata DoCoMo has a network presence, but the plan is to eventually expand out into a much wider selection of applications, devices and services for Tata customers. The devices that Indian consumers will initially be able to get from Tata are the Acer Be Touch E101 and Acer Neo Touch S200 – with reports giving the price for these devices at around €150.

To help promote the deal (and its own products and services) Tata DoCoMo is also launching what it calls “Dive In” stores around India. These stores combine showroom and shop, much like the Apple Stores you see around. There is only one Dive In store open at the moment, but Tata plans to have 100 open within the next 6 months.

From the release:

Anil Sardana, managing director of Tata Teleservices: “When we launched Tata Docomo services a few months ago, we had promised subscribers that we would bring to them the best products and services which would offer them convenience and simplicity. Living up to that promise, we are offering the Windows Mobile 6.5 platform in India.”

Ravi Venkatesan, chairman, Microsoft India: “Consumers today want to carry their world of information, applications and entertainment wherever they go. A Windows phone seamelessly moves between work and play, providing the best of both the worlds.”

What we think?

This makes a lot of sense for Tata DoCoMo. If the big selling point of your network is that you’re enabling advanced mobile services across the country, it’s good to get the latest mobile OS on board. People have their pros and cons for WinMo 6.5, but you can’t deny that it has created a lot of noise. People are talking about it – and Tata obviously wants to get in on that buzz.