Microsoft and Nokia have teamed up to try and boot the Blackberry out of the corporate space with the launch of a unified communications client to enable mobile collaboration.
Communicator Mobile enables people to see whether colleagues are available and click to communicate with them using instant messaging, email, texting or voice.
The names and statuses of colleagues are embedded directly into the devices’ contacts application, so that people can update their own presence, start and join instant messaging sessions, and begin calls directly from the contact card.
“This application really provides a much more efficient way to work with others, as you can see if someone is busy or available and the best way to start a conversation with them,” said Ukko Lappalainen, vice president at Nokia.
“It also meets all of the requirements for the enterprise: cost-effective to implement, secure, familiar and reliable.”
The application will be available for Nokia’s E72 and E52 phones at first, with other models, such as the E5, to be added later. It will also come pre-installed on future models. It’s available from Nokia’s Ovi store in English now, with 18 miore language versions coming soon.
Communicator Mobile is the first of a series of business-oriented applications for Nokia mobiles which is expected to include document sharing and videoconferencing.
