Handheld-software maker Good Technology is forming an alliance with Microsoft as it tries to increase the number of devices on which its applications can run.
The Sunnyvale, Calif.-based start-up will work with Microsoft to make Good's software compatible with Microsoft's Pocket PC 2002 operating system, sources say. Good's GoodLink software lets customers wirelessly access e-mail and corporate data from a handheld device.
The Microsoft partnership is similar to an arrangement Good made with PalmSource last week. PalmSource controls the other major operating system for handhelds, the Palm OS.
"It looks like Good's goal is to blanket the entire mobile platform market to be in as many devices as possible," said Alex Slawsby, an analyst with research firm IDC.
Microsoft has 29 hardware partners building Pocket PC 2002-based devices. Good has been testing, and recently began shipping, its own device, the G100, but has yet to formally announce it.
News source: TechCentral - Good, Microsoft form handheld alliance
