Microsoft Bringing its DRM to Phones

AT CTIA WIRELESS Microsoft said Wednesday at the CTIA Wireless tradeshow in Las Vegas that it planned to make "significant investments" in digital rights management for mobile devices such as cell phones. The company also disclosed it was in discussions with several wireless firms to enable new mobile entertainment options for consumers.

The more than 800 million handsets worldwide represent an "untapped market" for entertainment, Microsoft argued.

Windows Media DRM is used in over 100 content services and hundreds of devices, the company said. With such broad adoption, it is the most widely used DRM system. Microsoft now plans to push for its use in the mobile industry through these new investments.

"We're responding to our wireless partners around the world who are asking for a solution to enable new scenarios in the industry," said Kevin Johnson, co-president of the Platforms & Services Division at Microsoft. "We want to give consumers what they want -- seamless experiences with premium content on a wide range of mobile devices."

Microsoft's partners lauded the announcement, saying it was an important step in advancing mobile multimedia applications. Many have said that some form of digital rights management was integral in making this happen.

"Microsoft is stepping up to support this vision further with 'anywhere everywhere' protected digital bits," Motorola senior marketing director Chris White said in a statement.