SkyBox, SkyLine, SkyMarket

Finally, Microsoft’s response to Apple’s Mobile Me. This is Microsoft’s Sky Platform which will feature a sync service for today’s smartphones including SkyBox, SkyLine, and SkyMarket.

The best part is that this sync service will not only be available to Windows Smartphones but also to other Smartphones. Microsoft is set to release the following services at the Mobile World Congress (MWC) in Barcellona next month:

SkyBox is a service for users to sync a phones information with the web. Microsoft will be offering automatic backup and restore services, access and management of phone data and provide easy communication and sharing with others. The service will also allow syncing of contacts, email/SMS, calendar items and pictures into the cloud, similar to Apple’s MobileMe. The difference from Apple’s offering is Microsoft could be set to offer this out to non Windows Mobile devices.

SkyLine will be aimed at small businesses. Offering similar functionality to SkyBox, businesses will be able to setup their phones with Microsoft’s Exchange hosting with their own domain names.

SkyMarket was originally discovered in September 2008 when Microsoft advertised several external job positions. SkyMarket is the codename for Microsoft’s mobile marketplace, a competitor to Apple’s AppStore and RIM’s Blackberry application center. This service will only be available on Windows Mobile devices and will showcase the 1000s of Windows Mobile applications available today.

I hope (and would surely expect) that Microsoft’s offering will surely outperform Apple’s MobileMe. I would also hope that this platform will be built on Microsoft’s Live Mesh platform, which i find excellent for its purpose.

More info here.