Microsoft Corp. and its longtime rival in the mobile software market, Palm Inc. are set to unveil a cell phone that will run Microsoft's software.

The new mobile device, the Treo 700, will be offered by wireless carrier Verizon Wireless and will be able to access the Internet, news and e-mail, just like previous Treos, sources familiar with the companies' plans said.

Microsoft, Palm and Verizon, a joint venture between Verizon Communications and Vodafone Group Plc, all declined to comment, but the three companies issued a press release saying they would hold a joint news conference on Monday. Microsoft Chairman Bill Gates was scheduled to attend the conference, to be held in San Francisco.

"Palm has long been expected to make a version of its Treo that works with Windows," said one industry analyst, who declined to be named.

Palm, which pioneered the handheld computing market, has been struggling for the last five years against stiff competition from deep-pocketed Microsoft and Research in Motion, Ltd., the maker of Blackberry wireless e-mail and communication devices.

Palm, based in Sunnyvale, California, spun off its unit that makes the software for such devices as PalmSource in 2003, but that business has since struggled and is now set to be acquired by Japanese software company Access Co. ltd. for $324 million.

(Source: www.financialexpress.com)