As mentioned in the article, its  a big surprises.  Microsoft releasing an application that runs on non-Windows Mobile. But Location Based Service with voice recognition is a cool application.

Microsoft, purveyors of everything Windows Mobile, have just released a public version of TellMe, their new Location Based Application with voice recognition for the BlackBerry platform. TellMe is a cool little piece of software taking your GPS coordinates and providing you with search results, movie times, restaurant reviews, traffic info, and more based on your current location. As an added bonus, all of this information can be accessed with simple voice instructions, allowing you to use the software on the road without risking your spotless driving record. Currently, the software is supported on all GPS-equipped ‘Berrys, including the 8800, 8820, 8830, 8310, and we assume the 8110.

Microsoft’s new LBS for BlackBerry | The Boy Genius Report

When it comes to web surfing there is no other device like iPhone. Nokia fans and Blackberry folks are very reluctant to accept that iPhone from a computer company beat the mobile phone companies flat out. But they all know iPhone has really done it. Data from search engines only confirms it.

On Christmas, traffic to Google from iPhones surged, surpassing incoming traffic from any other type of mobile device, according to internal Google data made available to The New York Times.

A few days later, iPhone traffic to Google fell below that of devices powered by the Nokia-backed Symbian operating system but remained higher than traffic from any other type of cellphone.

The data is striking because the iPhone, an Apple product, accounts for just 2 percent of smartphones worldwide, according to IDC, a market research firm. Phones powered by Symbian make up 63 percent of the worldwide smartphone market, while those powered by Microsoft’s Windows Mobile have 11 percent and those running the BlackBerry system have 10 percent.

Source: Google Sees Surge in iPhone Traffic

If you haven’t noticed, Mobile or a cell phone is no longer just a phone that we knew. Today, we CAN take pictures, record video, access email, browse internet, download music, watch TV, use cell phone as a smart card, pay at a shop, listen to podcasts, write your blog and the list goes on almost endless.

NPR’s Eric Weiner wrote an interesting summary of how Mobile phones are changing our lifestyles here.  Few interesting snips:

Americans spend, on average, seven hours a month talking on their cell phones, but that figure doesn’t capture how much the cell phone has become a part of our lives. It is, as one researcher put it, "a second skin"— itchy at times and prone to blemishes but something that increasingly we can’t imagine living without.

2007 will likely be the first year in which Americans spend more on cell phone calls than land line ones.

In other ways, too, cell phones are changing how we relate to one another.

On the other hand, cell phones loosen the bonds with those outside our inner circle.

The article also points to an interesting graphic about US mobile consumers, "The Rise of the cell phone".

Also don’t forget to watch this wonderful video "The Evolution of Cell Phone".

While watching the above video, I came across this interesting conversation of "Three Generations View of Cell phone".