Microsoft will update its mobile software and services strategy at next month's Mobile World Congress in Barcelona, Spain, according to reports.

A flurry of reports have said that Microsoft will unveil three mobile services at the annual telco fest. The planned services are SkyBox to synchronize a phone's information with the web, SkyLine to synchronize with Microsoft Exchange servers, and SkyMarket, a mobile marketplace.

Close observers will notice that those announcements will incite rivalry with Apple's MobileMe and App Store.

Reports, meanwhile, said Microsoft would also unveil the latest update of Windows Mobile - version 6.5 - at the show. There's no word on the Windows 7 version.

Microsoft recently not only passed on the chance to unveil Windows Mobile 6.5 at the Consumer Electronics Show (CES) in Las Vegas, Nevada, but also nearly entirely glossed over any mention of Microsoft's plans for Windows on mobile devices.

A Microsoft spokesperson dodged mobile services for Windows specifically, but told The Reg that the company is working on future versions of Windows Mobile. She said: "We are excited by the progress we are making," but added that Microsoft has no additional details to share.

Separately, the company's vice president of mobile-communications marketing, Todd Peters, indicated that Microsoft wants to reduce the number of mobile devices it targets. Microsoft wants to "have fewer devices and be more focused," Peters was recently reported to have said.®

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