Microsoft opens R&D lab for mobile technology in South Korea

Microsoft has opened a research and development (R&D) center for mobile software and services in South Korea, hoping to benefit from the country’s position as one of the most sophisticated markets for wireless and mobile technologies.

“This is the first time we’ve set up an R&D center for our business outside of (Microsoft’s headquarters in Redmond, Washington),” said Pieter Knook, senior vice president of Microsoft’s Mobile and Embedded Devices Division, during a telephone interview.

This is also the first time that Microsoft has put its employees on the ground outside Redmond to help vendors develop and build mobile devices, he said.

Microsoft will invest $30 million in the new Mobile Innovation Lab over the next three years, Knook said, explaining the company wants to tap into South Korean expertise with mobile technologies. “Korea’s a leading-edge market for data and application services,” he said.

South Korean vendors typically try out new products, such as the latest camera phones and MP3 players, in their home market before selling those products abroad, Knook said. “We want to participate in that,” he said.

Microsoft also hopes to spur wider adoption of its software by South Korean handset makers, Knook said. To date, Microsoft’s mobile software is used by just one Korean handset maker, Samsung Electronics, but the company hopes to build ties with other South Korean vendors, he said.