Can smart phones kill the PC?

PC-like features are being ported over to mobile phones with increasing frequency, pushing the phone down the same path that led to the computer's dominant role in home and office technology, according to Motorola's chief exec Ed Zander.

In his keynote speech at an industry conference in the US, called Software 2007, Zander said: "We're making a bet that what happened to PCs will happen to these [smart phones]."

A movement is afoot within the software industry to create micro-applications, such as CRM software, forecasting systems and revenue tracking software, and load them onto these handheld devices, Zander said.

But whether the smart phone will one day become just a platform for software stacks has yet to be seen, he noted.

Motorola, which heightened its brand recognition among consumers with its popular thin phone, the Razr, is aiming to increase its presence in the enterprise market. Last autumn the company announced plans to acquire Good Technology, which develops enterprise mobile messaging and mobile intranet products.

Among the challenges the company has faced over the past four months, he said, is instilling a sense of urgency for innovation and hitting the right markets with its mobile phones.

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Motorola aims to make smart phones that offer both enterprise and consumer features, including the ability to seamlessly interact with the wired devices in a user's home. One consumer smart-phone application, for example, would allow a user who is on the road to remotely programme a home-based digital video recorder.

Fresh from its bout with activist shareholder Carl Icahn, who this week lost a proxy fight for a seat on the company's board, Motorola is under pressure to enhance its financial performance and boost shareholder value. The company has been on a path to diversify its product portfolio as it faces increased competition and thinning profit margins in the mobile phone market.

Last month, it announced plans to buy digital television software and equipment supplier Terayon Communication Systems, in a $140m cash deal. Motorola, which ranks as the top seller of set-top boxes to the cable industry, can use the Terayon deal to bolster its video systems infrastructure.

As for its core business - the mobile handset division - Zander has vowed to show a profit this year and is expected to put a portion of the company's $11bn in cash to work to fund acquisitions and develop new products.

Motorola's competitors are also turning to software applications to enhance their prospects. Nokia, which holds the largest market share in mobile phones, is promoting new applications designed to make surfing the net via mobile phone similar to the user's web-surfing experience on a PC. To that end, Nokia is providing third-party developers widgets, or tools, to facilitate creation of applications for smart phones using Symbian Series 60 software platform.

Dawn Kawamoto writes for CNET News.com