After several false starts, Microsoft has launched an all-out assault on the mobile phone business. The prize: a chunk of the emerging market for PC-like "smart" phones, which could be one of the technology sector's next big things. Smart phones have color screens and can take digital photos, Web surf, send and receive e-mail, and play music and games. They make up a small but rising portion of cellphones sold. Of the 431 million cellphones expected to be sold this year, 14 million will be smart phones , up from 4 million last year, technology research firm IDC says. Microsoft, anticipating the day when PC and phone functions merge, has tried for three years to insert a miniature version of its Windows operating system into cellphones.
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