Microsoft's unified communications and System Center management tools

While the Office 2010 Download may be the apple of everyone's eye, Nokia says that its main goal in partnering with Microsoft is taking on BlackBerry maker Research In Motion.

"This is really about creating a formidable challenge for RIM rather than anyone else," Nokia executive vice president Kai Oistamo said in a conference call Wednesday.

As first reported Tuesday by CNET News, Microsoft and Nokia are working together to bring mobile versions of the software maker's Office programs onto Nokia phones running the Symbian operating system. The companies said Wednesday that the collaboration also extends to Microsoft's unified communications and System Center management tools.

In an interview, Nokia executive vice president Robert Andersson said that RIM has an almost dominant position in the North American market for mobile e-mail. "That's the application where they really are strong," he said.

By bringing the full Office 2010  suite to Symbian, Andersson said, Nokia hopes to do RIM one better. "What we are bring with this collaboration is a much deeper much richer experience."

But the fruits of the partnership will take some time. For next year, the companies are committing only to bringing a version of the Communicator instant messaging program to Symbian.

"The first deliverable is next year," Microsoft corporate vice presidentTakeshi Numoto said in an interview. "We're not really talking about things beyond that."

Given that, it seems reasonable to think it could well be until 2011 before the mobile versions of Excel, PowerPoint, Word, and OneNote make their way onto the first Symbian phones, and even then the rollout will start with just the E-series of devices.

Microsoft Office 2010 started discussions about six months ago, but the work has centered on finalizing the business details.