Ever have trouble moving content between your phone and your computer? Well, that may be getting a bit easier. NTT DoCoMo of Japan announced it will be porting Windows Media DRM (Digital Rights Management) to its 3G handsets, which will mean content can be moved between phones and PCs bypassing the Open Mobile Alliance DRM.

Microsoft will grab a big customer base with Windows Media technologies on all NTT DoCoMo's FOMA 3G handsets. And the agreement will also mean an alliance of partners in DoCoMo's i-Mode mobile internet platform who may be looking to put Microsoft DRM into their devices, too.

How many people could this affect? Well, i-Mode has 250m subscribers in 15 countries, and over 50m use the content and internet platform. Most handset makers don't want to port Windows Media DRM to anything other than Windows Mobile, since it gives Microsoft a foothold to build on their phone architecture. However, it may be good for us consumers down the road. By supporting Windows Media Audio and potentially adding VC-1, a Windows Media bundled codec, phones could have direct access to online music and video services, with or without a connection to a PC.

DoCoMo's F902iS model, scheduled to ship this summer will be the first to include Microsoft's Windows Media Audio and Digital Rights Management 10 software. DoCoMo says they are evaluating Microsoft's Windows Media Video for future handsets. Support for Windows Media technologies means that these phones will work with over 100 online music services.

Now, the question is whether Microsoft's Windows Media DRM will be licensed to other, non-Microsoft platforms, and offered to other operators.