Microsoft-approved

Like many large companies, Microsoft has been trimming costs in places in response to the global economic downturn…It also means scaling back perks. On the chopping block? Apple iPhone, RIM BlackBerry and Palm Pre service plans.

Regardless if the iPhone or BlackBerry is used for work purposes, Microsoft says if an employee wants to use one, it’s on his or her own dime, according to Business Insider.

The only phones Microsoft will pay for? Windows Mobile-powered smartphones, naturally.

Many companies do not reimburse employees for personal mobile devices, but that wasn’t the case at Microsoft (until now)…But questions remain about the move, such as:

If it didn’t affect that many staffers, why make the move at all? Just how much money is Microsoft saving if employees pay for the phones?

Aren’t data plans fairly similar in price?

If Windows Mobile is deemed inferior to the competition, what’s the use? Why frustrate employees?

The policy…poses less a financial question than a cultural one: if Microsoft employees don’t naturally gravitate toward in-house devices (say, the way Google employees do), isn’t that indicative that more work must be done in the mobile department?

Would Microsoft make a decision like this for petty reasons?.