UPDATED: Attack of the iClones: Microsoft Office Movie + Twitter x ZunePhone = Huhbuwhat?!
UPDATED: Shoulda stuck with our instincts. Fake. (via Engadget)
ORIGINAL: When we first heard that a Twitter account associated with Microsoft Office 10: The Movie (?!) was telling people “New product launch, that’s all I’m allowed to say. Hold off from buying an iPhone/Pre”, we figured it had to be fake. It was posted from iPhone/Mac client Tweetie, after all!
When we found out it was real, however, well… we didn’t know what to think. Lucky for us George Ponder from sibling site WMExperts has us covered:
The iPhone and the Pre are obviously smartphones, so it’s tempting to put the Zune Phone back into the rumor mix. Us, though, we’re remembering how strenuously Microsoft has denied rumors of being in the hardware business and of the Zune Phone specifically. So whatever it is, we’re not expecting a 180 on this one (but a 360, or more specifically something to do with Xbox 360, doesn’t seem crazy).
Xbox 360 is inarguably the only hardware and consumer electronics brand from Microsoft enjoying anything resembling brand success at the moment, so even we’ve been up on the idea of an XboxPhone. However, if past behavior is any indicator of future behavior, Microsoft will be releasing Premium Zune Services for Windows Phone Mobile Experiences Live! 7 sometime this summer, and iPhone owners likely won’t notice…
May 12th, 2009 at 9:25 am
I don’t get Microsoft’s mobility efforts. They have WinMo and are in the process of updating that but it clearly lags behind Apple and Palm but are at most risk from Google as the number of Android devices will grow in the next 12 months. They own Danger but have done little to expand it beyond T-Mobile or to infuse WinMo with what works in Danger or to endorse that form factor moving forward in all WinMo/Danger phones. It’s almost like they are not part of the company. Finally, they have XBox and Zune franchises but the company has done little to integrate any of these technologies into WinMo as it stands now.
Talk about a company with all the resources and the skills but no strategy or ability to execute.
May 12th, 2009 at 9:40 am
Yeah, I’ll be holding off buying the new iPhone based on a Twitter rumor of some Microsoft vaporware product … not! (Of course I may be holding off based on the state of my personal finances, but that is another story!)
May 12th, 2009 at 9:53 am
@The Reptile
Well said. An integrated Microsoft from Server > Windows > Xbox > WinPho would be much more intriguing from a consumer perspective, and dangerous from a competitive one.
May 12th, 2009 at 10:06 am
Unify Zune and Xbox LIVE market places. When will Microsoft figure this out? No Zune phone, WinMo7 should support the Zune market place and video market place from Xbox LIVE. I want to give my Microsoft my $$$, I play my Xbox 360 too much. But as long as their devices and ecosystems are so fractured using them doesn’t make sense. How can I get hold of Balmer and slap him in the face?
May 12th, 2009 at 10:09 am
Lots of good points above. I suspect its Zune software for all WinMo Phones and if they are smart some sort of link between the XBL Marketplace and the new Windows Marketplace.
May 12th, 2009 at 10:44 am
what a good point! An xbox/zune combined phone would be an incredibly strong offering from ms. Is anyone THAT tied to the iPod that they would ignore a zune if it also came with an xbox attached. Ms has had a hard time with hardware but they’ve been a consistent leader with software (they always put out a polished product).
May 12th, 2009 at 11:03 am
More fuel to the “related to Xbox” fire. E3 starts June 2nd, totally forgot. Maybe the MS keynote will be a little more exciting than last year.
May 12th, 2009 at 12:48 pm
Microsoft
May 12th, 2009 at 2:08 pm
I would be interested in some kin of integration between a Xbox handheld (like PSP) and a cellular phone. My interest would quickly vanish though once I found out that I had to go back to WinMo which has already driven me to insanity too many times. I love the iPhone but I’d probably buy a handheld xbox if they made one available, hopefully it would not require a phone contract, a microsoft made phone would be a deal breaker.
May 12th, 2009 at 3:03 pm
@6: Yeah I’m that tied to the iPod (and more importantly the iPhone user experience). Then again, I’m still rocking a Nintendo GameCube and have never seen or touched an XBox.
May 12th, 2009 at 7:23 pm
Might be a fake, but I still bought 10k of ms stock today. Between windows 7, zune pass and some future phone offering, it’s way underpriced at p/e of 11. It’s trading for cheaper than nokia!!