In 2007, Google said it wasn’t working on a Google Phone. In 2009, Google said it wasn’t working on its own branded phone. In 2008, Microsoft said it wasn’t working on a Zune Phone. Leading up to the iPhone unveiling, we heard an Apple phone wasn’t coming. Guess what? All those projects were very real. And the Facebook Phone project will prove to be no different.
Perhaps you read our story from late last night that Facebook is working on its own phone. This morning, Facebook PR has begun countering that story, saying that our report “is not accurate.” Sorry, did I say “countering”? I meant “spinning”. → Read More
If there is one rumor that tends to come and go and agonizes Windows Mobile fans, it’s the one about a Zune phone. Although it’s not officially confirmed, Gizmodo has it on good word that Microsoft will be introducing a Zune phone at Mobile World Congress in Barcelona this year. More specifically, it will be a Windows Mobile 7 phone with Zune features and capabilities, so it’s not a Zune phone, per se. → Read More
Microsoft’s Steve Balmer doesn’t know if the Zune is coming or going. The portable media player hasn’t knocked the iPod off its perch in its two-year run, and now Balmer recognizes that it may never. → Read More
Although we speculated about the possibility of a Zune phone coming soon (and were subsequently shown the error of our ways), the Zune/phone divide is in fact narrowing, as Ballmer said would happen. But it’s not a “port” as he mentioned; rumor has it that members of the Zune UI team are actually moving to the Windows Mobile team, for what nefarious purpose I will let you imagine yourself. If I had to guess myself, I’d guess that within a few months there will be a somewhat clumsily-implemented Zune-on-WinMo setup that will be polished into a far more usable product by mid-year. A Zune layer on top of the new WinMo? An emphasis on device convergence and a full-featured Zune function on some sweet new phone? Who knows? The Zune team is talented and with luck will be doing more than a simple port job. → Read More
I got all riled up last week about the possiblity — really, more of a hope than an expectation — that we might see a Zune phone revealed at CES. Deep down I think I knew I was talking a lot of nonsense, mainly because we know Microsoft isn’t going to abandon Windows Mobile all of a sudden, and we also know they’re planning on expanding Zune-related services to Windows Mobile among other platforms. “Project Pink,” a semi-mysterious project cited in the rumors, is really a set of WinMo-related services, which we will probably see explained further at CES. Dang! → Read More
Once upon a time, Zune phone rumors were as thick on the ground as Autumn leaves. But as the inevitable nothing happened, they died down and were replaced by the more interesting Windows 7 rumblings. But now Microsoft is in pole position to announce something like a Zune phone, having pretty much let the whole 7 cat out of the bag and lacking any really compelling major product developments other than the standard stuff. Could this coming January hold the surprise announcement everyone wants to hear? → Read More
The last few days, the internet has been ablaze with rumors about the Zune phone — actually, perhaps “ablaze” isn’t the right term. Perhaps “slightly hot to the touch” is more appropriate. I guess someone just had an unconfirmed rumor, and then some people talked about it. Well, this news should add fuel to the fire! Or, I suppose, maybe a fire will start. Metaphors aside, the news is that Zune content may be coming to Nokia. This comes from “a well-placed source in Microsoft,” which probably amounts to a guy in package design seeing a Nokia phone sitting next to a Zune somewhere. If it is true, it might be interesting, as everyone saw a Zune phone as something that might piggyback on a WinMo platform, but that obviously wouldn’t happen at Nokia. Whether that makes the rumor more or less compelling is a matter of taste. → Read More
We know the Zune Phone is coming. It has to. MS is having a pretty hard time in the cellphone market, as Windows Mobile is anything but aweome. Sure, it sells, but who goes shopping for a WinMo phone? You take what you can get. And it’s hardly as profitable as it could be. What MS needs is a hit of a handset, something to fight back at the iPhone. We all know this, and the Zune is a great place to start. So where’s the Zune Phone? More on that later. J Allard, the Microsoftie in charge of the Zune group (hey, J!), said in a recent Reuter’s interview that there were no “immediate plans” for a Zune Phone, but then confused us by mentioning that the underlying OS for the Zune is the same as that used by Windows Mobile. Very interesting indeed. We know that a Zune Phone is in the works, and rumors around Seattle persist that there are prototypes in the wild. And while we’re normally quite good at tracking these down, we’ve had no luck here. But we’ll keep trying, and we’ll let you know what we’ve found. Microsoft’s Allard: No Immediate Plans For Zune Phone [mocoNews] → Read More
What if the Zune was a cell phone? What if it had a touch screen on the back of it? What could you do with it? Microsoft slipped in a patent application covering a cell phone that can be used as a touch screen computer mouse for your PC. After searching on the topic, we’ve uncovered Microsoft-two-sided-cell-phone-touch-screen-control-your-PC-by-WiFi patent application goodness. Whew, details after the jump… → Read More
We’d heard rumors around the Internetings that today Microsoft would be disclosing a major announcement today regarding Zune. Our top source indicated that if there was anything today, it’d be the confirmation of the Zune Phone. We also hear it would instead pertain to the oft-mentioned flash-RAM-based “Zune Mini”. As it turns out, it’s a little of both. We’ve spent the last 44 minutes talking with the powers that be in Redmond, and they’ve given us quite a shocker. → Read More
Is this thing on? OK, does everyone remember the Zune Phone CG told you about? You do? Very good. Other than the fact that it was coming out and we didn’t know anything else about it, but it seems the patent monkeys have found the patent for the Zune Phone’s UI. The UI appears to be tiled and whatever it is you wish to see will be brought to the forefront whilst everything else stays in the background. I think it kicks much ass and definitely adds a unique UI to the market that looks very easy to use. Again, we shall see what happens and if this actually materializes. I, for one, cannot wait. Patent [via Mad4Mobile] → Read More
today, I guess it was inevitable. The blogosphere is an arena of oneupmanship and we have officially been one-upped by DSL Reports. It has secured the first known picture of Microsoft’s hotly anticipated Zune Phone. To quote Gizmodo’s Brian Lam, “It isn’t what I expected at all.” Start your professions of lust below. A WiMax Zune Phone? [DSL Reports] → Read More
Last month MobileCrunch and TechCrunch reported on Steve Jobs very public release of the iPhone. Steve Balmer scoffed at the new phone calling it overpriced, but Microsoft may be offering its own mobile version. CrunchGear has been following the leads closely and it has turned into a fairly solid story. Crunchgear reports that on Monday, Microsoft filed an application with the FCC for a wireless device that could be used to talk over the Internet. They go on to say the device is described as being used for “consumer broadband access and networking”. The device would use OFDM as its communications protocol, not WiFi or Bluetooth. The standard OFDM (orthogonal frequency-division multiplexing) is a modulation scheme that is used widely in upcoming 4G standards of the future. In short, OFDM will enable more simultaneous data transfers across mobile towers. 4G itself is not a specific technology itself, but rather a collection of technologies and protocols that will provide even greater mobile bandwidth (100 Mbps (in cell-phone networks) to 1 Gbps (in local Wi-Fi networks). CrunchGear then connected the dots, noting that Sprint/Nextel announced its plans to build out a 4G network based on the IEEE 802.16e mobile WiMax standard, the same modulation protocol as the Microsoft device in the FCC filing. The Zune phone is suspected to run on the Sprint/Nextel network and could come out as soon as May, beating the iPhone’s release date. Read more at CrunchGear. → Read More
. On Monday, Microsoft filed a mystery application with the FCC for an enigmatic wireless device that could be used to talk over the Internet. Sounds like a VoiP device, right? Not really. The device is described as being used for “consumer broadband access and networking,” which doesn’t sound like vanilla VoIP to me. Microsoft goes on to say that the device would use OFDM as its communications protocol, not WiFi or Bluetooth. Well, why not? The standard OFDM (orthogonal frequency-division multiplexing) is a modulation scheme that is used widely in upcoming 4G standards of the future. But with wireless access gaining momentum, and the all-around arms race for bandwidth, 4G starts to make sense, in a crazy, crazy kind of way. The idea of a next-gen, high-bandwidth capable phone sounded to these ears like the Zune Phone, so we did some poking, called some sources, and waded into the wonderful world of Zune. One thing led to another, and we’ve determined that there is a whole lot more going on at Bear Creek in Redmond than we figured. → Read More
that Microsoft had begun working on a phone that would be released under the Zune name. Details were, and are, sparse, but since our story broke, an additional rumor has emerged that may or may not bring some more clarity to the situation—how’s that for ambiguity? The current rumor stems from this announcement from Phillipine-based call center Global Sky: Microsoft recently awarded Global Sky – a Manila-based call center outsourcing company, the task of providing customer service and research support for their latest project: the launching of a mobile phone device that operates anywhere users can get Wi-Fi access. … Microsoft has selected Global Sky, one of only two approved Microsoft call center vendors in the Philippines to spearhead the customer support and product researching efforts. Global Sky must answer customer queries and get detailed information that will help Microsoft further evolve this concept. If the concept works, Microsoft may make it accessible to the 95 million+ overseas workers worldwide and even make it available to businesses worldwide as a way to cut cell phone bills or ensure reliable & private communications. Microsoft partners are pleased with the way the project has been handled so far and have assured Global Sky of ongoing relations as they evolve this concept. Despite the lack of Zune mention in the statement, Zune Scene believes the release to be an indication of the evasive Zune Phone. We at CrunchGear, however, believe that a more likely scenario would be an MSN Live Messenger WiFi VoIP device, but as always, only time will tell. Call Center Awarded (Zune?) Phone Support Contract [Zune Scene] → Read More
We’ve just received a sound tip that Microsoft is working on its very own phone to be branded under the Zune moniker. Our tipsters inform us that Microsoft execs are in meetings today hammering out details of the device and developing strategies and timescales for its release. Seeing as that the development has hardly started, little is known yet about the Zune Phone, but there are some details that seem solid thus far. This is what we know: → Read More
