According to a report from Dow Jones’ MarketWatch, Microsoft submitted a filing to the FCC on Monday seeking approval for a prototype wireless device that could be used to talk over the Internet. Microsoft’s filing labeled the device has having the purpose of “consumer broadband access and networking,” through the use of OFDM for wireless communication.
Although the FCC filing does not specifically name the wireless device as a member of the Zune family, analysts and rumormongers suspect that Microsoft’s music player has a part to play in this filing. Analyst Rob Enderle said the filing seems to indicate “an internet device or a mobile VoIP phone,” that “certainly could be a Zune derivative product.”
Earlier in the month, CrunchGear kicked off the rumors of a Zune phone that will work with Zune Marketplace and be able to connect with the Xbox 360 to access Xbox Live Marketplace content for downloaded movies on the go. The device will not make use of Windows Mobile, but rather the more consumer-friendly Zune interface and could see store shelves as early as this December. Gizmodo claimed to have confirmed the story with its own sources, adding that the device may not have a touch-screen like the one on Apple’s iPod.
Unlike Apple’s phone offering, Microsoft does not appear to be making a device that uses traditional cellular carrier networks, which would put the software giant in a position of disadvantage when dealing with major carriers. Instead, its choice to go with OFDM could be a hint towards WiMAX. Sprint Nextel have already announced plans to create a WiMAX network that will offer speeds between 2Mbps and 4Mbps -- speeds perfectly able to handle streaming of large files. The addition of WiMAX would help solve one Zune’s current shortcomings: the range of Wi-Fi doesn’t allow for a significant range to make sharing worthwhile. WiMAX could extend the sharing capabilities from close-range to international.
Following news of the FCC filing, CrunchGear goes out on a limb to say that Microsoft could be announcing this product before March 17, with a possible launch sometime in May, supposedly before Apple’s iPhone. The unnamed source of the story also says that such a device has been in the works at Microsoft for a while, but the idea of branding it as a Zune came as a recent decision as a response to the iPhone.
While the details are still belong in the rumor mill, Microsoft’s work on a Zune phone certainly isn’t fiction. Last September, Zune marketing manager Chris Stephenson responded to a reporter’s question about such a product by saying, “There is a possibility for a Zune phone,” and “the entire Zune platform and brand is about a family of devices. So to the degree that phones and other products exist in the family going forward, absolutely, that's definitely where this is all going.”
Upon a later question from another reporter, Stephenson reiterated, “We don't have any specifics to announce on that. I think what I was saying is that a Zune phone is definitely part of the future of this brand.”
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Microsoft needs to bring out a much better product to compete the iPhone which certainly looks a pretty solid phone except that it lacks 3G support..
Microsoft could soon be releasing a Zune-based iPhone competitor
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