A tech industry analyst has revived an old rumor that Microsoft is developing a phone based on its Zune media player, but does anyone care anymore?
Details are slim, but Jefferies & Company analyst Katherine Egbert said the phone could debut during the Mobile World Congress in mid-February or during the CTIA trade show in Las Vegas in March, according to All Things Digital.
Egbert referred to the device (not pictured) as a "Zune-like phone," but provided few other specifics. She said the phone will run on Windows Mobile 7 and will have a 5-megapixel camera. It'll also support 720p HD video (whether that's playback or recording isn't clear) and will have some sort of subscription scheme for music -- Zune Pass seems likely, I would think.
First of all, the rumor sounds a little shaky. Not long ago, we heard that Windows Mobile 7 may be delayed into 2011, and even those who tried debunking that claim concede that late 2010 is more likely. So either Microsoft plans to introduce the Zune phone long before it goes on sale, or this rumor's not going to pan out. Nevermind the fact that Microsoft chief executive Steve Ballmer said in the past that Microsoft will never manufacture its own phone.
But humor me: Is it possible that the Zune phone's ship has sailed? Let's say Microsoft does release one phone to rule all other Windows Mobile 7 phones. The market is so different than it was two years ago, such a device won't matter nearly as much as the operating system itself and the entire line of phones that run on it. Look at Google's Nexus One. It's arguably the best Android phone on the market, but reviewers have mostly called it an evolutionary phone rather than something completely different. I don't doubt that future Android phones, running the latest operating system with the latest hardware, will be just as capable.
The same will hold true for Windows Mobile 7. If the plan is to get the mobile operating system onto a wide range of devices, it'll be hard for any of them to stand out for a prolonged period of time. The Zune Phone might as well remain a concept (pictured above) and nothing more.
Instead of an official Microsoft "Zune phone" being released, what's more likely is that Windows Mobile 7 will be based on a Zune-like OS, with multiple hardware partners (LG, HTC and others) supporting it.
