REVscene Automotive Forum - Microsoft fans rejoice. Zune phone on the way.

Quote:

Jefferies & Company analyst Katherine Egbert told her clients last night that Redmond is getting ready to launch a phone based on Windows Mobile 7. "Our recent industry checks indicate Microsoft will be debuting its own phone sometime in the next two months," Egbert said. "We expect the new phone to debut soon, at either the Feb 15-18 Mobile World Congress conference in Barcelona Spain, or possibly at CTIA in Las Vegas one month later."

Egbert says the company is "partnering with a few OEM manufacturers," similar to what Google has done with the Nexus One, to create a Zune-like phone which will have 720p HD video capabilities, at least a 5MP camera, and that will run Windows Mobile 7. She also notes that Windows Mobile 7 will include "premium mobile services," including a Zune video store and music subscription and purchasing services. It will have an interface "similar" to the Zune HD UI, "and could include social networking apps like Xbox Live, Facebook and Twitter," she writes. "We don't have any information about the cost of the Pink phone, nor do we know what service providers might be partnered with Microsoft," she admitted.

"Revenue from the phone is also very unlikely to be meaningful for many years," she believes. Her reasoning for the phone is a little odd though. "However, the new phone might explain why Microsoft has allowed WinMo to dwindle to less than 10 percent mobile OS market share. Pink would be the 'third screen' (after Windows and Xbox) and [the] final component in Microsoft's '3 screens and a cloud' strategy."

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The tidbits mentioned by the analyst have a strong resemblance to recent rumors about a media edition of Windows Mobile 7 that has "Microsoft Zune Phone Experience," and supposedly features HD video, a Zune-like music player, and streaming media, as well as Silverlight, Mediaroom, Xbox Live (possibly gameplay), Facebook and Twitter interfaces (similar to Xbox), and Zune Music integration. The media edition doesn't refer to a single "Zune Phone" though, and the latest rumors say it's coming in 2011."

http://arstechnica.com/microsoft/new...two-months.ars