Microsoft's Thing that is "Not a Zune Phone"

Computer Giant Takes a Slightly Different Turn in Mimicing Apple

Microsoft, who released the minimally successful Zune mp3 player about a year ago, had dropped a few hints about a Zune phone. A recent USA Today interview with Microsoft CEO Steve Ballmer, however, clarified just exactly what was meant by this. Rather than creating a Zune phone, an obvious knockoff of the iPhone, Microsoft plans to create a Windows Mobile phone, which, among other things, would likely have Zune capabilities, making it a slightly different twist on Apple's idea.

A Zune phone is "not a concept you'll ever get from us," Ballmer said. "We're in the Windows Mobile business. "We can put Zune into Windows Mobile," he continued. "We can pour everything in." Apparently the sort of thing he's talking about would be a bit more along the lines of a BlackBerry, a web enabled phone with advanced features, among them multimedia capabilities. Unlike the BlackBerry, though, this product would likely be targeted at a younger, more hip audience, if the iPhone and the original Zune are any example. Ballmer even hinted that Xbox capabilities might even be included in this new phone, although exactly what that would mean is unclear.