Windows Phone Thoughts: Microsoft's Plans For Handheld Game Player And "iPod Killer"

"In a bid to capture the huge audience for handheld entertainment gadgets, Microsoft is designing a product that combines video games, music and video in one handheld device, according to sources familiar with the project. The Microsoft product would compete with Sony, Nintendo and Apple Computer's products, including the iPod. And Microsoft has some of its most seasoned talent from the division that created its popular Xbox 360 working on it...The game press has dubbed it an "iPod killer,'' but its functions would likely more closely resemble Sony's PlayStation Portable multimedia gaming device."

We speculated on the subject about six weeks ago, and more rumors are leaking out. The article also points out that the Pocket PC and Portable Media Centers have "failed in competition" with the iPod. I'm not sure about the Pocket PC -- Microsoft has indeed not given it a fighting chance with broken version after broken version of WMP -- but it wasn't really pushed as an iPod competitor. Portable Media Centers, on the other hand, are another matter entirely. I wasn't impressed with them when I first saw them, and I'm still not impressed with the latest offerings. If Microsoft is to have any success where the Portable Media Center, Gizmondo, and others have failed, they're going to have to do something radically different. And, does the Xbox name/team automatically translate over to handheld success? Call me skeptical. I'd love to be wrong, but I think MS has a lot of work cut out for it.

(And yes, it's a slow news day... err, week. :( Sorry for the minimal coverage the last 24 hours.)