There are persistent rumors that Microsoft will combine its Zune portable media device and Windows Mobile handset platform to create a ‘Zune phone’, and these reports were given a new impetus when the Windows Mobile Team Blog posted a question about interoperability between the two systems. “I’m wondering if there are any opportunities for us to improve the experience for people who use both devices,’ wrote the ‘Mel’ blogger, noting possible applications such as viewing a Zune Social network in IE Mobile, converting a Zune playlist into WMA ringtones, or converting Zune’s artwork to Windows Mobile themes.
However, it seems unlikely an actual Zune phone will appear any time soon. Microsoft needs to get its software frameworks accepted by more mobile device makers in order to gain something of the influence it has in the PC market ‘ launching its own phone head-to-head with them would be a backward step, and even if Microsoft could produce something as appealing to consumers as the Apple iPhone, its business model would be served badly by a such a low volume approach. Meanwhile, Zune is a closed, proprietary system with nothing of the partner ecosystem that is vital to success in the mobile world.
What would improve the chances of Windows Mobile becoming a mainstream mobile operating system, would be the inclusion of some of Zune’s better software elements, in order to enhance Windows’ competitiveness in the multimedia sector Symbian OS dominates. Replacing the Windows Mobile Media Player with the Zune version, for instance, would create a unified platform for developers, whose apps could then run across Zune and all Windows Mobile handsets, as well as allowing consumers with both devices to integrate them more easily. A single media player would solve some of the problems that many of the 50 respondents to Mel’s question raised, about syncing music between Windows Mobile and Zune products.
Also likely to be included in future iterations of the Windows Mobile platform will be features taken from Danger, the maker of cult smartphones, which Microsoft acquired last month.