MS Handheld an iPod and PSP Killer?
Microsoft's own answer to the iPod may not come in the form most people are expecting. According to BetaNews' own sources and those referenced in a Monday article in the San Jose Mercury News, the folks in Redmond may be looking to kill two birds with one stone.
Plans are rumored to be in the works for a device called the XPlayer. This device would combine an Xbox-like gaming device with a multimedia component that would play video and audio. This would mean that in one fell swoop, Microsoft would have a competitor to the PSP, Nintendo DS, and the Apple iPod.
The device would likely make heavy use of Microsoft's upcoming content service, currently code-named "Alexandria." Although sources have provided little in the way of exactly what the application would do, it has been described as a Microsoft version of Apple's iTunes.
Either way, Microsoft has assembled quite the team to work on the project, including some high profile talent from the Xbox 360 team. According to the San Jose Mercury article, J. Allard is heading the project, with Xbox 360 system designer Greg Gibson as director. Xbox financial executive Bryan Lee will handle the business side of the project.
Sources say the project is one of the reasons why Microsoft's Entertainment and Devices division was reorganized back in December. Analysts suspected at the time that the reorganization had something to do with a more serious focus on the company's entertainment and device offerings.
"While it could mean any number of things over time, the first take is Microsoft is finally getting serious about where it stands in the market with digital entertainment, especially music and video," commented Jupiter Research vice president Michael Gartenberg said at the time.
Plans for some kind of Xbox handheld have been floated since the original console's launch, but have been repeatedly scrapped. During the planning stages of the 360 three years ago, the idea was again put on the table, but executives decided to pass.
Signs have also pointed to a possible device. Xbox corporate vice president Peter Moore said in January that any "iPod killer" from the company couldn't just be another music device -- and any possible device would likely carry the Xbox name. However he stopped short from saying any type of device existed.
Regardless of whether or not the device is real, the paper said it would be at least 2007 before such a device would appear on the market. This would give Apple, Sony and Nintendo much time to prepare for any eventual release of a Microsoft entertainment device before it is actually launched.