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story category A WiMax Zune Phone?
Or just the Zune people wanted in the first place?
(old news - 04:56PM Friday Feb 09 2007)
tags: competition · business · wireless
Microsoft submitted a filing to the FCC this week that suggests the development of a broadband-enabled Zune phone. The original Zune music player offers Wi-Fi, but users complained the functionality was painfully crippled. The filing says the intended use of the new device is "consumer broadband access and networking" utilizing OFDM. While Microsoft could simply be beefing up the Zune's wireless capabilities, some suggest sexier ideas are afoot.

Crunch Gear speculates that because Sprint is planning a WiMax network utilizing OFDM, it could mean a Sprint/Microsoft partnership. However, Clearwire's WiMax service also uses OFDM, as do some Wi-Fi networks.

The website quotes an anonymous source that says the new Zune phone is supposed to hit the street a full month before the iPhone launch. That doesn't mesh timeline wise, since Sprint's WiMax network won't even be commercially available until 2008 -- and even then only in limited markets.
"Our source says that an iPhone competitor has been in the works for a while, and the idea of branding it as part of the Zune ecosystem, from the brown color through the interface, came as a recent decision as a response to Apple’s iPhone. The source didn’t go into details about features, as they don’t know specifics—they’re not yet all finalized. But there is one thing our source says will not only separate it from other music phones, but from iPhone as well."
That would be some beefy broadband connectivity, of course. The Apple iPhone's primary failing is that it's only running over Cingular's AT&T's clunky EDGE network, though we'll assume HSDPA varieties will be inevitable during the life cycle of the five year exclusive deal.

Related:
  1. Analyst Predicts Continued Decline of Motorola Handset Sales
  2. Qwest Blames Bad 2nd Quarter on Competition
  3. Telcos Lost Both Voice and Broadband To Cable in Q2
  4. Google Launches White Space Broadband Website
  5. First Android Phone Gets FCC Approval
  6. What happened to Verizon's Open Access?
  7. Cell Phones VoIP Crashes Wireless Industry Party
  8. Qualcomm Fined For Violating Chips Injunction
Forums » A WiMax Zune Phone?
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Post a:

pnh102
Reptiles Are Cuddly And Pretty
Premium
join:2002-05-02
Mount Airy, MD

Leaked Photo

Here it is!

N3OGH
They both suck, we're so screwed
Premium
join:2003-11-11
Philly burbs

Re: Leaked Photo

You dick, you owe me a diaphragm. I'm still laughing so hard I can barely type.

en102
Canadian, eh?

join:2001-01-26
Valencia, CA

Re: Leaked Photo

Gotta love those brick phones.

N3OGH
They both suck, we're so screwed
Premium
join:2003-11-11
Philly burbs

Re: Leaked Photo

I had one in college...

A brick, it was!

inteller
Sociopaths always win.

join:2003-12-08
Tulsa, OK
·Cingular Wireless

how ironic

first the niche article about wimax, then the wimax zune phone.

now that is just hilarious.

why are people so afraid of superior technologies like HSDPA? Apple couldn't do it and now it doesnt look like Microsoft will either.

obviously they are looking at making this exclusive to Spent since they are the only turds doing wimax deployments.

tc1uscg

join:2005-03-09
Saint Clair Shores, MI
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edit:
February 9th, @05:49PM

Re: how ironic

From what I read, it would be for Verizon and/or Sprint so why not? People went ga ga over the iPhone just because it was something from apple even though it got slammed by being on a inferior network (slower speeds) then EVDO(A) so it wasn't even going to be compatible with some of the highspeed content out there. So, since MS has a large following and you can bet intel will have a hand in it too along with Nokia, wanna bet it will be a "dual mode" phone and won't make the same mistakes the iPhone did? With QChat so we can keep those Nextel die hards from slashing their wrists so I'm sure a version will include this in the future. However, even if it was restricted to wimax, I'm sure MS will still sell it to people who hate apple. iPhone vs zPhone.. network vs network, my bets on the Z.
Asmodeus1

join:2004-05-26
Spring Valley, CA

acronyms are starting to suck...

can someone please post a list of the acronyms associated with the cellular/telco/cable/dsl industry...? trying to figure them out is getting ridiculous...

manfmmd
Premium
join:2003-01-14
Earth
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Re: acronyms are starting to suck...

said by Asmodeus1 See Profile :

can someone please post a list of the acronyms associated with the cellular/telco/cable/dsl industry...? trying to figure them out is getting ridiculous...
»www.google.com
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inteller
Sociopaths always win.

join:2003-12-08
Tulsa, OK
www.wikipedia.org

Yauch

join:2005-06-24
Try Newtons Telcom Dictionary. It's been pretty helpful over the years. It's going to take a while to post all 1200+ pages though.
firewire9999

join:2004-07-11
Livonia, MI

Whats next?

Zune Condoms?

NowVOIP
In the beginning there was POTS

join:2006-03-05
Round Lake, IL

Too Late

Too late...im sure they're already on their way.
Ahrenl

join:2004-10-26
North Andover, MA

Re: Too Late

Leaked photos? :P

N3OGH
They both suck, we're so screwed
Premium
join:2003-11-11
Philly burbs

Re: Whats next?

What, and no iCondom???

kyramilan

join:2006-11-26
Pensacola, FL
·Verizon Online DSL
·1and1
·Cox HSI

Re: Whats next?

said by N3OGH See Profile :

What, and no iCondom???
I don't think you'll catch anything from pron!

Count Zero
MD2Be
Premium
join:2007-01-18
Warner Robins, GA
Breaks every time you put it on.
bigjimc

join:2003-04-21
Middleboro, MA

Re: Whats next?

Or you would think of Steve Jobs and experience shrinkage

mrchris
Stop deleting my posts
Premium
join:2002-10-01
North Babylon, NY

Bleh

I wish we would stop melding technology together with the cellphone (camera, mp3 player, etc) and keep this shit seperate!
Ahrenl

join:2004-10-26
North Andover, MA

Re: Bleh

Why? If you don't want it, don't buy it.

M A R K
St. Ides Heaven
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Long Island
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said by mrchris See Profile :

I wish we would stop melding technology together with the cellphone (camera, mp3 player, etc) and keep this shit seperate!
Agreed, who needs this crap.
--
Zionism is a hate crime
Ahrenl

join:2004-10-26
North Andover, MA

Re: Bleh

I do. I carry a cell phone, a blackberry, and an Mp3 player with me to work, its a pain. Plus I have a small Canon digital that I carry with me when I need to take photos and video. It'd be great if it was all in one device with equal functionality, that also fit comfortably in my pocket.

The reason I have a cell phone and a blackberry is that the blackberry is too bulky to keep in my pocket. So if I have a nice big jacket pocket I'll throw it in there and not touch it unless I need email, but my cell phone (RAZR) I can comfortably fit in my hip pocket, and use frequently without difficulty.

Like I said, if you're not using this, why do you care if they make it for others?

kyramilan

join:2006-11-26
Pensacola, FL
·Verizon Online DSL
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Re: Bleh

said by Ahrenl See Profile :

I do. I carry a cell phone, a blackberry, and an Mp3 player with me to work, its a pain. Plus I have a small Canon digital that I carry with me when I need to take photos and video. It'd be great if it was all in one device with equal functionality, that also fit comfortably in my pocket.
Gee, lucky you. I carry a company cell, a company laptop, my cell, and a Pink blackberry!
Ahrenl

join:2004-10-26
North Andover, MA

Re: Bleh

umm.. and so wouldn't you rather just carry one device that fits snuggly in you pocket?

As for sound quality, while I do enjoy high end audio (though I'm certainly no audiophile) I could care less what my phone sound quality is, except for weather I can hear the other person and they can hear me. I'd actually prefer it to be worse, maybe it would keep people from trying to use their phone's during concerts.. Not that I get to go to a lot of concerts, but there's always some Douche bag yelling "WHAT!?" into a cell phone while the music is playing. Wtf is that about?

Count Zero
MD2Be
Premium
join:2007-01-18
Warner Robins, GA
And whatever device comes out that does all of that will (at least for the foreseeable future) do all of those things -- half-assed.
Ahrenl

join:2004-10-26
North Andover, MA

Re: Bleh

No question.. but what's your solution? Just give up? Or have them keep making new and better one's until they get it. The iPhone, no matter how much it pains me to say, looks like it actually gets pretty close. Now we just need Motorola to make it a little smaller, and without all the apple crap on it.

Count Zero
MD2Be
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Warner Robins, GA
·AT&T DSL Service
·Cox HSI

Re: Bleh

My solution is for people to stop buying these half-assed devices and wait until someone gets it right. I think a lot of companies aren't even motivated to make the right product because they know most people are willing to accept devices that are like swiss army knives --- they do a lot but don't do any of it well.
--
'ATM' Troll: noun - one who does not own an Apple product but loves to preach about how proprietary, un-upgradable, imperfect or otherwise un-American Apple's products are without any truth or basis for such statements.
I block ALL trolls.
Ahrenl

join:2004-10-26
North Andover, MA

Re: Bleh

You don't think they could put out a $10,000,000 cell phone that could do it all perfectly? It's a balancing act between cost and utility, and the only way cost comes down is through iteration.

YOU don't have to buy the crap, just let other people keep financing the building of cost efficiency until it gets to where you like. The same reason I haven't run out and bought a cell phone/ipod/camera is because I don't like where they are right now; but guess what, they keep getting better. I also refuse to spend tons of money on my phone.

Count Zero
MD2Be
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Warner Robins, GA
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Re: Bleh

Well I agree -- I'm not going to give them any money for their current crop of products, obviously some people will but if too many people rush out to buy the things they might not see that doing things in their half-assed ways is not good enough, Apple is sort of pushing things forwards with the iPhone but since it hasn't been released yet we can't really say how far.
--
'ATM' Troll: noun - one who does not own an Apple product but loves to preach about how proprietary, un-upgradable, imperfect or otherwise un-American Apple's products are without any truth or basis for such statements.
I block ALL trolls.

thender
Glamour Profession
Premium
join:2004-05-16
Staten Island, NY
·Verizon FIOS

It's 2007 and phones sound marginally better than they did in 1950. In 1925, one could make a recording of superior quality to that of a telephone microphone in 2007.

I hate telephones. Add everything and the kitchen sink to it before making them sound less like garbage.
amungus
Premium
join:2004-11-26
America
clubs:
·Cox HSI

Re: Bleh

actually, you may be surprised to learn that there is a certain level of "comfort noise" inserted into the signals of digital cell phones and many VOIP services...

»en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Comfort_noise

...and yes, ever since the introduction of quality magnetic tape, audio recording has improved dramatically...

according to this article, however, it was 1926
»en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Magnetic_tape
I also suggest reading the very 1st "See Also" link on that page... great bits of music history...

...I gather you're an audio freak, probably like me, (though from reading a couple posts in the A/V forum, it seems you have more resources to devote to the passion...) but I gotta say I rather enjoy a little bit of hiss or static on a phone line just so I know it's actually working.
Of course, the best option would be to have Neumann U87's (or whatever your favorite mic is) on both ends

agree also that such a simple device has become too crowded with features while ignoring its basic function. If I had to pick one thing, I'd say voice dialing is the single greatest improvement in telephone technology. I can speak ANY name in my phonebook and my phone will recognize it about 90% of the time... even the weirder titles I've given some people.

thender
Glamour Profession
Premium
join:2004-05-16
Staten Island, NY
·Verizon FIOS

Re: Bleh

said by amungus See Profile :

...and yes, ever since the introduction of quality magnetic tape, audio recording has improved dramatically...
I didn't say recording hasn't changed since then, I said a quality microphone in the mid to late 20s sounds as bad as a modern phone.

I don't care if it's perfect fidelity, but why the hell should I have to say "b as in bear" instead of "b" when saying an RMA/serial number over the phone? It's 2007.
--
The Problem With Music.


Our Rationale


Time to rewrite the DMCA.

tc1uscg

join:2005-03-09
Saint Clair Shores, MI
BINGO!
kekulp

join:2005-05-26
Bethlehem, PA

OFDM is used in 802.11a and 802.11g networks too...

I highly doubt this thing will have a WiMax radio... More likely just a muilti-band 802.11a/g radio.

GoodyearMark
Premium
join:2001-05-02
Goodyear, AZ

Re: OFDM is used in 802.11a and 802.11g networks too...

Well MS has to do something if they want to break the 5% market share on this thing.
amungus
Premium
join:2004-11-26
America
clubs:
·Cox HSI

You beat me to it. I was going to say, most people with wi-fi probably have "g" by now, which uses an OFDM signal.

Highly doubtful indeed that they'd make it WiMax, after all, isn't it so scarcely deployed at this point as to render that useless to most customers? ..Then again, the wifi functionality of the Zune is so pointless as of now that you never know what MS will dream up next...

Next article - "look, it has WiMax ability!" ...but less than 1% of owners will be able to even use that...

MattE
Obama '08
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join:2003-07-20
Jamestown, NC
·North State Commun..
·Corporate Colocation

said by kekulp See Profile :

I highly doubt this thing will have a WiMax radio... More likely just a muilti-band 802.11a/g radio.
Why not?
--
Use the OS tool for the job.
kekulp

join:2005-05-26
Bethlehem, PA

Re: OFDM is used in 802.11a and 802.11g networks too...

said by MattE See Profile :

said by kekulp See Profile :

I highly doubt this thing will have a WiMax radio... More likely just a muilti-band 802.11a/g radio.
Why not?
Why? Where would it be useful? WiMax deployments are years away from being widespread. I would think they would put in an EVDO or EDGE/HSDPA radio if they were looking for mobile broadband since networks utilizing those technologies are widely available. A WiMax radio would be cool, but of fairly little benefit at this point.

MattE
Obama '08
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join:2003-07-20
Jamestown, NC
·North State Commun..
·Corporate Colocation

Re: OFDM is used in 802.11a and 802.11g networks too...

said by kekulp See Profile :

said by MattE See Profile :

said by kekulp See Profile :

I highly doubt this thing will have a WiMax radio... More likely just a muilti-band 802.11a/g radio.
Why not?
Why? Where would it be useful? WiMax deployments are years away from being widespread. I would think they would put in an EVDO or EDGE/HSDPA radio if they were looking for mobile broadband since networks utilizing those technologies are widely available. A WiMax radio would be cool, but of fairly little benefit at this point.
WiMAX is all over North Carolina.

»www.clearwire.com/

Also, Sprint will be deploying it soon.

I'd rather have WiMAX than EVDO or HSPDA.
--
Use the OS tool for the job.
Forums » A WiMax Zune Phone?


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