CrunchGear says Microsoft is working on a WiMAX Zune Phone
On Monday, Microsoft filed a mystery application with the FCC for an enigmatic wireless device that could be used to talk over the Internet. The device is described as being used for “consumer broadband access and networking,” which doesn’t sound like vanilla VoIP to me. Microsoft goes on to say that the device would use OFDM as its communications protocol, not WiFi or Bluetooth.
So now that we know that the Zune Phone is real, and that it’s in development, what else can we say about it? Tons.
The first real news is that we can expect to hear an announcement from Redmond about March 17, St. Patrick’s Day, at which time we should learn the name of the device. At the same time, we should also learn other launch specifics, and here’s where it gets incredibly juicy; our source says that, pending FCC approval, the specter-like Zune Phone will hit the streets sometime in May, a full month before the iPhone.
Without a doubt, the biggest root of contention with the Zune users isn’t the hardware (which is very good) or the marketplace (which is likewise awesome), but the lack of other users to share music with. The WiFi sharing capabilities were the unique feature that was supposed to set the Zune apart, but unless you had another user in the area with sharing turned on, it was wasted battery, even in airports or Midtown Manhattan.
The Zune Phone remedies this by allowing you to share music not via WiFi, but via WiMax, so that anyone on your friends list who is online can sample your music, and vice versa. By using the mobile WiMax network, you can be in New York and your friend can be in San Jose and you can send him that Shins song you like.
By taking the proximity limitations from an otherwise sound idea and reversing them macro-syle, Microsoft opens up the Zune experience to everyone, making the ecosystem reach from coast-to-coast. The Social, as they say, goes national. We love the idea, as it really frames the concept of portable social networking in a wide, wide light.
Of course, much of this is conjecture, but it’s logical. What’s more, our sources have never let us down and are from diverse backgrounds involved with Zune from the get-go. This is a well-thought-out response to iPhone, works perfectly with MSN Live Spaces, as well as Xbox.
We’re not entirely sure yet how much of this is going to hit, but it’s on our radar, and we’re guessing that now it’s on yours, too.
The Seattle PI reports a Microsoft prototype capable of using 700 MHz “white spaces” was described in an unrelated FCC filing (pdf). Microsoft, Google and other DTV coalition members want the FCC to make the vacated airwaves available for unlicensed uses. Other member companies include Dell H-P, Intel and Philips.
The New America Foundation believes the unlicensed TV band can use cognitive radio techniques to completely protect licensed broadcast TV services (pdf). Specifically, the FCC has proposed to allow unlicensed operation in the spectrum used by TV channels 5 and 6 (76 – 88 MHz), 7 through 13 (174 – 216 MHz), 14 through 36 (470 – 608 MHz), and 38 through 51 (614 – 698) MHz. The proposed new rules would allow the operation of both fixed/access and personal/portable broadband devices on a noninterference basis.
