February 10th, 2007
Here's what that so-called "Zune Phone" really is: your thoughts, please?
There's a lot of fuss that insists a recently published FCC document point to a Zune phone.
Here' I will review what I consider to be the core of this document.
Up top, that's a grab of the testing set-up that Microsoft proposes.
Nothing specific in this application looks like a Zune phone to me. At least not in the Apple iPhone sense.
The information provided appears to point to a portable device that will be able to fetch digital television signals out of the air and play them- as well as provide broadband access via 802.11g.
'Alternatively, the multiple references in this document to "DTV channels 2-51" could refer to a device that would use these frequencies for Wi-Fi if and when those frequencies are abandoned for television broadcast by 2009.
Why do I say this? Notice that the box-like device (Zune, perhaps) has a UHF antenna, as well as an 802.11g modem. Not anything that specifically would work with cell networks- but with Wi-Fi networks.
The 802.11g network processor and modem would point to be some WiFi capabilities indicated.
This document contains Microsoft's answers to some initial questions asked by the FCC.
Since these answers are rather lengthy, I thought a few screen shots would more vividly describe what is being sought here than just a sea of type.
Here goes:
Oh my, there's a lot of fuss about "TV channels." Could this in fact be a future handset with enhanced abilities to play digital television signals?
Well then, let's read on.
There you go. Several mentions of DTV, but with broadband access and networking. And I'd bet that the 802.11 g capabilities indicated for this device point to the way that broadband access would be achieved.
I owe you one more grab.
More technical explanation, but nothing that would contravene my analysis that this is a portable device with DTV playback as well as Wi-Fi enabled broadband capabilities.
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Russell Shaw is an enterprise computing journalist, analyst and author based in Portland, Oregon. See his full profile and disclosure of his industry affiliations.
