November 18th, 2009

So where's Microsoft's Live Mesh?

Posted by Mary Jo Foley @ 9:38 am

Categories: Azure, Code names, Corporate strategy, Live Mesh, PDC 2009, Utility/cloud computing, Windows Live, Windows Mobile, Zune

Tags: Microsoft Azure, Ray Ozzie, Microsoft Corp., Microsoft Windows, Web Site Development, Benefits, Channel Management, Operating Systems, Software, Internet

One noticeable no-show at this week’s Microsoft Professional Developers Conference is Live Mesh.

Live Mesh, Microsoft’s synchronization service that is the pet project of Chief Software Architect Ray Ozzie, was one of the main attractions at previous Microsoft developers’ conferences. When Microsoft first described the service, it was billed as a way to prove to consumers that Microsoft’s Azure cloud would have something of interest to them and not just business customers and developers.

Earlier this year, as part of one of the company’s many reorgs, Microsoft moved the Live Mesh team under the Windows/Windows Live group. Since then, things have gone quiet.

At the PDC this week, I (and others) thought Microsoft might give us a progress report on Live Mesh… or a demo of the latest version of it… or a roadmap for it… or something. But no.

I had a chance to ask Chief Software Architect Ray Ozzie about Live Mesh during a one-on-one interview with him at the show on November 17. I asked Ozzie why there was nothing about Mesh at the PDC. He said:

“We’re pushing the Live platform stuff to Mix. Or I shouldn’t actually say Mix, in terms of that, it is going to be spring….The Live stuff and phone stuff basically is out in that time frame.

“But that (Live Mesh) will no longer be discussed in the context of ‘Live Mesh,’ but rather in ‘the Windows Live platform,’ which is now, as you know, which it’s now part of.

I asked Ozzie a follow-up: If you aren’t using Live Mesh any more as a way to get consumers excited about the Azure platform, what’s the new plan to push the “commercialization of IT” strategy with Azure? Ozzie’s response:

“(T)he reality is — I know this isn’t very sexy — but I don’t think people are really going to be aware that it (Azure) is there. I think when people go to Web sites, they’ll just go to a Web site. They won’t really know what it’s connected to. When they use a phone or a piece of client software or a TV or a cable box that happens to talk to a cloud back end, it will just happen. And the way they will experience it is it will be reliable, it will be fast, it will scale.

“Probably the most important thing is that we live in a very faddish culture,… Whenever there is a service that’s backing up something that’s very trendy, these things will just happen without any issues. There will be black Friday and everyone wants to just buy their Beanie Baby and they’ll be able to.”

So if Live Mesh isn’t the consumer proof point for Windows Azure, what is? Ozzie said:

“(T)he best example I have is this app that (Microsoft Online Systems Division President) Qi Lu announced at Web 2.0 some weeks ago with Bing/Twitter integration. That came together in a very short time.

“In just a few weeks, a few developers got together and they had the Twitter fire hose, because of our relationship with — an early relationship with Twitter, and suddenly because of Azure, they were able to ingest this whole thing and start to do some amazing analysis that they could have never done if they had to, let’s see, how many machines should we order? When do we get them configured? When can we have rack space in GFS (Microsoft’s Global Foundation Services)? Those apps just never would have happened. And that’s why I’m so excited about this Dallas stuff because even though it is obscure, it’s hard to give compelling examples of how to use that data, once people have the ability to make a discovery based on data and then scale it to lots and lots of data, I think new possibilities are opened up.

“I think consumers are going to experience the benefit of the apps. Just take the H1N1 thing that’s going on right now. I’m not sure exactly what the benefit will be, but when there are these large challenges, suddenly some new app may be overlaid on maps or maybe it’s an app on a map that brings together some health data with geo data or an industry that you work in or something like that will pop up, and we’ll take it for granted at the time when it happens, but it will never have been able to happen without all that data behind it.”

When I recently asked some execs in Microsoft’s Entertainment and Devices division — the folks behind Windows Mobile and Zune — about their plans for implementing Live Mesh, I didn’t get a sense they had any real, near-term plans (and I don’t think they were just being cagey).

I’m really wondering what’s going to happen with Live Mesh going forward. Any guesses/hopes?

November 13th, 2009

Microsoft opens up Windows 7 to advertisers via downloadable themes

Posted by Mary Jo Foley @ 5:01 am

Categories: Advertising, Corporate strategy, Windows 7, Windows Live, Windows client, Zune

Tags: Brand, Theme, Microsoft Corp., Advertiser, Microsoft Windows 7, Microsoft Windows, Branding, Operating Systems, Software, Marketing

The same way that it already allows advertisers to buy placement on various Microsoft sites and properties, Microsoft may allow them to extend their brands onto Windows 7.

The ads aren’t being foisted on Windows 7 users. Those who don’t want the branded themes don’t have to see them, as they’re opt in.

Microsoft announced on November 13 that it has begun test pilots with a handful of advertisers for ads on Windows 7. The two “theme experiences” they are offering are known as the “Windows Theme Experience” and the “Windows Personalization Gallery.” The trial is set to run through October 2010.

Advertisers participating in the pilot include Ducati, Infiniti, Porsche and Twentieth Century Fox, according to a Microsoft press release.

Via the Windows Theme Experience pilot, advertisers are going to be able to put their brand on Internet Explorer 8 add-ons; Windows 7 and Windows Vista gadgets; Windows 7 backgrounds and borders and Windows “audio elements.” Via the Windows Personalization Gallery pilot, advertisers will be able to push their brands “throughout the operation of their Windows 7-based PC including backgrounds, slide shows, borders and application audio elements.”

Users will have to download the branded themes and elements from Microsoft’s Windows Web site in order to add them to their PCs. Some of these branded themes and elements already are available for download, like the Ferrari theme, the Coca Cola “Happiness Factory” theme and the Porsche theme. They are available alongside of some of Microsoft’s own brand themes — such as the Gears of War theme, Bing screen shots theme and Zune characters theme.

“These new themes are intended for a brand’s most passionate fans and allow for a deeper engagement by letting consumers embed their favorite brand into their PC experience,” according to Microsoft.

I have to admit, I do like the Zune characters theme, but because I like the artwork in that theme pack, not because I want to tell the world that I’m a Zune fan. What about you? Are there branded themes you’d willing put on your PC — either ones already in the gallery or ones you’d like to see added to it?

November 11th, 2009

Microsoft delivers new Zune HD games; Twitter and Facebook still to come

Posted by Mary Jo Foley @ 6:54 am

Categories: Apple, Corporate strategy, Gaming, Windows Live, Windows Mobile, Xbox, Xbox Live, Zune

Tags: Facebook, Twitter Inc., Microsoft Zune, Microsoft Corp., Games, Personal Technology, Mary Jo Foley

On the heels of providing a new firmware update to the Zune HD that provided support for forthcoming games, Microsoft is rolling out those games starting on November 11.

The firmware update, version 4.3, enabled 3-D gaming on the new Zune HD. The new six games that are available for download from the Zune HD Marketplace today for free (but ad-supported — there’s an ad at start-up) are:

Audiosurf Tilt: Audiosurf creates a rollercoaster ride from any song.

Checkers: A classic checkers game that can be played against a computer or a buddy.

Lucky Lanes Bowling: Bowl in different game modes: exhibition, blackjack, golf — either against the computer or up to four friends.

Piano: Play your own tune, or play along with music.

Project Gotham Racing: Ferrari Edition: A racing game using multi touch controls and the built in accelerometer.

Vans Sk8: Pool Service: “Put these Vans skaters to the test with all the tricks in their bag and achieve hero status once you unlock their pro model skateboards.”

A spokesperson sent me the following update, as well:

“As we’ve said in the past, we will be delivering additional applications for Zune HD including Facebook and Twitter in the future.”

I bought a Zune HD a month or so ago and have been showing it off to some disbelieving Apple die-hards. “Are you sure this is a Microsoft product?” is often the reaction I’ve gotten. Being able to change the music I’ve got on it whenever the mood strikes (thanks to a $15 per month ZunePass subscription) has been a great way to sample lots of new content. If this device had been available a couple of years ago, when I was searching for any MP3 player as long as it wasn’t an Apple one, I’d have snapped it up long ago…

But, as I’ve noted before, Microsoft isn’t planning to put a ton of resources into developing apps for its dedicated Zune HD players. Microsoft officials have said the not-so-long-term plan for Zune is to turn it into a service. There will be “at least one more” player release coming, but after that, it sounds like Microsoft is planning to integrate the Zune music and video services into its Windows Mobile, Xbox and possibly other third-party platforms. (The new Xbox Live services including Zune video went into public beta on October 21. The go-live launch date is still to be announced. is November 17.)

Microsoft officials still won’t give a firm yes or no answer as to when or if the company will make the Zune HD available internationally. (I ask periodically but still can’t get an answer.)

October 23rd, 2009

Ballmer: Zune services coming to 'next release' of Windows Mobile

Posted by Mary Jo Foley @ 8:58 am

Categories: Channel, Code names, Corporate strategy, Mobile services ("Pink"/"Rouge"), OEMs, Resellers, Windows Mobile, Zune

Tags: Phone, Microsoft Windows Mobile, Mobile, Steve Ballmer, Microsoft Zune, Engadget, Microsoft Corp., Pink, Mobile Operating Systems, Microsoft Windows

Microsoft CEO Steve Ballmer really made the rounds on October 22 to help kick off Windows 7. One stop he made was the Engadget Show, which was taped live in Times Square.

Ballmer was a lot more direct than Microsoft Entertainment and Device Division President Robbie Bach, when it comes to answering questions about Microsoft’s mobile and device strategies. (Not a high bar, given Bach’s reticence to even acknowledge the existence of anything codenamed “Pink.”) Ballmer did offer a few tidbits during the show yesterday that I found interesting, though still somewhat cryptic.

In response to Engadget’s questions on when the Zune music and video services will come to Windows Mobile, Ballmer said Zune services would definitely be available in conjunction with the next Windows Mobile release.

But as the folks over at the MobileTechWorld blog note, that answer is still somewhat murky. Microsoft is strongly believed to be readying a 6.5.x or 6.7 release of Windows Mobile, which many are expecting the company to release on or around the Consumer Electronics Show in January 2010. That release supposedly enables Windows Mobile to work on capacitive touch-screen phones. Microsoft officials continue to refuse to say if and when that release will be coming.

Engadget also asked Ballmer about the photos of the Pink phones (codenamed Turtle and Pure) that were leaked on Gizmodo last month. Are either of these the rumored Microsoft-branded phones that many of us heard are — or at least “were” — in the works?

“We are not shipping, pricing  or selling phones. As of today, that’s not our plan,” Ballmer told Engadget’s Josh Topolsky yesterday.

This is a more definitive statement than Bach or anyone else at Microsoft has made about the rumored Pink phones. (As I’ve noted previously, Microsoft officials have been able to wriggle out of repeated questions about whether Microsoft is planning to make its own phone because Microsoft doesn’t actually “make” any hardware. Other vendors make it for the Redmondians.

With Pink, most recent rumors seemed to indicate that Sharp was the company making the Pink phones that Microsoft and Sharp were considering they’d cobrand. Ballmer’s new statement still leaves a lot of wriggle room, but it also leads me to believe there’s a good chance that Microsoft’s phone partners may have complained so vociferously about Microsoft being involved in branding/distributing its own phones that Pink may be back to nothing more than a bunch of premium services for Windows Mobile phones. (That’s what I initially heard Pink was, before I got more tips indicating Pink also was the codename for a Microsoft-branded phone, as well.)

What’s your take? Has Microsoft scrapped plans to cobrand a phone aimed at teens and 20-somethings? And when will Zune come to the Windows Mobile platform — in early 2010 with an interim release or not until Windows Mobile 7?

October 22nd, 2009

Microsoft starts selling PC hardware, third-party software via its online store

Posted by Mary Jo Foley @ 5:33 am

Categories: Apple, Channel, Corporate strategy, Windows 7, Windows client, Xbox, Xbox Live, Zune

Tags: Software, PC, Online Store, Microsoft Corp., Games, Netbooks, Nettops & MIDs, Tools & Techniques, Personal Technology, Hardware, Management

The first brick-and-mortar Microsoft retail store is opening in Scottsdale, Ariz., today, October 22. But Microsoft has opened its revamped virtual store today, as well, and has added PC hardware and third-party software titles to its mix.

The online Microsoft Store opened for business last November. The online store was a replacement for Microsoft’s Windows Marketplace site. When it opened, the online store only allowed  users to purchase Microsoft hardware and software — games, keyboards, games and gaming consoles, Windows (client and server versions), Office and development tools.  The electronic distribution capability of the online store made it  an ideal complement to netbooks, Microsoft executives said.

Trevin Chow, Senior Lead Program Manager for Microsoft Store, announced Microsoft’s online sales strategy via an October 21 blog post. The online Microsoft Store opened for business last November

“On the new online Microsoft Store, we’ve added a bunch of new products, including Windows 7 PCs as well as select 3rd party software and accessories.  And let’s not forget a ton of gaming products that have been added including a bunch of the top selling Xbox 360 titles.”

The revamped store includes machines in the desktop, laptop, netbook and accessories categories. It also is selling Zune HD media players.

October 7th, 2009

When will Microsoft's Live Mesh matter?

Posted by Mary Jo Foley @ 9:16 am

Categories: Azure, Code names, Corporate strategy, Live Mesh, Red Dog, Utility/cloud computing, Windows Live, Windows Mobile, Windows client, Xbox, Zune

Tags: Team, Microsoft Corp., Team Management, Management, Mary Jo Foley

It was April 2008 when Microsoft rolled out a first beta of its Live Mesh synchronization/backup software. The promise was Live Mesh would help users more seamlessly integrate ther PCs, phones, digital picture frames, Xbox consoles — the whole gamut — and not just devices from Microsoft. It sounded almost as though Live Mesh was a precursor to, if not the heart of, the whole three-screens-and-a-cloud strategy Microsoft execs have been increasingly touting.

But maybe not. This week, I asked some of the executives and teams participating in Microsoft’s consumer open-house showcase in New York about how and when they planned to start making use of Live Mesh. The stammers and blank stares said a lot to me.

I asked Robbie Bach, the President of Microsoft’s Entertainment and Devices division about how and when he expected teams in his unit to take advantage of Live Mesh. He didn’t have a whole lot to say. He noted that Live Mesh is more plumbing/infrastructure than something Microsoft plans to offer as a new product or service directly to consumers.

“My Phone (Microsoft’s new Windows Mobile service for provisioning and securing phones) is not using all of Mesh today,” Bach said. Sometime, Microsoft could use Mesh to help replicate files and other information across multiple devices, he said. But that’s going to happen “tomorrow,” Bach said.

Not to be a contrarian, but I’m actually not sure that My Phone is using Live Mesh today, either. I asked Aaron Woodman, Director of Product Management for Windows Mobile about the WinMo team’s intentions around Live Mesh and got a similarly vague statement.

“From a techncal standpoint, Live Mesh is important,” Woodman said. “But it’s more about plumbing. It’s not something we will put in front of consumers.”

A year ago, members of the Mesh team were contemplating how to make consumer devices like Zune and Xbox part of a user’s Mesh. (In other words, to make the kinds of scenarios highlighted in this much-shared Live Mesh marketing/promotional video a reality.) But how and when is this going to happen?

Microsoft has continued to provide beta updates to Live Mesh for the past year and a half. There’s a Live Mesh software development kit out there. Testers who are using the Live Mesh beta seem to really love it, from feedback I’ve gotten. Undeniably, something is changing with Mesh — strategy and/or technology-wise Microsoft has been moving supporting Live Services components of its Azure cloud environment around as of late. But the Softies claim Live Mesh is alive and well and not a victim of the product/head-count cuts Microsoft has been making.

Given the champion of Live Mesh is none other than Chief Software Architect Ray Ozzie himself, you’d think product teams at Microsoft would be falling all over themselves to Mesh-ify their products and services.Maybe Microsoft will have something tangible to show and say at the Professional Developers Conference in November, given that it would be the perfect place to talk about Live Platforms Services and the “Live Mesh Cloud.”

But when Mesh will actually figure in Microsoft’s products/services line-up is anyone’s guess at this point.

October 6th, 2009

Microsoft considering making Zune services available to Apple users

Posted by Mary Jo Foley @ 12:55 pm

Categories: Apple, Corporate strategy, Linux, Windows CE, Windows Mobile, Windows client, Xbox, Xbox Live, Zune

Tags: Microsoft Zune, Apple Inc., Microsoft Corp., Corporate Communications, Digital Music, Digital Media, Marketing, Personal Technology, Consumer Electronics, Mary Jo Foley

For all you who still believe Microsoft is still consumed with the impossible task of beating the iPod with the Zune, here’s more proof that Zune’s future is all about software and services and not hardware.

Microsoft is considering whether it should port the Zune software and services to other platforms, including Apple’s. There’s no guarantee that the Redmondians will end up doing this — or timetable as to when this could happen — but it’s one of many strategies under active consideration.

That’s what I heard today from Jose Pinero, Director of Communications for Microsoft’s TV, Video and Music Business. I had a chance to chat with Pinero at Microsoft’s consumer open-house showcase in New York on October 6.

As I’m currently using the Zune Pass subscription in conjunction with my Sony Walkman MP3 player, I realized that the service isn’t tied to the device. Sure, you don’t get the Zune HD operating system and user interface, but it’s still workable (with a little finagling).

I’ve been thinking that there might be a number of Apple iPod/iPhone users who might prefer a music subscription service over a pay-per-song one. (And one that’s better than Rhapsody.) Given the problems many iTunes users have trying to run iTunes on Windows, maybe they’d be interested in using the Zune software on their Windows PCs, even if they are iPod/iPhone users.

“We are evaluating a lot of options in terms of platforms,” Pinero confirmed, when I asked about this scenario.

He noted that with the addition of the ability to stream music from a browser that is part of the new Zune 4.0 experience, Mac and Linux users already can stream music to their systems if they have a ZunePass subscription. The streaming capability isn’t limited to Internet Explorer; it works with any browser, he said.

So what would it mean to take the Zune experience to Apple users? simply make it easier for iPods/iTouch devices to connect to Zune Pass and to run the Zune software?  I didn’t get any more specifics from Pinero.

While most pundits and many enthusiasts continue to posit that Microsoft is still focused on trying to beat the ubiquitious iPod, that isn’t what the Zune team is thinking.

“Zune is a music and video service from Microsoft. Period,” said Pinero.

(As I’ve reported before, Microsoft officials have said they plan to deliver “at least one more” version of the Zune media player to market, but beyond that, aren’t committing to continue making Microsoft-branded music/video devices. Their thinking is that users will prefer converged devices and want their music  and video on phones and other portable devices instead of dedicated media players.)

I asked Pinero when Microsoft might be bringing the Zune music and video service to Windows Mobile phones.

“Our next step is mobile phones, but we haven’t talked about a timeline for when that will happen,” he said.

Pinero said Microsoft’s more immediate priorities are to get Zune music and Video services on the Xbox. Microsoft officials said earlier this year that Microsoft plans to make the Zune video marketplace available as part of Xbox Live this fall.

Do you think Microsoft could and should port the Zune software and services to other platforms, especially those from Apple? Any brave and/or crazy Apple iPod/iTouch users out there who have found a way to use their devices with ZunePass?

October 6th, 2009

Microsoft kicks off its Windows uber-branding campaign

Posted by Mary Jo Foley @ 6:06 am

Categories: Advertising, Apple, Azure, Channel, Corporate strategy, Utility/cloud computing, Windows CE, Windows Live, Windows Mobile, Windows client, Xbox, Xbox Live, Zune

Tags: Phone, Microsoft Windows Mobile, Mobile, Microsoft Zune, Microsoft Corp., Microsoft Windows, Operating Systems, Mobile Operating Systems, Mobile Applications, Handhelds

October 6 is the retail launch of Windows Mobile 6.5-based phones from a variety of handset makers and carriers. But it’s actually something bigger: It’s the kick-off of Microsoft’s plan to convince users that Windows is (or, at least, should be) everywhere they are.

I’m not going to repeat what lots of other blogs and sites already have, in terms of a feature-by-feature review of Windows Mobile 6.5. (Gizmodo’s review has screen shots and details and ends by noting that the Zune HD team has completely one-upped the Windows Mobile team — kind of ironic, given the Zune software team is now part of MediaRoom/Media Center and the Zune Hardware folks are part of Windows Mobile.)

Today is the day when Microsoft and its phone partners start using officially the “Windows Phone” branding for Windows Mobile phones. Windows Mobile is still the name that will be used for the operating system powering phones; Windows Phones is the uber-brand for all phones running Windows Mobile, regardless of the carrier.

That change may seem like semantics, but it’s not. It’s key to the three-screens-and-a-cloud mantra that Microsoft officials are repeating these days. The idea is you have Windows on your PC, Windows on your phone, Windows on your TV and Windows in the cloud and because it’s one big Windows world, everything works seamlessly.

The reality is not quite like the ads. The operating systems powering these different Windows platforms aren’t all the same. Windows Mobile — for now, at least — is still based on the Windows Embedded CE core. CEO Steve Ballmer lamented to TechCrunch recently:

“We have one and a half operating systems, Windows and Windows Mobile. Windows Mobile is kind of a half because it’s not entirely the same as Windows. And everyday, I say I’d love to get those two things to share more.”

But until Microsoft can figure out how to do that, the company will have to rely on user-interface similarities and common services to further the company’s “One Windows’ message.

Example: Notice the way that Windows Media Center, the Zune HD and Windows Mobile 6.5 all use the same kind of vertical text menus as their primary interface. (However, because OEMs can and do layer their own interfaces over Windows and Windows Mobile, this UI consistency, in cases where it does exist, often gets buried.)

There will be more examples going forward, as Microsoft makes its Zune Video Marketplace, Zune music-subscription service and other premium services common across multiple Windows platforms. But until then, Microsoft’s “Life Without Walls” message still has some pretty solid walls in its path.

Do you think Microsoft will ever get to the point where Windows is the one and only OS that the company is supporting across platforms? Does it actually matter whether the Softies can do so?

September 24th, 2009

Microsoft Pink: 'Just a Sidekick' or more?

Posted by Mary Jo Foley @ 4:09 pm

Categories: Apple, Channel, Code names, Corporate strategy, OEMs, Windows Mobile, Zune

Tags: Phone, Microsoft Windows Mobile, Microsoft Corp., Microsoft Windows, Mobile Operating Systems, Telecom & Utilities, Operating Systems, Mobile Applications, Handhelds, Wireless And Mobility

Ever since Gizmodo published photos of two alleged Microsoft Pink phones (codenamed “Turtle” and “Pure,”) I’ve heard repeated refrains of “That’s it?” Really? A weak Palm-Pre knock-off and a generic sliding-keyboard design?

One tipster of mine said Microsoft’s intention with Pink is not to be cool and flashy. (Well, they succeeded if these photos are real. A Microsoft phone with the Zune HD touch interface would be a million times cooler.) Instead, the source said, Microsoft is attempting to walk the fine line between delivering cool, co-branded Microsoft-Sharp phones and delivering something that would completely alienate Microsoft’s phone OEM partners.

“Pink is a unique software stack and unique designs,” said the source, who requested anonymity. But,  at the same time — even though Microsoft and the Danger team the company acquired would hate this characterization — they also are really glorified Sidekicks, the source added. (Looks like this source or others with a similar story are busy spreading that word, based on a new post by News.com’s Ina Fried.)

What’s more interesting about Pink than the actual hardware is the software plus services stack. This source says that is what is codenamed “Purple.” (I’d heard previously Purple was the codename for the Pink user interface, so this doesn’t seem like too far a stretch.)

What’s in the Purple stack? Here’s where things get even hazier. Is Windows Mobile 7 the base upon which Pink phones will be built? From what I heard, that was Microsoft’s original plan. It’s worth repeating that the OS for Windows Mobile phones, to date, has been Embedded CE at the core, with a lot of customization and layering of a Windows Mobile interface/elements on top. Will Pink phones follow in that mode or break from it? I have no idea.

I asked another source of mine this week whether Windows Mobile 7 will be the foundation upon which Pink phones are built. His reply was odd: He said that being a platform was not a top-priority for Windows Mobile 7. (Make of that what you will….)

What I am still hearing is that the Pink phones will feature a lot of the same kinds of premium services that future Windows Mobile phones will — everything from access to a common Windows Marketplace app store, to the Zune subscription/playback music service, to a Zune-branded video service.

Microsoft officials aren’t commenting on Pink or on the recent Gizmodo images… So for now, there’s no way to know how much of this is real or when any of it will materialize.

Update: One reader sent me a point worth mentioning. Danger, the company Microsoft acquired in 2008 and which is believed to be the folks behind Pink at Microsoft, built a platform that was Java-based.  From Danger’s Web site:” Danger has developed its own Danger Operating System that is compatible with Sun’s J2ME standard (CLDC 1.1 and MIDP 2.0).” If the Pink phones are running this platform, that proves they are Sidekicks at heart, the reader said.

September 15th, 2009

Microsoft Zune HD: Going beyond the specs

Posted by Mary Jo Foley @ 5:36 am

Categories: Apple, Corporate strategy, Internet Explorer, MSN, Windows CE, Windows Mobile, Windows client, Xbox, Xbox Live, Zune

Tags: Microsoft Zune, Microsoft Corp., Microsoft Windows, Media Players, Mobile Operating Systems, Advertising & Promotion, Tools & Techniques, Web Browsers, Digital Music, Digital Media

On September 15, Microsoft and its retail partners began selling the Zune HD in the U.S. Lots of sites have hands-on reviews, photos and feature details about the players and the accompanying Zune 4.0 software beyond what’s already leaked to the Web over the past few months.

I have been more curious about how the Zune fits into Microsoft’s product and services strategy. Here’s what I learned from chatting with Terry Farrell, Senior Project Manager for the Zune.

To Microsoft, the Zune is  more than a media player, Farrell said. Microsoft is fully aware that, currently, the Zune is an MP3 player “with a few million, highly engaged customers,” in Farrell’s words. Microsoft execs have been saying — ever since the company split the Zune team in two and sent the software folks to work with the MediaRoom IPTV folks — that Zune’s future is all about software and services.

See also:

• Gallery: A closer look at Microsoft’s Zune 4.0 music software
• Gallery: Custom-etched designs available for Zune HD

Farrell confirmed there will be “at least” one more generation of Zune media players. Beyond that, who knows? The way the market is moving, dedicated MP3 players look to be on their way out, with users preferring to buy, play and consume their audio and video on phones and/or other devices, he said.

“The bigger story,” Farrell contended, “is about how it (the Zune) is helping us build a new entertainment brand for Microsoft. Among the core pieces of this brand are the Zune HD, MSN and Windows Media Center. The idea is to provide a set of unifying services — the same video service/same catalog — across all of these devices.

It doesn’t mean, as some have speculated, a single app store for the Zune HD and Windows Mobile. Or a common set of games offered across the Zune HD and Xbox. Yes, there will be even more integration between the Zune HD and Xbox (as well as a new $89 A/V dock for non-gamers who are still interested in streaming HD content to their HDTVs rather than onto their gaming consoles). But the handful of games and apps Microsoft is going to offer in November for free on the Zune HD are casual games (think Project Gotham Racing Ferrari Edition), a calculator, a weather app, and Facebook/Twitter clients.

Why not go the Apple route and have one big app store in the cloud?

“Mobile devices are always connected. Our device is sometimes connected to the Web,” Farrell said. That means different kinds of apps and experiences are better suited to a Zune HD than a mobile phone, he said.

Speaking of the Web, Microsoft — or, at least, the Zune team — is starting to talk about Microsoft’s entertainment future as being about four screens. Microsoft execs, from CEO Steve Ballmer to Chief Software Architect Ray Ozzie, have been describing Microsoft’s long-term “three screens and a cloud” vision. Those three screens — the PC, TV and a portable device — are complemented by a fourth, Farrell said: The Web.

With the Zune HD, Microsoft is including a built-in Web browser as part of the device’s Windows CE-based operating system. (It’s “a version of IE for Windows Mobile 6.5, but highly customized for Zune HD,” a spokesperson said. The version of IE that is part of Windows Mobile 6.5 is IE 6-based.) Users can use an on-screen keyboard and Bing, unsurprisingly, is the built-in search engine on the device.

Many industry watchers cite Apple’s control of the end-to-end experience — everything from the hardware to the software — as key to what makes its products successful.  But that’s not the way Microsoft is going, at least not in the media player market.

“The way to think about the Zune going forward is as a software and services layer,” Farrell said.

What’s your take: Are the Softies are thinking about this the right way?