quote:

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>
>
> http://www.gamespot.com/news/rumorcontrol.html
>
> Microsoft working on new game-media portable?
>
> Source: The latest issue of BusinessWeek.
>
> The official story: "We're not either confirming or denying or whatever
> we generally say."--Microsoft corporate vice president Bryan Lee.
>
> What we heard: In April 2004, an interesting rumor made the rounds.
> According to the story, a tipsy J Allard, the current head of the
> experiences and design division of Microsoft's gaming and entertainment
> group, cornered a Whistler-Blackcomb snowboarder with tales about how
> his company was readying an "iPod killer." Allard allegedly said that
> Microsoft's next-generation game console would have an external hard
> drive that doubled as a self-powered MP3 and media player.
>
> But when the Xbox 360 was finally unveiled the following May, its
> "outrigger" 20GB HD couldn't play media files on its own. In fact,
> during presentations, Microsoft executives would show off the 360's
> connectivity with the iPod and PSP, apparently quashing rumors of any
> Microsoft designs on the handheld media and gaming market.
>
> That said, many analysts believe the uber-successful iPod will
> eventually force Microsoft to launch its own multimedia handheld. In
> the aforementioned article, BusinessWeek reporter Jay Greene says that
> the company is "working on plans to develop its own portable digital
> media device to rival the iPod." Furthermore, he quotes Xbox marketing
> guru Peter Moore as saying that any Microsoft portable would play
> games. "It can't just be our version of the iPod," Moore told
> BusinessWeek, and also hinted that said hypothetical handheld would
> bear the Xbox logo. "I think the brand is an opportunity," he said.
>
> Though BusinessWeek cites an anonymous source as the basis for its
> story, there is a consensus of opinion that Microsoft will eventually
> release a hybrid gaming/media portable. Such a device could incorporate
> the best of both worlds: Gaming functionality would give it an edge
> over the iPod; a high-capacity hard drive would trump the PSP's
> limited-storage Memory Stick Duo; and multimedia functionality could
> make it more attractive than the gaming-only DS (to some, anyway).
>
> There is also the question of Microsoft's notorious competitiveness.
> Currently, more than eight out of every 10 MP3 players is an iPod. The
> handheld gaming market, which is expected to reach 43 million customers
> by 2009, is dominated by Nintendo and Sony. It's highly unlikely that
> Microsoft is just going to let those companies waltz away with their
> profits unchallenged. After all, the software colossus has already paid
> a high price--$7 billion in Xbox losses as of last year--just for a
> piece of the console pie.
>
> Bogus or not bogus?: Not bogus that Microsoft is exploring the
> possibility of a handheld. (A company that size probably has plans for
> the aftermath of an asteroid strike...)
>

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> pft, I wouldn't buy it...... there are plenty of others, most likely
> better and cheaper than MS could create.
>
>
>
> <AirRaidJet@gmail.com> wrote in message
> news:1139359431.360011.312190@o13g2000cwo.googlegroups.com...
>
>

quote:

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> http://www.gamespot.com/news/rumorcontrol.html
>
> Microsoft working on new game-media portable?

quote:

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> won't have halo though
>
>
> "Adam" <nospam@foryou.com> wrote in message
> news:um64Q9GLGHA.2904@TK2MSFTNGP10.phx.gbl...
>
>