Cellphones, microsoft, patents, smartphones, zune, zunephone

12 Microsoft Patents That Paint a Zune Phone Picture

Despite semi-denials from Microsoft about the existence of the ZunePhone, we still have it on good word that the phone will be launched some time this year. And if you take all the patents Microsoft's filed lately and look at them through a ZunePhone lens, you'll see that there's even more evidence to prove that it's coming.

Among the patents that Mad4Mobiles found are speech enhancement/filtering, an on-screen keyboard (like the iPhone!), capacitance touch slider (like the iPhone!), contact display, health monitoring (wha?), clamshell form factor (hrk!), and remote control of playback on a remote device. All these point to various features the ZunePhone could have, but may not make it to the first version. – Jason Chen

12 Patents that define the Zune Phone [Mad4MobilePhones]

4:45 PM on Thu Mar 1 2007
By Jason Chen
17,908 views
13 comments

Comments

blue_94_trooper at 05:15 PM on 03/01/07
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Oooh look. Another weak post featuring a picture from a patent filing. Thanks for adding content to fire up the Apple fanboys and haters.

Here come all the dumb comments...
quikboy at 05:22 PM on 03/01/07
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How do you find out about Microsoft's or anybody's patents anyways? I would like to know.

I hope they really do something to outdo the iPhone. Because if they build something stupid or just "not good enough" they'll be laughed at. If they do build some Zunephone, it better be worth it.
MacVicta at 05:54 PM on 03/01/07
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Of course this will be a piece of crap but we'll overlook that for now.

You know what I think? When Bill Gates years ago was quoted as calling the iPod a "fad," a fad that would eventually be replaced by the mobile phone, he was dead on. The future isn't about the iPod nano but rather a handset that contains enough flash memory to compensate for your iPod nano.

I believe Microsoft has been working on the idea for years. They didn't plan to beat the iPod with the Zune, they would beat it by ushering in the next step in portable music, a converged device done right. The all-in-one communicator, one with the consumer in mind (something that, much like the PlayForSure program, they felt their hardware partners couldn't get right).

What I wonder is whether or not the iPhone caught them off guard. What most people don't realize is that the iPhone is an investment, an offensive measure for the day when iPod sales start to sink as we look more and more to our mobile phones for music. With this in mind, who could see Apple releasing it so early? iPod sales are stronger than ever, surely they could afford to rest on their laurels a bit. This is the same company that lost their computer empire to Microsoft, right? Gates hinted that he figured the iPod hegemony would fall the same way. Did MS expect Apple to continue shilling iPods while they were first to release the great communicator? Did they expect iPhone to be seen as a response to their iconic device instead of the other way around?

Whatever the case, I don't think MS whipped this up in response to the iPhone. I think the realization of the future hit them simultaneously. We know what Apple envisioned and now it's Redmond's turn.
ZFactor at 06:24 PM on 03/01/07
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Super military hyper power dual screens, dual screens! Ultra dense nano power module dual screens, dual screens! Two times fifteen cores dual screens, dual screens! Every single possible memory card reader dual screens, dual screens! All singing all talking dual screens, dual screens! Ultra Wideband WiMaxGreentoothFiIceWire 3.05 Dual Screens!
AmishJohn at 06:56 PM on 03/01/07
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"You dialed a '9'. Cancel or Allow?"
"You dialed a '1'. Cancel or Allow?"
"You dialed..."

Can't wait. Especially when the phone thinks you pirated the OS, and only allows you to call your mother.
d_saum at 07:06 PM on 03/01/07
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@AmishJohn: hahahahahahahaha!!!

A clamshell though??? what in the world are they thinking? Who knows though... maybe they'll do it right and really surprise everyone!
Bob_Shinoski at 07:22 PM on 03/01/07
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Well, either it'll be a hit, and people will bow before its might and fury whilst Apple Fanboys defend their company to the death, or it'll suck, and people will hate it like no tomorrow!
gizmofo at 07:53 PM on 03/01/07
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108 points to the blue screen of death.
nova at 12:47 AM on 03/02/07
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will it run wm6? or will they stick some new zune-ish os on it?
Tommo_UK at 05:17 AM on 03/02/07
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Seriously, who cares?
kibets at 09:47 AM on 03/02/07
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I want one!
king_of_fools at 01:40 PM on 03/02/07
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Are you kidding with your snarky little "like the iphone" add-ins? on screen keyboards have been around for years, not just in cell phones but anywhere that you have info to enter and do not have a keyboard easily accessible; my Nintendo had an on screen keyboard you douche, iphone has ripped off my 8 bit NES, it is an NES clone. As for your puzzlement on the "health monitoring" i would venture something like a pedometer heart rate counter etc. ... or does that make it a treadmill clone?

As for the capacitance touch slider, apple didn't make it, did you expect the company that did to only ever sell it to apple? haha they probably have and will continue to get many companies interested in using their technology.

But wait, both the iphone and the zune phone (side note, cool name "the Zone")will be used for making calls, and thats totally a feature that Alexander Graham Bell used for his original design; so now I guess they are both Bell clones .

who wants to bet M$ will at least come up with their own name for the product.
FudFreeZone at 04:12 PM on 06/28/07
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"Maybe they will do it right?" C'mon! When has Microsoft ever done something right. They stole DOS and have been making cheap copies of the Mac OS ever since. The world's greatest con artist is the head of Microsoft's R&D; spends billions yearly, and produces Zip. Hey, maybe that's a good name for the new Microsoft phone...Zip! After the last two disasters (Vista and Zune), Steve Jobs must feel like Kevin in Home Alone. "Have you had enough, or are you thirsty for more?"