Microsoft exec Steve Ballmer comments on Zune phone

In an attempt to damp down the Zune phone rumours that have been flying around recently Microsoft CEO Steve Ballmer has stated that their focus remains with Windows Mobile.

In a statement that can be interpreted in a number of way he said that “We’re in the Windows Mobile business. We can put Zune into Windows Mobile,” and that they “have to think about the phone instead of as a fixed-function device”.

The statement is certainly confusing, although it appears that the intention was for Ballmer to say that a Zune phone was not being planned, despite a number of patents indicating differently.

The statement, in response to a reporter asking “When can we look forward to a Zune phone?”, is below:

It’s not a concept you’ll ever get from us. We’re in the Windows Mobile business. We can put Zune into Windows Mobile, we can put Xbox into Windows Mobile. We can pour everything in. We wouldn’t define our phone experience just by music. A phone is really a general-purpose device. You want it to make telephone calls. You want to get and receive messages — text, e-mail, whatever your preference is. You may want music, you may want to play games, you may want to carry your contacts with you, and you may want to pay for things. I think we have to think about the phone instead of as a fixed-function device, a phone is really kind of a general purpose device that we need to have clean and easy to use.

It appears that rather than creating a Zune phone, Microsoft will be piling Zune functionality and a whole load of other features into a Windows Mobile device which may of may not be manufactured by Microsoft. The only real difference is that its not actually called a “Zune phone”.

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