J Allard says no Zune Phone on the horizon, Zune tattoo guy weeps

The funkiest and freshest dude in Redmond, J Allard, has once again reached out to the people and dropped straight-up knowledge in regards to Zune Phone rumors. According to the report, during an interview with Reuters Allard shrugged off the chatter, saying that the company was focusing on the new Zunes at the present time. It would have seemed like a total dead-end, but the Microsoft exec then noted that the Zune was built on top of Windows Mobile, and added that the giant has, "The flexibility to take these in a different direction where [sic] our customers, our partners and we are ready." Sure, some new product would be nice, but let's be honest folks -- why would you need to make a phone when everyone is running your software anyway?

[james @ Oct 3rd 2007 11:28AM]

this product is useless. you can play music and movies on your WM smartphone already. and with 8gb micro sdhc (which the new WM smartphones can use) you essentially already have a "zune-phone".

MS can't be that stupid, can they?

[JAmerican @ Oct 3rd 2007 11:41AM]

Agreed. WM is way ahead of the iPhone. Its just too complicated (I think) for the non-technical person. Being that you have to close applications and clear free memory and all that. WM Professional is the Zune Phone. Just look at the Kaiser. That says it all.

JAmerican

[holz69 @ Oct 3rd 2007 4:40PM]

dood if ms is smart they shood make it so ppl hoo dnt no about all the better phones will buy it
plus a year ago ms said they were makin like an xbox phone

[potato @ Oct 3rd 2007 11:28AM]

Control? MS gets a licensing fee for every Windows Mobile phone someone else makes. They get the whole shebang if they make the phone themselves, that's enough reason to start.

[tdm @ Oct 3rd 2007 12:43PM]

Except that those phone companies using WM now, may not keep using it if Microsoft becomes a direct competitor on the hardware side. They'd have to sell a ton of phones to make up for that loss...

[Nando @ Oct 3rd 2007 11:29AM]

Zune's tag line is "Welcome to the social." If there were to be a Zune Phone, what would be the slogan be?

[darknight630 @ Oct 3rd 2007 11:31AM]

Clever...is so last week.

[easymac30 @ Oct 3rd 2007 11:46AM]

"Hello, and welcome to the Social"

....they might actually do that.

[Leah @ Oct 3rd 2007 11:31AM]

It's kind of a shame, because the extra phone competition would drive apple to further innovate the iPhone... but then again, we certainly don't need one more iPhone copy out there.

[Elliot @ Oct 3rd 2007 11:43AM]

why not?
when a good idea is proven to work,
then everyone should listen up.
isn't that what technology is, everything moving forwards.
when acorn made the first desktop gui (or whoever it was, they were definitely ahead of the game back then), would it have been shameful to follow suit?

basically hats off to apple, other companies will catch up and then the next phone gui innovations will appear.

unless what you meant to say was that the iPhone is crap and therefore copying it is a waste of time.

[NeoK182 @ Oct 3rd 2007 11:32AM]

as i've said on zunecorps a lot the past year the best idea for a 'Zune Phone' is not a phone at all but a Zune program for Windows Mobile devices that works exactly like the Zune and replaces WMP in windows mobile devices. It will work exactly like the Zune. horizontal video/picture viewing, fm tuner (if possible in the device), and wi-fi sharing.

[Eric M @ Oct 3rd 2007 11:32AM]

Headline should read:

J Allard announces Death of Zune, no plans to innovate or expand. Stock will dwindle/collect dust on shelves.

[Jeff @ Oct 3rd 2007 11:39AM]

Here's a iPhone. Go unbrick it and then get back to us.

[Eric M @ Oct 3rd 2007 12:36PM]

Don't have an iPhone, don't want one.

tell me what the Zune has on an iPod? Nothing, oh it's a little slimmer, and the screens a little bigger, but nothing cool. Microsoft has the money, and the opportunity to make something great. This update would have been awesome, if Zune 1.0 would have released with it.

I think the new Zunes are ugly. but then again, so is the new Nano. It's nice they updated Zune 1.0, but there is no reason to buy a Zune,

And to all the haters, I bought/have a Zune 1.0 because it was innovative at the time.

[Jesse S @ Oct 3rd 2007 4:21PM]

Because it sounds better than any iPod out of the headphone out?

[nikster @ Oct 3rd 2007 10:07PM]

@jesse: says who? I see this comment repeated over and over again in internet forums, yet all the tests in audio magazines I read give the iPod 5-star excellent ratings for audio quality. Only the new classic seems to have a problem, if a minor one. But the others, and any older iPod all have excellent audio outputs.

So here's audio magazines vs seemingly thousands of anonymous blog posters. Is that a meme or some sort of smear campaign? Or is it just something that non-iPod mp3 player owners say to each other to feel better?

[enzo @ Oct 3rd 2007 11:33AM]

*ring ring* It is me... Little John.
WHAT?

[Shane @ Oct 3rd 2007 11:39AM]

Allard scares me...The bald hipster look is so 2006.

[keith @ Oct 3rd 2007 5:14PM]

Because I'm sure you're so ahead of fashion...

[Shane @ Oct 3rd 2007 12:23PM]

It was a joke...Fashion is whatever you want it to be. In any case, every picture I have seen of Allard has been seriously freaky for some reason...

[Rich @ Oct 3rd 2007 11:47AM]

"ut the Microsoft exec then noted that the Zune was built on top of Windows Mobile"

Since when? WinCE, yes. Windows Mobile, no.

[Mike Botros @ Oct 3rd 2007 12:20PM]

and what's windows mobile built on? oh.. CE...

[xbit @ Oct 3rd 2007 3:04PM]

@Mike: My house is built on top of the ground. Your house is also built on top of the ground. Does that mean that your house is also built on-top of my house?

That's some great logic you've got going there...

[J @ Oct 3rd 2007 11:55AM]

Zune Tattoo Guy is wallowing in his own crapulence now after a 48-hour binging on Zune 2's, Zune Nanos and the like. He double-stick taped 100's of them to his nude body after maxing out his credit cards and walked around his mom's basement. He's now deep in a post-coital slumber, dreaming of one day undergoing Zune-reassignment surgery. Welcome to the 2ocial, Zune guy.

[Homeboy @ Oct 3rd 2007 11:53AM]

How about starting with shipping Zune DAPS over here to Europe????


But I'm very impressed with MS and the new Zune. They have really showed that they care about us customers. We whinned about the wacky WiFi feature on the first generation Zune. What did Microsoft do? They improved it and gave us just what we want.

Therefore I have to say tha I'm very keen on a Zune phone featuring a Media Center inspired interface. Apple doesn't listen to it's customers, MS do which is why I believe that a Zune phone would kick ass.

[Marty @ Oct 3rd 2007 12:03PM]

Wireless syncing is a step forward but they really needed wireless Zune Marketplace purchase ability. I sure hope that is still coming. The wifi feature is taking too long to take advantage of by MS. To me, wifi is the promising feature on the Zune. MS should create a killer feature using wifi. But its still not there. Besides, syncing hasn't been that pleasant so far anyway. I prefer to sync as seldom as possible because of how long it takes and its also a bit unreliable. Syncing is certainly not a "feel good" feature right now. Its more of a "barely works, but need to do it" feature.

[Homeboy @ Oct 3rd 2007 12:18PM]

Marthy: Sorry but I disagree. WiFi syncing is a killer feature and is for a music device much more important than an damn browser. Neither Apple, Cowon nor Creative support syncing over WiFi. It's a very big step forward.

When I sync music and pictures with my phone I do it over bluetooth. It's so damn convient that I will never buy a phone which doesn't have bluetooth.

Imagine this. You have WiFi with automatic syncing for your Zune turned on. The Zune is docked inisde your car. You drive into your garage, go and make a sandwich, walk to the car and drive away with new music which have automatically been synced.

As for Marketplace purchase ability I doubt that anyone cares about it. Let's face it, many of us consumers are bootleggers.

[Ike Turner @ Oct 3rd 2007 11:58AM]

Just wait for Windows Mobile 7 aka Photon....

[Midas360 @ Oct 3rd 2007 3:46PM]

You're all a bunch of douchebags for even buying an iPhone, iPod, or Zune.

What a total waste of money. :)

[Libb @ Oct 3rd 2007 12:01PM]

"Sure, some new product would be nice, but let's be honest folks -- why would you need to make a phone when everyone is running your software anyway?"

Um... Isn't that the exact same argument that the Zune itself had? Microsoft was likely making a decent amount of cash licensing PlaysForSure to everyone and their mother, but they were getting reamed in market share by the iPod, so they decided to do their own single hardware device ecosystem. Now, with WM it's a slightly different playing field, the iPhone is a challenger as opposed to a firmly entrenched leader in the genre, but just the same, if Apple starts making serious gains, MS might change their tune and make a more integrated Zune phone.

[see3pio @ Oct 3rd 2007 12:01PM]

They need and want to capitalize on the burgeoning Zune brand name, of course. (dripping with sarcasm)

[noisia @ Oct 3rd 2007 12:05PM]

why no zune phone? i think microsoft has probably the better knowledge and ressources of doing a great phone than apple does.
they have zune
they have their live services
they have knowledge of mobile phone OSs since years
they have these new future pc's with touch interface
they have money
they are microsoft

i would be surprised if micorsoft doesnt launch their own mobile phone device in the next 3 years.
i am preparing myself allready now against the "microsoft copies apple ZOMGG" flood comments.

my 2 cents

[getz76 @ Oct 3rd 2007 12:41PM]

I do not blame them. Why get into the hardware when you can just sell the software. Vertical integration may not be the best bet for them on phones.

I like the idea of a thin Windows mobile phone the size of a iPod Classic or Zune 80, with a hard drive and Bluetooth. WiFi would be a bonus...

[Johan S @ Oct 3rd 2007 1:49PM]

The LCD in the Zune (and iPod) suck --they dont even acheive old tv NTSC resolution. The human eye can see up to 1200 ppi from 10 inches. There is no reason why the Zune's 3.2 inch display can't have at least an 800 x600 display (Samsung and Sanyo/Epson has already demonstrated displays much higher than the required ppi). And yeah it's useful for full HTML browsing.

[VH5150 @ Oct 3rd 2007 3:10PM]

Probably because it's expensive and most people won't pay a lot more for a higher res display on a small device.

[Sclath @ Oct 3rd 2007 2:21PM]

Can you use the Wi-Fi connection to browse the web on a Zune? For me, the internet-device feature of the iPod Touch was the wow-factor (ignoring the piss-poor storage capacity). If Zune doesn't provide similar functionality I'm afraid they are destined to stay a very distant second.

[Keith @ Oct 3rd 2007 3:37PM]

dear engadget I wish not to be called as an apple fanboy because I am not, but I see the success of the zune merely questionable. Would please go through engadget.com and change the word zune to flop everywhere it is posted

Thank you

[alex @ Oct 3rd 2007 6:21PM]

what is the "sic" for