Microsoft Says Your Phone is Your Next PC

eldavojohn writes "While other companies are marrying the obvious functionalities to cell phones (calendar, MP3 player, GPS, etc.), Microsoft is aiming for it to be your next computer. Microsoft Research chief Craig Mundie said that, "Microsoft has a research project called 'Fone+' that would allow the phone to work with a TV as a secondary display, and one that could allow video stored on the device to be played back on the television.""

Re:More?

[superphreak]

I have a Dell Axim and was recently looking on their (Dell's) web site for the Axim and couldn't find it. I went to look in the news for Dell Axim and found out that Dell had pulled the Axim because they thought that the future was in "smart phones," so I guess MS isn't the only one.

Re:Shhhhhh! Everyone be quiet!

[TheWanderingHermit]

Quiet? Once I got to "to work with a TV as a secondary display" I cracked up. I remember using a TV as a display a long time ago, with my TRS-80 Color Computer. Unless you're going to use HDTV, it's a serious pain.

I'd put this right up with the recent threats about Linux and patents as press releases that really mean, "Hey, we're making it sound like Vista is doing great, but it's crashing, and we're really scared we might no longer be the big bully on the block. Instead of seeing how desperate we are, we want you to think we have other ideas." Or, translation, "Vista not doing well? You've gotta be -- oh, look, flying pigs!"

Whenever I read stories like this I remember just how poorly MS does with products that aren't based on their existing monopolies.

MS != 'oracle' anymore

[zappepcs]

if they ever were an oracle for the tech industry that is.

As mentioned, they have yet to release any product worth much this century --- say that slowly to yourself!

No matter how hard they try, and they will, MS will not get anything that can be called portable enough to be a 'phone' to also be a person's primary computer, with or without the addition of interfacing to a tv for video output. The claim of running video from it is just a bit absurd at the current level of technology. So what would be the point of saying something like that? Have you ever watched a stage magician at work? Yep, they tell you one thing to keep you distracted while they seemingly work to pull a rabbit out of a hat. We all know that what you get is not what you saw, or think you saw.

First, we have them misquoting reports to make Linux look 'illegal', then pumped up sales figures for Vista, now this? WOW, the MS spin machine will need some new bearings soon. The ones they are using will be worn out soon, if they aren't already about to fail.

The reality of the world is what they are trying to distract us from:

FireFox is gaining ground at the expense of IE
ODF is gaining ground at MS' expense
OOo is gaining ground at MS' expense
Dell is shipping Ubuntu systems at the expense of Vista
Dell is shipping XP systems at the expense of Vista
MS is being implicated in even more illegal/monopolistic dealings
MS' best friends in government are too busy right now to help them out again
BillG's foundation is getting bad press
Apple is still the tech world's stage hog
Zune is all but buried in the back pages of tech history .... and on and on

In fact, nothing MS has touched in recent years has ended up good for them.... and THAT is what they don't want stockholders to realize

I'm betting that some people in Redmond are looking for a new place in the Sun

Re:Gee..

[Col. Klink (retired)]

Not only that, but it was just over two weeks ago that we got this [usatoday.com] gem from Ballmer slamming the iPhone (discussed on /. [slashdot.org]):

A phone is really a general purpose device. You want to make telephone calls, you want to get and receive messages, text, e-mail, whatever your preference is. The phone really is kind of a general purpose device that we need to have clean and easy to use.

Re:More?

[AKAImBatman]

I wonder exactly what more plans they have for markets they "don't really get"....

If you read Bill Gates' book The Road Ahead [amazon.com] sometime, you'll realize that Gates has some very impractical visions of the future. WebTV was everything he dreamed of for the future of home computers, which is why Microsoft bought them out. It didn't seem to quite occur to Gates that the computer would absorb the television instead. (A subtle but important distinction.) Expect Microsoft to try and make your cellphone into a "Digital Wallet"/Personal Assistant rather than following the more practical "micropayment" designs that Europe ties to cellphones. (Gates believes that the digital wallet will completely replace the leather one.)

Re:Gee..

[stubear]

Yeah, I loved having conversations on my Newton. Oh, wait, you couldn't do that could you? While SmartPhones are not 11 years old, Microsoft has been in teh cell phone industry with proven products for years now. What does Apple have to show? A promise and nothing more. Even when the iPhone is released to market it will have less functionality then SmartPhones that are a few years old.

N95?

[Endareth]

Didn't he just describe the already shipping Nokia N95?
Phone? Check!
Output to TV? Check!
Video playback to TV? Check!

Plus GPS, running Symbian Series 60 3rd Ed., etc...
So once again M$ comes in late. Good going...

Re:Too many functions

[Max Littlemore]

Why can't a phone just be a phone any more?

I've wondered about this push to include more and more features. I do however use some of the features in my phone.

I do:

• Use the camera for quick happy snaps and giving directions. I have sent pictures to friends so that they can find a place that's tricky by address alone.
• Play games on the train, simple games. The thought of playing a fps on something that size makes me want to book in at the osteopath, but tetris, golf, etc are a good way to kill time.
• Listen to mp3s. Some people have a phone and a seperate player, I find the combination convenient.

I don't:

• Use the web browser. It costs extra in network access and hurts my eyes. I maintain that the iPhone would be better named iStrain
• Use it to do more than simple text messaging and editing.
• Use it to edit photos, audio production, database, office apps, development, etc. That's what my PC is for.

Phones are just too small. When I'm doing PC type work, I want a laptop or a PC, not a tiny hand held thing, and especially not one that will "enable my digital lifestyle" (read prevent me from doing anything that does provide revenue for Microsoft).

Re:This is Microsoft Research..

[QuantumG]

They don't need to go to court. Just look what they've done with voice recognition technology. Every year a journalist will tell you that Microsoft gave them this demo of automatic voice recognition technology that required no training and worked perfectly. Every year Microsoft will fail to sell a product that does this, and so will everyone else. Why? Cause the big boys are scared shitless of patent lawsuits, and you simply can't get funding for a startup where there are Microsoft patents that even slightly cover your ideas. It really is a nuclear weapon.