No Zune phone anytime soon
The rumoured Microsoft answer to Apple's iPhone has been given many names ranging from the Zune Phone to the xPhone but today, any such device has been denied by Microsoft chairman Bill Gates.
In an interview with Germany's Frankfurter Allgemeine Zeitung, Gates said "No, we won't do that. In the so-called smart phone business we will concentrate solely on software with our Windows Mobile program."
"We have partnerships with a lot of device manufacturers from Samsung to Motorola and this variety brings us significantly more than if we would make our own mobile phone."
Microsoft is currently developing its forthcoming Windows Mobile 7 platform focusing heavily on touch and motion gestures. Though it appears to be a revolutionary rather than evolutionary upgrade, Windows Mobile 7 isn't expected until 2009 and with Apple's iPhone and Google's Android looking to eat into the mobile market, Microsoft could be offering too little too late.
