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Wifi, Xbox, PC, Zune and accessories |
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Written by Kostas Tzounopoulos
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Tuesday, 12 December 2006 |
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Wifi is the main feature Zune brings in the portable players market. Although now it is not very useful I'd like to share some thoughts with you about how far and how easy it can be extended. Wireless sync with Xbox and PC? Accessories like headsets and mics ? Or maybe VoIP and Internet access is the limit ?...
Some days ago I read on jkOnTheRun an article about what could be next for Zune. Because Zune in only an 11 months project, Kevin C. Tofel concludes it must be using the same Wifi technology as the Xbox 360, a custom made 2.4 GHz protocol. This makes sense. Xbox has some wireless accessories available like a wireless controller and a headset. So releasing wireless earbuds wouldn't be so difficult. These exist in the Bluetooth technology already! If this is true, Zune could also easily wireless-sync with the Xbox. It does this already using USB, so you just remove the cables. But the most interesting here is the Wireless Gaming Receiver accessory (not yet available). This is a $20 USB addon for the PC to support Xbox accessories like the Wireless Wheel. Don't you think this is a good idea for PC - Zune Wifi sync also ? A private protocol used both for Xbox and Zune to communicate with their accessories and PCs. Maybe also to connect Zune to the online Marketplace and buy content directly from there? Sounds like a very good idea. Lets move now to less possible scenarios. What if Zune can connect to normal Wireless hotspots also? Lets say you also place on it an external Mic (not available now). There you are, you have a new Wifi-VoIP phone. Of course there is no numerical keyboard, so this not very possible to happen. But today I read on Reuters, MS uses Voice Over IP technology in Office Communications Server 2007! Another info: the cheapest Wifi-VoIP phones cost about $150. Zune costs $100 more and is also a 30 GB video player. I think it is still a good idea even if it lacks the keyboard!
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Last Updated ( Tuesday, 12 December 2006 )
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