Program manager Mel Sampat posted, "I'm certainly not hinting or speculating about a converged device. I'm wondering if there are any opportunities for us to improve the experience for people who use both devices. For example, viewing your Zune Social network in Internet Explorer Mobile, converting a Zune playlist into .WMA ringtones, [or] converting Zune's artwork to Windows Mobile themes."
Since Sampat's posting, more than 60 commenters have provided feedback. The most common suggestion has been modifying the Windows Media Player on Windows Mobile devices so it can sync with Zune desktop software. Many commenters complained that playlists don't transfer from the Zune to phones, and that music downloaded under a Zune subscription plan doesn't play on Windows Mobile devices because of DRM restrictions.
For example, commenter Jef Kazimer wrote, "Windows Mobile needs to be the platform, and make Zune the ecosystem that runs on that platform. Make Zune the centerpiece for its core uses (Music, Video, Photos, Podcasts) and deprecate the WMP as just a general media player."
Microsoft's Keith Farmer, whose day job is working on extensions to the company's .NET Framework, posted, "The Zune should be able to partner with a Bluetooth phone to fetch music from elsewhere, and/or the phone ought to be able to push files from the Windows Media Player library to the Zune."
Commenter Jason Rasumussen complained, "I have a Zune and a Windows Mobile phone and I need to use Windows Media Player, Sync Center, Windows Mobile Device Center, Zune software, and have Outlook open all to sync my two devices. Five different programs -- this is insane."
The Zune media player was first introduced by Microsoft in 2006, and has been rumored to use Windows CE as its underlying OS, though this has never been officially confirmed by the company. For more information, see our earlier coverage,
here.
To join the fray by adding comments, or just reading what others have posted on the Windows Mobile team's blog, go
here. "People from both Windows Mobile and Zune are listening," Sampat says.
Related stories:
