Microsoft CEO Steve Ballmer was supposed to be talking about cloud computing on Thursday, but an offhand remark during a Q&A session hinted that additional "form factors" for the Xbox 360, with price points to suit them, are being considered.
By "form factor" Ballmer evidently means something vastly different from a hard drive or HDMI configuration. Someone posed a question about hardware diversity - not specifically mentioning the 360 - and Ballmer seemed concerned by the fact there's "no diversity" in the 360 line.
We actually have a TV implementation in some senses built into Windows. It works really well for small screen TVs that you might call a PC, but for that big screen device here's a piece of hardware that we build, there's no diversity. You get exactly the Xboxes that we build for you. We may have more form factors in the future that are designed for various price points and options, but we think it's going to [be] important.
Whatever that could be, your guess is as good as mine. McWhertor, back in January, reported that Microsoft is still intent on bringing some set-top box/DVR functionality to the Xbox 360 via Uverse and Mediaroom, although it won't be a device that replaces one outright. Maybe that is at play here. It's also just as likely that Ballmer's comments reflect strategic thinking only, not something yet grounded in solid plans.

Ballmer: More Xbox Form Factors in the Future? [Gearlog via Gizmodo]


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