"Zune Mobile" gets mentioned, plot thickens for Project Pink

Okay, so he doesn't have a thinner Xbox 360 than the rest of us -- at least, not one that's been captured on camera -- but Paul Thurrott still knows his way around Redmond, so when he utters the phrase "Zune Mobile," the cellphone-using world probably ought to sit up and listen. Rumors of Microsoft's so-called Project Pink have failed to quiet down, but the latest intel seems to suggest that we're looking not at a Microsoft-branded device but an entire software and service platform -- something Danger's pretty good at managing, and something Microsoft had said it liked when it closed the acquisition earlier this year. How does that tie into Zune Mobile, though? It seems that Pink might include Zune support as part of its offering, which could translate into a Zune Mobile software package for Windows Mobile (prior to the mythical version 7, says Thurrott) that would bring far more robust media support than any Microsoft-powered phone before it, and maybe -- just maybe -- a wireless download store. Ballmer's already said Zune support would filter down to Windows Mobile eventually, and for what it's worth, those alleged Windows Mobile 6.5 shots sure look Zune-ish, which would make true Zune support fit right in -- and Danger's in the PMX group alongside the Zune peeps, so that adds some credence to the potential Pink tie-in. Is it enough to resurrect WinMo from the brink of obsolescence in the consumer space? Likely not, but it's a heck of a start, and might just quiet down those endless Zunephone rumors for a wee bit.

http://www.engadget.com/2008/12/14/z...-project-pink/