Yet another Microsoft portable media / gaming device rumor

Now, you're gonna have to take this with a relatively large grain of salt, but Dean Takahashi of The Mercury News is reporting with some amount of certainty that Microsoft is, in fact, developing a portable multimedia and gaming device (that ain't the Origami), and that they're aiming to take over the world of portable devices. No, not "portable media devices" or "portable gaming devices." They're going after portable devices straight up, supposedly expecting to go head to head with the DS (Lite), PSP, and iPod -- three of the biggest brands in the (youth) consumer electronics market -- all at once. Takahashi also cites other examples of the project's progress, which is supposedly being led by J Allard, and designed by by Xbox system designer Greg Gibson, including some 30 supposed Transmeta engineers assigned to work on a secret MS project, which he speculates could hit in 2007.
[Via Joystiq]

... you know what? i dont care anymore. i cared the first time, now i dont.

FROM:
http://www.foxnews.com/story/0,2933,188519,00.html

FOXNEWS.COM HOME > BUSINESS
Report: Microsoft Working on iPod, PSP 'Killer'
Monday, March 20, 2006

SAN FRANCISCO — Microsoft Corp. (MSFT) is working on a handheld gaming device that will also play music and movies in a challenge to rivals such as Sony and Apple, the San Jose Mercury News said on Monday.

The software giant's new device will probably not hit the market for at least a year and possibly two, the newspaper said, citing unidentified sources.

It will compete against popular gadgets like Sony Corp.'s (SNE) PlayStation Portable, which can play games, music and movies, and Apple Computer Inc.'s (AAPL) iPod music players, the report said.

The project is being headed by vice president J Allard and other veterans of the team responsible for Microsoft's Xbox 360 video game console, it said.

Microsoft has so far targeted the gaming and mobile markets separately.

It launched its next-generation Xbox 360 game console last November, and earlier this month unveiled a portable computer the size of a paperback book.

[via-FoxNews.com]

This could be good for us, (if its true) Sony might be more competitive and offer better products and deals.