Microsoft Corp. MSFT.O on Friday denied it is building the "HomeStation", a rumored living room entertainment hub industry watchers have speculated could combine the software giant's Xbox video game console with digital video, music and Internet functions.
HomeStation rumors were sparked last September by a report in PC Format magazine that such a device would cross the Xbox with a PC and boast a bigger hard drive, audio and video technology and a wireless connection.
HomeStation talk resurfaced earlier in January as one analyst said he could confirm the existence of the machine in Microsoft and that it could debut later this year. "This reared its head several weeks ago. The odd thing is there is no thing called the HomeStation product or initiative," Microsoft spokeswoman Erin Brewer said. Microsoft was interested in "some of the longer-term ideas, but there's no product called that," Brewer said.
Talk that Microsoft could beef up the Xbox with music, movies, TV recording, e-mail and instant message capabilities has abounded since the company announced the product in 2000. The Xbox went on sale last November in the United States.
News source: Reuters
HomeStation rumors were sparked last September by a report in PC Format magazine that such a device would cross the Xbox with a PC and boast a bigger hard drive, audio and video technology and a wireless connection.
HomeStation talk resurfaced earlier in January as one analyst said he could confirm the existence of the machine in Microsoft and that it could debut later this year. "This reared its head several weeks ago. The odd thing is there is no thing called the HomeStation product or initiative," Microsoft spokeswoman Erin Brewer said. Microsoft was interested in "some of the longer-term ideas, but there's no product called that," Brewer said.
Talk that Microsoft could beef up the Xbox with music, movies, TV recording, e-mail and instant message capabilities has abounded since the company announced the product in 2000. The Xbox went on sale last November in the United States.
News source: Reuters
Microsoft has a Windows Media Player version on its Pocket PC 2002, which supports playback of downloaded audio and video content, and RealNetworks paired up with AT&T Wireless and other mobile operators last December to extend its RealPlayer to mobile devices on 2.5G data networks. However, a challenge remains in finding the right applications to drive use of wireless multimedia players and delivering them at a price that makes them attractive and accessible to users, says Jupiter Media Metrix analyst Joe Laszlo. Being able to transmit wireless video of an accident scene could save time and money for insurance agents filing a claim, Laszlo says, but "if carriers have to charge users per byte or per minute for streaming audio or video content, charges will mount up quickly," which is a potential hurdle to the adoption of wireless streaming media.
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