Microsoft Xboy: A portable Xbox gaming console?

Apple has more or less won the war for the current generation of digital music players. While, the handheld gaming console war is going on between Sony Playstation Portable and the Nintendo DS. However, Microsoft is missing from both of these markets and is now rumored to be considering developing a portable device capable of playing music and videos along with support for videogames.

Inside sources has claimed that the company has in fact put together a team to pursue this goal of envisioning a possible device to meet the criteria set by the company for itself. Microsoft has traditionally claimed that the consumers prefer to have choices and would not stick to the domination of a single company. However, these claims seem to be failing badly with Apple continuing to sell millions of iPods every year.

To compete against Apple iPod and possible the Sony PSP, Microsoft would need more than an excellent product. They would need to create a brand identity, which is as big as the Xbox 360 itself. Xbox boss Peter Moore spoke about a possible handheld device from the company: “It can’t just be our version of the iPod.”

Market analysts believe that the company would be wise to leverage the Xbox branding for such a potential device, which could be turned into a multifunctional entertainment device. It would be interesting to see if the company indeed enters this exciting market of portable devices.