Microsoft has sold its IPTV business to Ericsson for an undisclosed amount. The sale of Mediaroom, previously reported to have been discussed in private, will in theory allow Microsoft to pour more of its resources into providing consumer-side TV services through the soon-to-be announced next Xbox games console.
Microsoft is allegedly talking to Ericsson to sell its IPTV business. The sale, which would include the same MediaRoom unit that powers the U-Verse IPTV service from AT&T among others, could be announced by the companies in the next few weeks, and could be a way for Microsoft to streamline its Entertainment and Devices division.
An investigation into Microsoft's SEC filing for its fiscal year has revealed that the company made very little on its mobile platforms for the entire year. Of the nearly $8.72 billion in revenue from the company's Entertainment and Devices group between July 2010 and last month, just $613 million belonged to something other than the Xbox 360, the Seattle PI found. The figure left Windows Phone 7 and Windows Mobile making no more than the amount combined.
Microsoft's rumored Xbox Live TV subscription is about to get its public showing next week, industry contacts reported Friday. Known as Diamond, it should be shown off at E3 as long as the deals are in place. Microsoft was reported by WinRumors as being in the same position as Apple, holding last-minute talks, and might skip mentioning it entirely if talks aren't done by the Los Angeles show.
Comcast revealed Wednesday that it was testing a TV-over-IP system for its network. A dry run on MIT's grounds in the fall would prove it can deliver its regular TV service using Internet protocol in a way that would simplify delivering it beyond TV sets. The move as cast by the Wall Street Journal would simplify watching real-time broadcasts on tablets like the iPad, Xbox 360s, and other devices that Comcast can't normally reach.
Microsoft's repeated attempts to get TV on the Xbox may be coming to fruition by the end of this year, tipsters said late Wednesday. Nikcnamed Orapa, based on a diamond mine and game park city in Botswana, the project would bring turn Microsoft's Mediaroom IPTV technology into something that could be reached directly through Xbox Live, rather than through the special techniques needed today. ZDNet understood it would optionally use Kinect to steer TV with gestures and voice commands.
Microsoft has filed a complaint with the International Trade Commission, accusing TiVo of patent infringement and calling for a ban on TiVo imports to the US. The filing is focused on Microsoft's patents related to technology used in the company's Mediaroom software, which is utilized in various set-top boxes, such as AT&T's U-verse hardware, that provide DVR functionality.
Microsoft is prepping an app for Windows Phone 7 that would give it direct access to IPTV streaming and control. Leaks from sources suggest a new client, codenamed Rome, would give access to any Mediaroom-based service, much like the Xbox 360. ZDNet didn't get the full feature set, but Mediaroom implies not just live TV but control over a networked DVR.
Microsoft may to compete with Apple and Google in the TV media hub front at CES if a claim this evening is accurate. The hardware would ship with a custom version of Windows Embedded with Windows Media Center on top. The results were already reported by the Seattle Times as seen in April and once again in September, but would now be polished products.
Telus staked out a first for the Xbox 360 today as it became the first TV broadcaster in North America to push digital TV through Microsoft's console. Optik TV customers can use Microsoft's Mediaroom to turn the Xbox into a set-top box and gives access to all of the fiber optic network's channels in HD. They also get full control over the DVR: a viewer can watch shows, pause them in one area and resume them elsewhere, and record as many as three at once.
Microsoft has inadvertently removed the last doubts about its Mobile World Congress plans by posting an event listing. A day of presentations at Energize IT in Ottawa, Canada on March 30th makes specific reference to "Windows Phone 7" along with the company's usual fare. The slip confirms both a rebadge of Windows Mobile as well as that the OS update should be revealed at MWC in mid-February.
Microsoft during the conference call it used to discuss its latest results has confirmed that it will show a new version of Windows Mobile at Mobile World Congress. Without going into detail, CFO Peter Klein said the next version of the mobile OS would be shown at the Barcelona event "in a few weeks." The company has dropped hints of its activity over past weeks but until now hasn't directly outlined its plans.
Microsoft plans not one but two talks with analysts around Mobile World Congress, the company has revealed in a low-profile fiscal schedule update. In addition to a press conference, the company will open the Barcelona show with a call on the 15th through its Mobile Communications senior VP Andy Lees and will have a Windows Mobile-oriented call a few days after show's end, on the 22nd. Last year, the company had no calls of its own and left its press conference as the only formal event.
Microsoft today acknowledged it has undertaken a major shift in its Entertainment and Devices group. Following the departure of corporate VP Enrico Rodriguez, the company is merging Windows Media Center and Zune software groups into the same Interactive Entertainment Business group that handles the Xbox as well as all gaming. The Mediaroom service for IPTV is also becoming a separate group within the Entertainment and Devices section.
Microsoft late Tuesday was discovered to have sued TiVo over alleged patent infringement in its DVRs. The complaint accuses TiVo in a San Francisco court of copying Microsoft's Mediaroom IPTV technology in the DVRs themselves, the software and the subscription-based service. The suit would if successful block TiVo from selling DVRs without a licensing deal.
Microsoft is hoping to gain an edge in networked media hubs by offering live sports through the Xbox 360, a leak on Monday maintains. The console's originator is reportedly in significant talks with Disney to stream ESPN's feeds of live TV shows through the system. Users would pay for a subscription and get access to many if not most events through Internet feeds.
Microsoft through a Securities and Exchange Commission filing today said it has sold its shares in Comcast. The move pulls about 150.9 million shares out of the cable provider and practically cuts Microsoft's influence in the firm. Reasons aren't given to the SEC for the quick exit, though the news comes just as Microsoft has curbed real estate expansion in an attempt to reduce costs without shedding employees.
