Even though Microsoft is primarily known as a software maker, it does have a burgeoning hardware business in the forms of Xbox and Kinect for Xbox. They even toyed with the idea of making a special tablet and phone (both projects were repurposed). And now it looks like they are bouncing off hardware ideas again. Here we have a new patent filed by Microsoft, depicting a modular phone with interchangeable parts and a world of new possibilities.
The patent image shows a slider phone similar to the original HTC Droid or the Nokia N7, with a touch screen on top and at a docking area at the bottom. Around the docking area are illustrations of the modules that would fit inside the docking area. There are four modules on display here. First is the most obvious one — a QWERTY keypad that would make it a complete conventional slider. The one above that is a second touchscreen that can be an extension of the full display or a special display for additional features. The third one is a battery pack for those long road trips and work days without the time to plug the phone in. The last one is a game controller, which is reminiscent of the XPERIA Play and is geared towards dedicated mobile gaming; the likes of which you will find on PSP and the Nintendo DS. Microsoft has recently been bullish on taking on the mobile gaming industry and making it big there. So this would make quite a lot of sense.
The Game Controller Module Would Make The Phone Look Like This
If this phone goes in to production with an SDK and a standard for developing the software hardware combo, third party modules for this phone could make this the most popular phone in existence simply because it allows everyone to have all the specialized features that they want and skip the ones that they don’t want. When this kind of customization is built in to the phone itself, it renders the myriad phone modifying accessories useless and brings focus back to the main hardware.
Beyond the image and the basic concept, the patent also mentions one more thing — every module would be able to connect wirelessly to the base. This opens up a whole new range of possibilities. If the phone is equipped with a break out cable with standard A/V outs like HDMI, it could easily become a mobile entertainment hub, with the keypad module acting as the wireless controller for it. The same set up could be used to turn the phone in to a mini game console, with the game controller module acting as the wireless controller. Microsoft has already started packing Xbox Live in to Windows Phone. This would only be a step forward in to further enticing the consumer in to the Xbox Live’s rich entertainment experience.
And once you are done, you can pack it up with the battery module and take it with you on road for an extended battery life.
It is as of yet unclear whether Microsoft intends to take this phone in to production. If they do, then it will be quite the unique thing at the very least. With the versatile nature of the upcoming Windows 8 operating system, Microsoft could easily make this their flagship phone for showing of the myriad capabilities of Windows 8 on a phone. It would surely find a lot usage in areas like retail (e.g. portable PoS device), Enterprise and even medicine. The touchscreen module can easily make it a good alternative to a full tablet device and a lot of people who want both for working on a larger screen would appreciate the synergy.
