LOS ANGELES, Sept. 17 /PRNewswire-FirstCall/ -- INTERNET TELEPHONY CONFERENCE & EXPO WEST 2008 -- 8x8, Inc., provider of Packet8 business, mobile and residential communication services, today announced it has executed a technology partnership and marketing agreement with Microsoft Corporation to offer Packet8 Voice over Internet Protocol (VoIP) phone service for Microsoft's Response Point small business phone system. Read More ...

Microsoft introduced a new program to “help” video service providers who currently use another middleware platform to migrate to their Mediaroom middleware platform. In a company statement, Microsoft explains that “…the program provides guidelines and solutions for service providers considering upgrading their IPTV platform. The Microsoft Mediaroom Migration Program delivers a structured assessment process and analytical tools for migration, including business and technical workshops to review set-top-box portability, network compatibility and audio-visual head-end interoperability.” How nice of them. Middleware providers have become quite the aggressive bunch. The competitive landscape seems to grow by the month, with Ericsson as the latest entrant into the somewhat crowded middleware space.

Let the speculation begin. Microsoft’s unsolicited bid for Yahoo has the tech world abuzz. There are numerous implications if such a merger were to materialize. We’re far off from that happening - it will take some time to shake everything out. There are already rumors that Yahoo is exploring other options, including an alliance with Google to either thwart the Microsoft bid, or try to extract a bigger selling price. Perhaps one of the more interesting implications centers on wireless. Both Yahoo and Microsoft have impressive wireless strategies. Among the more obvious goals of this Microsoft bid, it may also be an attempt to head off Google advances into the coveted wireless space.

Yahoo and Microsoft have some pretty impressive wireless forays already. Microsoft’s mobile operating system, Windows Mobile, is on 150 handsets and is available from over 100 different wireless operators from across the globe. Windows Mobile will ship on about 20 million handsets this year alone. Yahoo has struck wireless alliances with the likes of AT&T, Vodaphone, T-Mobile, and Rogers to feature Yahoo mobile wireless applications, including ad and search capabilities. A combined Microsoft-Yahoo could create a compelling integrated suite of services for wireless operators and consumers that may trump anything Google tries to do with Android. Mobile wireless represents the next big growth engine for broadband. Microsoft, Yahoo, and Google understand that, and they are now positioning themselves to take full advantage of it.

In an attempt to meet Google’s competitive challenge head on, Microsoft has bid $44.6 billion dollars to acquire Yahoo. Yahoo, while still a premium Internet brand, has been battered by Google and is in probably its weakest position since it began. Microsoft offered $31 share, which represents a 62% premium over Yahoo’s last closing price. If approved, this would be one of the largest business takeovers in history. The implications of a combined Microsoft – Yahoo are enormous. Their combined leverage in software, search, Internet advertising, content, and mobile would create a behemoth of a company, quite capable of meeting Google’s growing dominance.

View a Microsoft PowerPoint presentation detailing the transaction here.

CES has started, so expect to see a flurry of these types of announcements during the week. The first noteworthy one is that Microsoft has secured some significant content licensing deals from MGM, ABC, and Disney. Microsoft will make more than 500 hours of ABC and Disney content available to Xbox Live users, in both standard definition and high definition. Some of the most popular content around will be available, including ABC’s Lost, Grey’s Anatomy, Ugly Betty and Desperate Housewives and Disney Channel’s Hannah Montana and High School Musical. Many of the television programs will not be available until after the day they air on television. Microsoft says when this new content is added to its existing library, its 10 million Xbox Live subscribers will have access to 3,500 hours of on demand content. This development contributes to the trend of premium content availability outside of the traditional pay subscription TV model.

Makes you wonder how consumers will begin to interact with these broadband based on demand content offerings. Are we approaching a tipping point where some consumers begin to say there is enough content available through these types of sources that I no longer need a cable/DBS/IPTV subscription? I suspect that current triple play providers may be most vulnerable to this possibility with the population represented by Xbox Live subscribers. Young, engaged, and technically savvy. We may soon see this demographic leading the charge away from traditional video providers, much the same way they led the charge away from traditional telecom providers using wireless as their substitution method of choice. Is video next? Stay tuned.

Microsoft CEO Steve Ballmer had some interesting things to say about Google’s recent announcements concerning mobile handset operating systems. "Right now they have a press release, we have many, many millions of customers, great software, many hardware devices and they're welcome in our world,” said Ballmer. That’s corporate CEO speak for “bring it on.” Ballmer feels some confidence because Window’s Mobile has a significant lead. According to a Techworld post, Windows Mobile is on 150 handsets and is available from over 100 different operators. Ballmer added that Microsoft will likely license 20 million handsets this year.

With numbers like that, Google’s pending Android certainly doesn’t have Ballmer and Microsoft shaking in their boots. But you have to wonder what Microsoft is really saying behind closed doors. Google is crushing them on search and associated web advertising. If they have a fraction of comparable success with Android, the competitive impact will be significant on a variety of companies, Microsoft included.

Microsoft and Disney announced this week that Disney films will be available for VOD download on the Xbox Live service. Movie titles in both standard and high definition from Walt Disney Pictures, Touchstone Pictures, Hollywood Pictures and Miramax Films are all part of the deal. Movies are ‘rented’ for a 14 day period (or 24 hours from the initial start) and cannot be ported to any other device. Movies are paid for using the Microsoft Xbox Live points system, with HD movies costing 480 points and standard definition rentals costing 320. Points are sold in bulk at about $20 for 1600.

This announcement confirms the expanding role of the Xbox 360 way beyond a gaming console. In fact, the Xbox is an entertainment gateway, which could easily be mistaken for an alternative to subscription video service. According to Microsoft, the Xbox Live network has 2,350 hours of entertainment content from 15 partners, and has experienced close to 10 million downloads of entertainment content since launching 7 months ago. Xbox Live has over 7 million members and 5.6 million Xbox 360 consoles have been sold in the U.S. At the recent E3 gaming conference, Microsoft announced that Xbox Live Video Marketplace has taken in more than $125 million in revenue, and is bigger than any cable providers' VOD offerings. Microsoft announced earlier this year at International CES that future Xbox consoles will be able to act as IPTV set top boxes. The writing is clearly on the wall. Xbox consoles may someday soon be seen as a viable replacement for a subscription video service. One could make the argument that that day is already here.

Qwest announced today that they have partnered with Microsoft to launch Qwest Broadband with Windows Live service. The new Microsoft powered portal combines Microsoft Live search, a customizable homepage, a security suite, and a new ‘q.com’ email platform. The customized homepage provides hundreds of possible web gadgets that offer weather, sports, news, games and other applications. There is also a strong video downloading component, which may soon offer VOD. There is no additional cost for Qwest broadband customers.

Microsoft introduced its new branded IPTV middleware as Microsoft Mediaroom. The change also introduces a variety of new features, with an overriding theme of converging web based content with broadcast video content. The new features attempt to bridge the gap between traditional television content and the exploding availability of Internet distributed and user generated content. For example, Mediaroom allows personal media sharing of PC stored content including music and photos on the television. Other interesting features include the ability for service providers to launch customizable video on demand portals, and Multiview, which provides multiple picture-in-picture (PIP) opportunities.

The announcement also reveals the invitation by Microsoft for third party application development, or as they describe it Multimedia Application Environment. The hope is that third party developers will begin to bring differentiating IPTV applications to market, creating competitive advantage for service providers utilizing Mediaroom.

While it is certainly too early to tell whether this announcement will amount to anything of material value, it is encouraging. Depending on your perspective, you may look at this and say, “about time!” IPTV operators are actively searching for applications that will provide separation from the MSO and DBS crowd. IPTV technology has promised that since its inception, but hasn’t quite delivered on it yet. Announcements like this hopefully are an indication that the tide is turning. Now if Microsoft would only pay attention to IPTV operators with less than a potential subscriber base in the hundreds of thousands or millions …

Find out more at this Microsoft press release.

Also, read more analysis at this ScreenPlays online post.