Xbox Handheld Rumours Refuse To Go Away News

Rumours of Microsoft working on a handheld system to rival the PSP and iPod have continue to go on, regardless of last week's unveiling of the Origami Project and other no shows in previous years. The latest report on the X-handheld project has come from the blog of one reporter for the San Jose Mercury News - somewhat apt and no way a coincidence given the city's current hosting of the Game Developer's Conference this week.

In his blog, journalist Dean Takahashi comments that the Seattle Corporation is working on a handheld platform similar to Sony's PSP handheld, and is currently being headed by Xbox 360 evangelist J Allard. Citing sources at low-power chipmaker Transmeta, Takahashi says that up to thirty of the company's engineers began work on the device in 2005.

Supporting his claim, the reporter says that Microsoft's reshuffle at the end of 2005, which brought Allard, Xbox 360 designer Greg Gibson, and finance officer for the Xbox project Bryan Lee, into the same area of the company, led by Robbie Bach, was to enable work on the device.

Of course Microsoft haven't commented on the report as yet, but it's almost certainly going to be the standard "Microsoft doesn't comment on rumours and speculation" line. Rumours that Microsoft will be entering the handheld scene are sure to continue until the day that they actually announce that there is a handheld in the works - until then, it continues to be rumour and speculation.

We'll have more news shortly...