Microsoft Thinking Of New Xbox 360 Looks

Microsoft CEO Steve Ballmer spoke at length about the potential of cloud computing at a University of Washington speech last week - and hinted that different forms of Xboxes could be released to take advantage of it.

Speaking on devices that will use the cloud, Ballmer noted that in the TV space it has some of the uses covered by way of the PC. In reference to Apple's iPhone and RIM's Blackberry, the executive said that having a closed system and getting "exactly what [Apple or RIM] choose to build for you... doesn't allow the same level of hardware innovation that might fuel a number of interesting consumer scenarios."

Interesting. But there's another device that Microsoft has that can take advantage of the cloud - one that, ironically enough, is also a 'closed device'. That was not lost on Ballmer. "For that big screen device here's a piece of hardware that we build, there's no diversity. You get exactly the Xboxes that we build for you."

So is Microsoft going to reinvent the Xbox to better facilitate open-source development in the future? "We may have more form factors in the future that are designed for various price points and options, but we think it's going to important." Ballmer didn't elaborate on those plans, or even if they relate to the company's current console - the Xbox 360 - at all.

Nonetheless, it's certainly something Microsoft is thinking about.