Microsoft has indicated that it plans to release a Mac version of the Zune software necessary to sync phones running Windows Phone 7.
The company unveiled its new mobile OS this week, with six handsets to launch in the UK. No mention of Mac support was made at the launch. Instead it cropped up in a tweet by Oded Ran, the head of consumer marketing for Windows Phone in the UK.
“I’m glad to confirm that Mac users would be able to use Zune on their Macs to sync with #WP7,” he wrote, adding, “More details soon.”
Or not so soon — the tweet has since disappeared, Ran presumably having jumped the gun on that particular piece of news, though the evidence survives in a retweet.
Zune is Microsoft’s equivalent of iTunes and performs much the same tasks as the Apple software, combining data sync with digital media and an app store. Microsoft’s version — the App Hub — currently has just 80 titles, though the company is promising that there will soon be thousands.
But Angry Birds will not be among them. Rovio, developer of the hugely popular iOS, Android and webOS game, was surprised to see the Angry Birds logo prominently displayed on the Microsoft website.
“We have NOT committed to doing a Windows Phone 7 version. Microsoft put an Angry Birds icon on their site without our permission,” the Finish company wrote on its Twitter feed.
Microsoft has since removed the icon.
UPDATE: Microsoft has issued a statement promising Mac support later this year, but stopping short of committing to a port of the complete Zune software.
“Later in 2010 Microsoft will make a public beta available of a tool that allows Windows Phone 7 to sync select content with Mac computers,” the statement says.
