Microsoft May Resurrect "Beaming" For Win8, WP8, XB720

Zune's "squirting" may be resurfacing as "beaming" in Windows 8 and Windows Phone 8.

There's a new rumor in town that claims Microsoft may be resurrecting an old Zune 30 feature that allowed users to send songs from one Zune device to another via a Wi-Fi connection. Debuting back in 2006, it was called "squirting" (for some reason), and quickly disappeared due to the Zune's inability to saturate the market. But now the file sharing feature is supposedly resurfacing in future Microsoft products as "Beaming," and will do a lot more than just sling songs across 30 feet of air.

The rumor, stemming from well-known Microsoft tipster @MS_nerd, claims that Beaming will allow users to wirelessly transfer data among all three Microsoft platforms: Windows 8, Windows Phone 8 "Apollo" and the Xbox console. The feature will rely on NFC, Bluetooth, and Wi-Fi direct pairing, and will likely choose just one of the three methods for file transfers, depending on the device hardware.

In the video demo below, the user simply "beams" a presentation from his Windows Phone to an HDTV. He then later "beams" a document from his phone to a Windows-based tablet. However there will probably be more to Beaming than mere file sharing: users may be able to carry their Windows 8 profile on their Windows Phone device and use their settings on any Windows 8 machine. They could possibly even stream a movie directly from an Xbox console provided Hollywood gives it the thumbs up.

As always, take this rumor with a grain of salt, but to some degree, it fits within Microsoft's vision of a unified experience across the three screens: PC/tablet, smartphone and console. Perhaps we'll hear more about Beaming next month during CES 2012.