Yet another name emerges from the voyages of Argo, but it doesn't appear to be pointing to Xbox waters

It seems to be a given at this point that Microsoft is planning on having something up their sleeve when it comes to a company-branded portable media player to rival Apple's ubiquitous iPod. Reports from the San Jose Mercury News and Seattle Times, amongst others, have left gamers scratching their heads over the level of gaming such a device could have, if any.

According to Engadget, Microsoft's device may already have a product name along the lines of "Zune", but for the time being it appears the device is oriented towards the portable media player market. As you may have guessed, the Zune does not appear to be part of any Xbox-branded lineup of consoles, and any gaming support may be along the lines of cellphone or Xbox Live Arcade offerings.

However, even though Allard is overseeing the project, the Zune looks like it will be mostly music-centric--for now, at least. The WiFi capability is in place primarily for wireless song transfers, not multiplayer gaming. Gizmondo states that there will be some gaming however, just not anything like an on-the-go Xbox.

Of course the Zune could also just be the first step towards something bigger. People are already speculating about Xbox 360 integration with the device, beginning with streaming audio, like the iPod currently does. But add a few buttons, a thumbstick, and a little more horsepower, and the Zune could soon be singing gamers' tunes.