Microsoft today announced a surprise event to be held in Los Angeles on June 18th, but it"s not clear what the event is about or why they have announced it just two days before the Windows Phone "Apollo" announcement is due.
Many are speculating that the announcement is an unveiling of Windows RT tablets, or perhaps the Office 2013 announcement, but our sources are telling us that it"s too soon for that right now. The timing of the announcement seemingly means that it will be related to Windows Phone, and the only thing that hasn"t been shown off (other than Apollo) there is Xbox Music/Video.
Mary Jo Foley at ZDNet thinks the same thing, but points out that the event invitations were sent from Waggner -- Microsoft"s press agency for Windows and Windows Phone -- rather than Edelman, their agency for Xbox announcements. Despite this, it would still make sense for Microsoft to announce the music platform two days before the big Apollo unveiling, setting the stage for what could become one of the biggest new streaming services in the arena.
One other thing we"ve heard; this announcement could actually be Windows 8 and Windows Server 2012 reaching RTM, but the company hasn"t historically thrown big, specially organized press events for the occasion, nor does it traditionally make announcements in Los Angeles.
We"ll know more in just three days; next week is going to be a big one!