Can the big black box be put inside a handheld? Over the last couple weeks, there has been much talk about Microsoft?s forthcoming portable media player, a.k.a. Zune or as many like to call it (and with a bit of luck for Microsoft), the iPod killer. But before the buzzword for Microsoft?s media player began, there were rumors of a portable Xbox. Dean Takahashi- the author of both ?Opening the Xbox? and ?The Xbox 360 Uncloacked?- even claimed that the software giant was indeed working on a handheld game player, sometimes called ?Xboy? or ?Xpod?.

By now, I don?t think the release of a portable Xbox is a matter of if Microsoft will, could or should release a gaming handheld. It?s just a matter of when. In my opinion, Microsoft is kind of forced to release a handheld console, since both Nintendo and Sony have portable gaming machines already in the market, and what's more, these systems also interact with their respective next-generation elder brothers.

It?s because of all these facts that I decided to explore the possibilities of a portable Xbox. Below is what I?ve discovered thus far?

Team Xbox