Some on the Web are billing a recent quote from Microsoft CEO Steve Ballmer concerning porting Zune software to future Windows Mobile devices as a grand revelation – but it’s been known since early January that Microsoft was planning (at the very least) to bring a Zune-type media player to Windows Mobile 7, the next version of the company’s mobile platform.

As you can see from this screenshot, Windows Mobile 7’s media player has a Zune icon, presumably to connect to the Zune store to purchase and download tracks.  The screenshot was part of a package of captures released on a Microsoft-related blog in January.

It is unclear how much Zune will shape future version of Windows Mobile; its entire interface could be changed to reflect Zune, or a Zune-inspired player could simply replace the current Windows Media Player Mobile.  I would welcome each of these changes.

Given the evolution of the Zune software (the Zune players’ UI and the Windows Zune application) over the past year, adding it to Windows Mobile it would certainly prove a great improvement over the miserable Windows Media Player Mobile, which remains largely unchanged for years and is about as limited as mobile media software can be.

I don’t expect a Zune-phone, but there will be a greater marriage  of Zune and Windows Mobile in the future.  Exciting stuff.