Monday's "Big Microsoft announcement" rumor roundup

Microsoft is throwing a party for the media Monday, and while early reports suggested that it will somehow be related to Windows RT tablets, the rumors are now flying hot and heavy as to exactly what Microsoft will announce. Some of the rumors have started due to the timing (Microsoft has a lot of deals in the works right now), while others have been inspired by the location – it’s going to be in Hollywood, so does that mean it will be media-related?
There are several claims that Microsoft may get into the hardware business one way or another floating around - we’ve also caught whiff of a few folks who are claiming inside information, but they can’t all be right so some of them must simply be people talking out their… "guesses". Almost any of them would make for an exciting Monday event, so check them out and let us know which ones you think are the most likely in the comments below!
This is the initial rumor that went around, that Microsoft would use Monday to get people excited about the upcoming ARM-based Windows RT tablets. Examples of hardware running Windows RT has been scant so far, so an extensive hands-on media event could help to drive positive buzz ahead of Google's expected tablet announcements at I/O at the end of the month. Not long after the initial rumors appeared, AllThingsD reported that Microsoft intends to offer up its own iPad competitor with a Microsoft-branded tablet running Windows RT. Some have suggested that Nokia would be the natural selection for such a move. This would be a bold turn of events for Microsoft, but it could also alienate Windows OEMs that would have to spend ~$85 just for the privilege of competing with Microsoft to use their own operating system. The recent settlement between Barnes & Noble and Microsoft calls for them to work together, so some have suggested that the two companies may be producing a 7" Windows RT-based tablet that would compete on the low end with the Kindle Fire and the upcoming Nexus tablet. This would have the advantage of not upsetting Windows hardware vendors as much. Whether such a device would be jointly branded or be primarily marketed by Microsoft or B&N isn't known at this time. If it were actually a new Nook-branded tablet powered by Windows RT that might allow for an earlier launch ahead of the official Windows 8/RT/Apollo release date. Since this event is being held in Southern California there has been a lot of speculation about whether some sort of content deal or acquisition could be announced. Some have even suggested that Microsoft could be purchasing Hulu, although it's hard to believe that such a deal has been negotiated without it leaking. Microsoft did just announce it's Smart Glass, their Air Play competitor for streaming video and other content between your devices, so it's plausible that Microsoft could be announcing some exclusive content deals to made available to Windows mobile (tablet and phone) devices - presumably with a tie-in to the Xbox 360. We think this is probably a coincidence, but in the same two hour period as the press invites went out it was leaked that Microsoft is about to close a deal to buyout enterprise social networking company Yammer. While we would expect to see the fruit of such an acquisition show up across Microsoft's Windows platforms, we doubt it will anchor the Monday event, although it could certainly be mentioned if the deal gets done and they want to add a "one more thing" moment to their main announcement.

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