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Microsoft Media Music

MSFTs "iPod Killer" Readied for Europe 580

Posted by CmdrTaco from the surprised-it-took-this-long dept.
rocketjam writes "Reuters reports that the first hardware to run Microsoft's "iPod Killer" software will be available in Europe in the second half of 2004. MS has been working with several manufacturers, and is expected to introduce a device which will play movies and songs as well as store digital photos through Microsoft's yet-to-be-unveiled Portable Media Center software. A spokesman said 'We think this is going to be one of the hot devices for Christmas 2004,' The players are expected to sell for between about $700 to $800. They will play MP3s as well as audio and video recorded in Microsoft's digital format. The player will be significantly larger than the iPod in order to accomodate a video screen. A Jupiter Research analyst, Mark Milligan said 'By definition, (the devices) just don't have widespread appeal', and he doubts the devices would change the consumer electronics landscape in any way."
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MSFTs "iPod Killer" Readied for Europe More

MSFTs "iPod Killer" Readied for Europe

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  • Nice but not quite "innovative" (Score:5, Funny)

    by grub ( 11606 ) <slashdot@grub.net> on Thursday March 18, 2004 @02:55PM (#8602212) Homepage Journal

    Apple Computer: (n) A primary source of ideas for Microsoft's research & development groups. See also: Muse

    • Ipod Killer? (Score:4, Funny)

      by medscaper ( 238068 ) on Thursday March 18, 2004 @02:59PM (#8602277) Homepage
      Don't believe the hype.

      The "Ipod Killer" is just a Microsoft employee named Ted who steals people Ipods.

      Then stomps on them.

    • My decision to buy is made (Score:4, Interesting)

      by CdBee ( 742846 ) on Thursday March 18, 2004 @04:20PM (#8603225)
      For some months now I have been contemplating purchasing either a Creative Labs MuVO or an Apple iPod

      I've now decided, definitely the iPod. I don't want to contribute to yet another Microsoft monopoly. I can't imagine the horror of being forced to use WMP to access my mobile device and being locked to a single platform.

  • Different Market (Score:5, Interesting)

    by druske ( 550305 ) on Thursday March 18, 2004 @02:55PM (#8602218)
    I'm not sure with that high of a price (about $670-$810 US) and the additional size (3X as thick, twice as long!) that this thing qualifies as an "iPod killer" in any real sense; they're playing for an entirely different market segment. It seems like a very small niche to me.

    Give 'em a couple of versions, maybe they'll get it right and the market will materialize. I wouldn't bet on it though. "More TV, more often" isn't a big hole in my life, anyway...

    • Re:Different Market (Score:5, Funny)

      by jeblucas ( 560748 ) <jeblucas@NOsPAm.gmail.com> on Thursday March 18, 2004 @02:58PM (#8602250) Homepage Journal
      They mean "iPod Killer" in that if you took one of these and whacked an iPod with it, the iPod would die.

    • Re:Different Market (Score:5, Insightful)

      by d'fim ( 132296 ) on Thursday March 18, 2004 @02:59PM (#8602262)
      For that price, one could get a low-end laptop.

      • Re:Different Market (Score:4, Funny)

        by EndlessNameless ( 673105 ) on Thursday March 18, 2004 @03:30PM (#8602667)
        ::: For that price, one could get a low-end laptop.:::

        Which also comes nicely packaged with a set of CTRL + ALT + DELETE keys.

      • Re:Different Market (Score:4, Insightful)

        by Simon Carr ( 1788 ) <slashdot.org@simoncarr.com> on Thursday March 18, 2004 @03:31PM (#8602676) Homepage
        Heh, I suggest a perfectly working, but used 12" iBook[1].

        Actually I'm starting to "not get" this thing, even if it is aimed at a totally different market. I mean they've got to know the size of the prototype is prohibitive to coolness. They shouldn't have even shown it. Where are people going to carry this thing around in this day and age when most electronics are the size of a deck of cards at a maximum? I'd almost be embarrased pulling out that prototype to show photos or video. Imagine being in an airport or something with that. I can pull out the Clie[1] anywhere no sweat, I couldn't say the same with this cinderblock.

        And all that needs to happen to rip this thing a new one is a PalmOS device with one of those new super-micro HDs. They can already do everything advertised by this, all they need is storage. Hell WinCE devices can do this, and are smaller. Ahh! What's the deal with this thing? Now it's like some sort of unsolvable riddle that I don't want the solution to...

        [1]: Yes, I'm both an Apple and Sony Clie fanboy.

    • Re:Different Market (Score:5, Insightful)

      by I am Kobayashi ( 707740 ) on Thursday March 18, 2004 @03:01PM (#8602302)
      I agree. Isn't this just taking the concept of "bloatware" to the digital media player hardware market?

      There is a reason why iPods are so popular: they are relatively inexpensive, they are small and portable, and they do what the user wants them to do well: play music.

      I am with the Jupitar analyst, I just don't see a market for this (especially against the iPod) unless the price goes down to iPod levels....

      • Re:Different Market (Score:3, Insightful)

        by radish ( 98371 )
        For what they do (and what they are) iPods are extremely expensive. Like all Apple hardware, you pay for the design (which is undoubtably nice) and the "cool" factor (helped by the marketing people). If fashion is more important to you than value and/or functionality then iPods are great (and I'm not criticising, some people value fashion highly and I have no problem with that). But if you want something which just plays music well, is functional, and is much better value, you should look [digitalnetworksna.com] else [iriveramerica.com] where [dell.com].
        • really?

          299 for an iPod...the bottom of the market is 250 for HDD players...that is not expensive at all, for the market.....

          now, you might think that all HDD players are expensive for what they do, but that is the market price point, so live with it.

    • Re:Different Market (Score:5, Insightful)

      by Frymaster ( 171343 ) on Thursday March 18, 2004 @03:02PM (#8602325) Homepage Journal
      they're playing for an entirely different market segment.

      my question is "what market segment would that be?" people who want to pay almost as much as the cost of a laptop for significantly less functionality and a marginally smaller size? people who want to watch movies while jogging?

      this beast reminds me of the newton. lots of features but too damn big and clunky. of course newton had the saving grace of being the first to market...

    • Re:Different Market (Score:5, Funny)

      by sfraggle ( 212671 ) on Thursday March 18, 2004 @03:50PM (#8602900) Homepage
      There are some photos of Microsoft's new offering here [hotandfruity.com] :)

  • Sloppy editing... (Score:5, Funny)

    by American AC in Paris ( 230456 ) * on Thursday March 18, 2004 @02:56PM (#8602227) Homepage
    Reuters reports that the first hardware to run Microsoft's "iPod Killer" software will be available in Europe in the second half of 2004...The players are expected to sell for between about $700 to $800. They will play MP3s as well as audio and video recorded in Microsoft's digital format. The player will be significantly larger than the iPod in order to accomodate a video screen.

    There's a typo in the article. "N-Gage Killer" is misspelled.

  • not an ipod killer (Score:5, Insightful)

    by mlong ( 160620 ) on Thursday March 18, 2004 @02:57PM (#8602233)
    I don't think the ipod needs to worry about any competition from this. People buying an ipod aren't going to pay a lot more for a device that is alot heavier, bigger, and plays movies in microsoft's proprietary format. Not to mention I have yet to see microsoft come out with anything that is elegant and easy to use.

    • Wheel Mice (Score:3, Interesting)

      by Planesdragon ( 210349 )
      Not to mention I have yet to see microsoft come out with anything that is elegant and easy to use.

      Check out MS's hardware department sometime, specifically their mice.

      There's a reason why the only real players in hardware anymore are Logitech and Microsoft.
    • I bought an iPod, and I probably would buy this, if I wasn't saving up for a laptop. Microsoft's Media Center version of Windows XP is easy to use, and it does look pretty good. If the portable Media Center is anything like the Media Center version of XP then I would buy it.

    • Re:not an ipod killer (Score:4, Insightful)

      by Total_Wimp ( 564548 ) on Thursday March 18, 2004 @03:10PM (#8602448)
      People buying an ipod aren't going to pay a lot more for a device that is alot heavier, bigger, and plays movies in microsoft's proprietary format...
      This is actually a great opportunity for Apple. Now they can come up with something smaller and lighter that uses their own proprietary format (plus a few others) and they can clean up.


      TW

      Think about it: the iPod wasn't new, it was just smaller and better. Now Bill is giving Apple the exact playing field they need in order to show up the competition. Bravo.
    • Agreed. This is another example of Microsoft "fishing" for a new market. XBox, XP Media Center and other ventures also exemplify this.

      Microsoft is rarely successful, at least in the short term. The XBox, for example, is popular enough, but not yet profitable. Microsoft is still a two-product show - with Windows and Office. And the Office monopoly is dependent upon the Windows monopoly.

      Maybe these will catch on, maybe not. But I don't see any way they could kill the iPod, since the target audience

    • In fairness (Score:4, Informative)

      by Nakito ( 702386 ) on Thursday March 18, 2004 @03:24PM (#8602594)
      In fairness, I see nothing in the article to indicate that Microsoft itself is the source of the term "iPod Killer." Yes, the phrase appears in quotation marks, but only in the reporter's text. It does not appear in the verbatim quotes from the Microsoft representative. The term may be be the reporter's own invention. Microsoft's marketing department is usually more sophisticated than this, since the term obviously sets them up for a fall.

  • idiots (Score:5, Insightful)

    by prockcore ( 543967 ) on Thursday March 18, 2004 @02:57PM (#8602235)
    an ipod killer would have to be cheaper than an ipod.

    It seems that MS is using the same tactics that failed for all the gameboy competitors. Try and add a billion features, and price yourself right out of the market.

    • Re:idiots (Score:4, Interesting)

      by Kenja ( 541830 ) on Thursday March 18, 2004 @03:01PM (#8602309)
      "an ipod killer would have to be cheaper than an ipod."

      No, it just has to offer better value. For me my USB pen MP3 player is an iPod killer since it offers more of what I want for a better price. I dont WANT to carry around more music then I can listen to. I also dont want a player with moving parts.

  • iPod Killer my arse! (Score:3, Interesting)

    by jwthompson2 ( 749521 ) * on Thursday March 18, 2004 @02:57PM (#8602243) Homepage
    I like my iPod because it packs a lot of storage in a small package and I don't want to watch video on a stinkin' handheld, that is why I tote my powerbook around. This idea seems plain old dumb to me, but I guess if it is competition it is good for consumers but just strikes me as a dumb idea that I'm not going to consider buying, especially at twice the price of an iPod.

  • Christmas gift??? (Score:5, Insightful)

    by SoCalChris ( 573049 ) on Thursday March 18, 2004 @02:58PM (#8602244) Journal
    Who gives a $700-$800 Christmas gift? I know a few people might get their spouse or children somethign like that, but the vast majority give gifts far smaller than that.

    And besides, for that price you could get a laptop.

  • iPod killer (Score:5, Funny)

    by eXtro ( 258933 ) on Thursday March 18, 2004 @02:58PM (#8602245) Homepage
    At 2X the price and 6X the volume the only way it'll be an iPod killer is if you use it like a brick to smash an iPod. This sounds like the Saturday Night Live skit where the hipper you were the bigger your cellphone was.

  • And people complain about Apple... (Score:3, Insightful)

    by ivan256 ( 17499 ) * on Thursday March 18, 2004 @02:59PM (#8602260)
    People always complain about Apple, but does Microsoft make anything that's not overpriced? Hardware, software, it doesn't matter. It all costs too much for what it is. $700 for one of these things? Even those little portable DVD players are down in the $300 range now.

  • archos av320 (Score:5, Informative)

    by Cheeze ( 12756 ) on Thursday March 18, 2004 @02:59PM (#8602261) Homepage
    it's already been done in a smaller package. the Archos av320 [compusa.com] is already available and works pretty well.

  • no thanks... (Score:5, Insightful)

    by revmoo ( 652952 ) <<slashdot> <at> <meep.ws>> on Thursday March 18, 2004 @02:59PM (#8602265) Homepage Journal
    They will play MP3s as well as audio and video recorded in Microsoft's digital format.

    What Microsoft apparently doesn't realize is that customers aren't going to spend $7-800 on a device only to have to convert every divx and xvid movie they have over to microsoft's proprietary format. Time really is money in this case, and it's just not worth it to have to spend days/weeks converting movie files.

  • Sucks to be apple (Score:3, Insightful)

    by superpulpsicle ( 533373 ) on Thursday March 18, 2004 @02:59PM (#8602267)
    Is it me or is M$ forever obsessed with trying to 1-up Apple.

    It's like Apple can't dominate any market for any lengthy period of time.

    As an underdog Apple should learn to "Make their products affordable until they dominate the market".

  • Not quite a skiller (Score:5, Insightful)

    by fembots ( 753724 ) on Thursday March 18, 2004 @02:59PM (#8602273) Homepage
    It's not quite in the same target market, as it plays movies, stores photos, and most importantly it is FATTER than iPod (roughly three times as thick as an iPod and roughly twice as long ).

    It's like callling an elephant a pet killer because it can carry luggages, push start your car etc, which your normal domestic pets like dogs, cats cannot do.

  • Been Done (Score:3, Informative)

    by Keighvin ( 166133 ) on Thursday March 18, 2004 @03:00PM (#8602300)
    Archos [archos.com] has been doing this for some time, at half the cost with open formats compatible with multiple platforms. I personally have one of their first video capable models, the Jukebox Multimedia 20gb, and use it on Linux, Mac OS X, and Windows - same files for audio and video, no DRM other than common sense and respect.

  • Has anyone seen teh leaked pics of this thing? (Score:5, Funny)

    by Anonymous Coward on Thursday March 18, 2004 @03:01PM (#8602315)
    I know a guy who knows a guy, and I managed to get one leaked photo. [reep.org]

  • My questions (Score:5, Insightful)

    by Dark Paladin ( 116525 ) * <jhummel&johnhummel,net> on Thursday March 18, 2004 @03:01PM (#8602317) Homepage
    The idea itself isn't a totally bad one - at a lower price, I could consider getting one for my kids for long drives or some such. (Then again, by the time they're old enough for me to do that, an iBook at nearly the same price will have the same effect.)

    But my questions are these:

    1. It plays movies in WMV and audio in WMA. So where am I going to get the WMV movies? WIll I be able to stick a DVD into my computer (assuming I want to get a Windows box, of course) and have it ripped to a format that the device can use? Or am I relying on having some other system (like a Tivo) to record TV shows and let me get that video on my device that way?

    And if I have to rip the movies myself with an unofficial DVD, will I still go to jail/get fined?

    2. Battery power? I'm seeing 3 hours - seriously? iPod killer with 3 hours of battery power? That's like the Sega handheld devices that were going to kill the Gameboy with 3 hours battery power.

    3. TV out? Suppose I do pick it up and put movies on it so when I'm at a friend's house we can watch something. Can I have a TV-out so we don't have to scrunch around a tiny little screen?

    Just a few thoughts. I'm sure there are more. Again, I'm not saying this is a bad idea, but I have serious reservations before spending $500 - $800 of my cash. I already spent $300 on an iPod....

  • Two words: on crack (Score:4, Insightful)

    by sootman ( 158191 ) on Thursday March 18, 2004 @03:02PM (#8602321) Homepage Journal
    I'd like to have a portable video-playing thingie as much as the next guy, but they are trying to squeeze into an incredibly small niche here: people who are willing to spend $800 on something larger than an iPod, but who don't want to spend the same amount of money on a DVD-playing laptop. Any larger than an iPod and you're quickly getting out of the fits-in-the-pocket category. What are they aiming for, the fits-in-a-glovebox market?

  • iPod Killer... (Score:5, Funny)

    by nickgrieve ( 87668 ) on Thursday March 18, 2004 @03:03PM (#8602342) Journal
    Ha ha, yeah, right. Just like how IE was going to be "the Netscape Killer"... feh...

  • Explain to me again... (Score:5, Informative)

    by johnlcallaway ( 165670 ) * on Thursday March 18, 2004 @03:03PM (#8602346)
    Why would I spend $700 for something that is bigger and heavier than my $300 Sony Clie?? It plays MP3s and videos. (I love showing people Golem accepting the MTV award.)

    I can get several CDs on an 128MB memory stick and play them in my car using an RF adapter. The MS product does provides more disk space for video, but with the recent advances in micro drives, it's only a matter of time until they start becoming more common in PDAs.

    I thought MS was supposed to be better at creating loss leaders <cough> XBox </cough >

    • You won't (Score:3, Insightful)

      by mdfst13 ( 664665 )
      The obvious answer is that you won't pay $700 to get something that big for that much money.

      Microsoft will eventually realize this and cut the price to the $400-$500 range (or possibly further). Just like they cut XBox prices from $300 (about breaking even) to $200 (lose $100 per unit). Of course, they may not continue producing them after that, as I don't know that they get the same benefit from this that they do from the XBox (the unit loses money, but the games for it are profitable; do they sell any

  • Let me be the first to say (Score:3, Funny)

    by unassimilatible ( 225662 ) on Thursday March 18, 2004 @03:03PM (#8602347) Journal
    That I will utter a Monty Burns-esque, evil laugh when a Linux hack for this is published.

  • Why not buy a laptop? (Score:4, Insightful)

    by Nacar ( 763397 ) on Thursday March 18, 2004 @03:05PM (#8602372)
    For the price of this thing, why not spend a little extra money and buy a laptop with a Centrino or equivilant processor??

    It's not like the "iPod Killer" will fit nicely in your pocket anyway, so why not splurge and have all the features of a ultra-mobile laptop.

    My 2 cents

    • Re:Why not buy a laptop? (Score:5, Insightful)

      by johnpaul191 ( 240105 ) on Thursday March 18, 2004 @03:42PM (#8602791) Homepage
      i agree... for $800 and something bigger than an ipod why not jump to a subnotebook......?
      like i really want to watch Kill Bill on a 4" LCD on the subway... or browse pictures of my trip to Las Vegas...... no thanks.
      running around with your own audio is like having a personal soundtrack to your activities. watching a mini screen is an activity of its own. i'm not saying this device has NO market, but it's not the same as an audio device (iPod or any other). why do people think audio is the poorman's video? someone needs to escape the cube sometime and live life.

  • iPod Killer? Don't make me laugh! (Score:5, Insightful)

    by Llywelyn ( 531070 ) on Thursday March 18, 2004 @03:07PM (#8602399) Homepage

    The players are expected to sell for between about $700 to $800. They will play MP3s as well as audio and video recorded in Microsoft's digital format. The player will be significantly larger than the iPod in order to accomodate a video screen.

    These things appeal to a different market (entirely!). Apple decided to make the iPod mini to take aim at the market that wanted a player even smaller than the iPod. They want an mp3 player--not something that will slice bread. This thing is huge and expensive when compared to other mp3 players--which is the only market that the iPod attempts to compete in.

    Call this a "portable movie player" that's "aiming to repeat the iPod's success in a different market," but calling it an "iPod Killer" is a horrible misnomer. I seriously doubt that anyone would consider one of these things in lieu of an iPod.

  • no push news please, bernie (Score:4, Insightful)

    by Dun Malg ( 230075 ) on Thursday March 18, 2004 @03:08PM (#8602411) Homepage
    Microsoft's Bernard envisaged a scenario where the owner of a Portable Media Center gadget would be able to store hours of their favorite music and movies on the device. They could then download from a news-oriented Web site a round-up of the day's news to watch on the train.

    When will these guys get it through their thick skulls that people don't want to watch pre-recorded news programs on TV. They have to stop trying to get it to be a "TV newspaper".

  • Size matters! (Score:3, Insightful)

    by tjwhaynes ( 114792 ) on Thursday March 18, 2004 @03:10PM (#8602442)
    For me, PDAs, MP3 & Ogg players and all other forms of personal electronic equipment have one important consideration above pretty much everything else.

    Size.

    If it doesn't fit comfortably in a pocket, sit nicely in my hand or it weighs too much, it isn't going to be bought at pretty much any price. I don't care if I can watch DVDs projected onto the wall from it and it only cost $100 - if it doesn't fit in my pocket, it's not going to be carried around with me on my person. If I need something more capable than my existing small gadgets, it'll probably be my laptop (carried around in a backpack) which sports considerably more function than any standalone piece of consumer electronics and costs a similar amount to the proposed "iPod killer".

    Cheers,

    Toby Haynes

  • Yeah, right! (Score:5, Funny)

    by iiioxx ( 610652 ) <iiioxx@gmail.com> on Thursday March 18, 2004 @03:11PM (#8602450)
    The only iPod killer the boys from Redmond could come up with would be a Microsoft-branded claw hammer (retailing for $149.95 most likely).

  • My review (Score:5, Funny)

    by mst76 ( 629405 ) on Thursday March 18, 2004 @03:12PM (#8602469)
    No wireless. Larger and more expensive than an ipod. Lame.

  • Yeah, that'll sell! (Score:4, Interesting)

    by El ( 94934 ) on Thursday March 18, 2004 @03:15PM (#8602497)
    So, it only costs twice as much as the Archos players [archos.com] that are already out and that already have the same capabilities! I can't wait!

  • For that price . . . (Score:3, Informative)

    by subjectstorm ( 708637 ) on Thursday March 18, 2004 @03:17PM (#8602520) Journal
    for the $700 - $800 price tag, you could buy:

    a portable dvd player [amazon.com] price = $200

    a gba sp platinum and games [amazon.com] price = $150

    an i-pod [nextag.com] price = $300

    and still have enough cash left to buy some new shoes and a crapload of quesadillas . . . if you're into that sort of thing.

  • iPod killer? Honestly... (Score:3, Insightful)

    by Xaroth ( 67516 ) on Thursday March 18, 2004 @03:26PM (#8602623) Homepage
    Not at $700-$800. I can buy a smallish laptop that does the same thing for less. Heck - I could go hit eBay for a Toshiba Libretto and probably fare better than that.

    While the economics probably aren't in their favor on this, if they wanted to make it an "iPod killer", the price would have to be significantly less than the iPod just to make up the difference from Apple's name recognition, and the size of this beast.

    Sell the exact same piece of hardware for $150, and we'll talk about iPod slaying.

  • Ooops... Apple will have it first (Score:4, Informative)

    by barthrh2 ( 713909 ) on Thursday March 18, 2004 @03:29PM (#8602655)
    According to an Apple Insider article [appleinsider.com], Apple is already ahead of this game. They will deliver sooner, at a lower cost, and very likely a better product. Guesses (aren't they always with Apple?) include an intro around April 28 for the first anniversary of the iTMS.

    Sources: Apple readying 4th-generation iPod

    (snip) While sources could not pin-point a specific day or month of introduction, they said the soon to be released player would boast a 50GB hard disk capable of holding 12,500 songs and carry an approximate cost of $499.

    Unlike the recent capacity-centric revisions to the iPod line, the 4th-generation iPod will host a number of architectural advancements and new features. Most apparent, sources say, is the presence of a 2-inch color screen for displaying photos stored on the pod, from the palm of your hand.

    The player will reportedly also adopt a video output jack that will allow users to connect their iPods to television sets, sources said. Meanwhile, no mention was made in regards to an output jack capable of relaying audio to a home entertainment center. (/snip)

  • What movies? (Score:5, Insightful)

    by bluesangria ( 140909 ) on Thursday March 18, 2004 @03:31PM (#8602678)
    Forgive my ignorance, but how are you supposed to copy video onto this device if all DVD's have copy protections anyways? And if it's not a commercial movie you want to download onto it, why would you want to download, say, your home movies which would interest no one except yourself? And if your home movies DO interest other people (maybe you are the porn star next door), how exactly do you go about adding Microsoft DRM so you can play them on your "iPod Killer". Methinks Microsoft spends alot of time talking up lip service to a new device under the assumption that ANY press is better than NO press. Tablet PC anyone?

    blue

  • Flawed Convergence thinking! (Score:3, Interesting)

    by Thanatopsis ( 29786 ) <despain.brian@gmai l . c om> on Thursday March 18, 2004 @03:34PM (#8602714) Homepage
    This reflects the flawed conventional thinking that consumers want a convergence device. That somehow combining the ability to play both video and MP3s will appeal to both market segments. What actaully happens that the device appeals to neither market segment.

    You see this time and time again. Marketing people assume that if you give someone a "new improved digital media center" everyone will buy it. No one buys it because the product is a "Jack of All trades, master of none." People buy component stereos for the same reason. They want the best reciver coupled with the best amplifier and the best DVD player. They want the flexibility of adding components. They tend not to buy a single component that does a mediocre job on all three elements. Simply piling on features that are unrelated but don't bring additional value to each other is silly. Camera phones work because you can send pictures to your friends. In this case adding a digital camera enhances the phone experience. Adding a video player, and jacking the price point to an entry level laptop adds nothing to the experience. I predict big fucking failure for MS. I don't get why people still insist media convergence is the wave of the future. Media really hasn't converged before. I mean how many of us use Radio/Television combo devices? No one because who wants a machine that does a crappy job at two things instead of a good job at one.

  • Apple seems to want this too (Score:4, Interesting)

    by Midnight Thunder ( 17205 ) on Thursday March 18, 2004 @03:36PM (#8602731) Homepage Journal
    If AppleInsider is anything to go by, then Apple also seems to be developing an iPod with these sort of features. See story: Apple readying 4th-generation iPod [appleinsider.com]. Apple already learnt their lesson, circa 1990, whereby standing proud, simply give the competition time to catch up - in that case it was MS catching up, and bypassing, with MS-Windows. If Apple is smart, they will keep one step ahead of the game.

  • And thus we see Microsoft's Achilles heel (Score:3, Insightful)

    by eric434 ( 161022 ) on Thursday March 18, 2004 @03:57PM (#8602990) Homepage
    The problem with Microsoft's engineers is that they assume more features == more better. Implementing those features in an elegant way is entirely secondary, and there appears to be little (or at least, very bad) research to determine how much people want those features.

    The classic example of this (apart from all of the products people here love to hate) is Bill Gates' attitude in "The Road Ahead." He focuses *entirely* on features, and not at all on usability or design. In the case of the "iPod Killer," it's pretty evident that Microsoft hasn't changed much since that book. People aren't interested in a clunky, unfashionable device -- Apple succeeds not only because their products are (fairly) simple to use, but because they're elegant and, in the case of the iPod, *fashionable*. Never underestimate the power of popularity. Microsoft- well, they need some good design engineers, and a general attitude that encourages quality over just-one-more-feature-itis.

  • $800? I don't think so (Score:4, Interesting)

    by ThousandStars ( 556222 ) on Thursday March 18, 2004 @04:13PM (#8603150) Homepage
    I think Microsoft is ignoring a cardinal rule of consumer gadgets: a few things that do one thing well are better than one device that does a few things poorly. In this case, they're trying to position themselves between the expensive portable DVD players that I've seen on planes / the iPod, and laptops. For $800, someone can get a laptop. For $1000, someone can get a pretty nice laptop.

    I think it flops.

    There are so many things wrong with this device I can't name them all. Sorry, it's not an iPod killer.

  • The Microsoft myPod, with "Clippy" innovation (Score:5, Funny)

    by cpu_fusion ( 705735 ) on Thursday March 18, 2004 @04:17PM (#8603206)
    Clippy, "Hi, it looks like you are trying to carry this device. Do you want to 1. lift some weights, 2. buy a backpack, or 3. sell this thing on ebay?"

  • Microsoft Pr0nMaster! (Score:5, Funny)

    by mveloso ( 325617 ) on Thursday March 18, 2004 @04:30PM (#8603374)
    Redmond, WA - Microsoft's new Pr0nMaster gives you pr0n on demand. Bring your pr0n with you - on the train, on the bus, at 12.000 meters - everwhere. It's large capacity drive means you won't have to explain what you're doing with "all those DVDs" when you pass through customs. The big screen means you won't have to squint while you watch. And it's small enough for you to bring it to the restroom or other enclosed space so you can "do your business."

    The Pr0nMaster also comes in a sport enclosure, because "accidents happen" when things get exciting on-screen! Plus its handy video out lets you plug into the A/V equipment at your destination - so you can share the wealth!

    The Microsoft Pr0nMaster - a peepshow in your pocket!

  • a portable device with video? (Score:3, Informative)

    by xot ( 663131 ) <fragiledeath@gm[ ].com ['ail' in gap]> on Thursday March 18, 2004 @04:50PM (#8603611) Journal
    A portable video device just doesn't sound too good when you can buy a laptop with almost the same price!
    Only people interested in this would be porn enthusiasts who don't care about MS bugs with 40-50gb of porn with them to tag along! heh ;-)

  • Not the iPod killer (Score:4, Insightful)

    by Unregistered ( 584479 ) on Thursday March 18, 2004 @07:09PM (#8604862)
    I think the iPod killer won't be softwarre, but hardware. Specifically, i think it will be a windows update that "accidently" makes ipods no longer work on that system. This update will also be bundled with all the security updates so you have to chose between secure and iPod.

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