“The first handheld gadgets to play music and movies on Microsoft Corp.’s ‘iPod killer’ software will be available in Europe in the second half of 2004, the world’s largest software company said on Thursday,” Bernhard Warner reports for Reuters. “The gadgets will run on Microsoft’s yet-to-be-unveiled Portable Media Center software in a direct assault on iPod, Apple Computer Inc.’s hot-selling digital music player.”
“Working with a host of manufacturing partners, Microsoft is introducing a device that plays movies and stores digital photos as well as songs in a bid to grab a share of the fast-growing digital media player market,” Warner reports. “‘We think this is going to be one of the hot devices for Christmas 2004,’ said James Bernard, product manager for Portable Media Center.”
“The U.S. software giant has enlisted Creative Technology Ltd. and Korea’s Reigncom Ltd’s iRiver International unit to develop devices for the European market. The Creative players will be sold with 20 gigabytes or 40 gigabytes of storage capacity, the latter would provide 175 hours of video playback or 10,000 songs, Microsoft said. The devices play MP3 files as well as audio and video content recorded in Microsoft’s digital format. The devices run on the Windows CE operating system,” Warner reports.
“The Creative player weighs in at 330 grams (11.5 ounces) — roughly three times as thick as an iPod and roughly twice as long to accommodate its television-quality colour screen. It has a USB port and comes with audio and video outputs cable to play media on a television or stereo hi-fi. Microsoft’s Bernard envisaged a scenario where the owner of a Portable Media Center gadget would be able to store hours of their favourite 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,” Warner reports. “To that end, Microsoft is busy assembling media partners to provide content including movies, music videos and news. It has signed up music label EMI and digital music outfit Napster.”
Full article here.
MacDailyNews Take: Here comes the “Cavalry of the Mediocre” to try to save the day for Microsoft in the digital media arena. Let the battle begin!
SPOILER: don’t tell anyone (we wouldn’t want to miss this impending dustup for the world), but when all is said and done, this time the Indians win.
LMFAO
I wonder how many times it will crash.
Hasn’t MS heard of the phrase that involves “too many cooks in the kitchen?”
This device is doooooooommmmmmmeeeeeeedddddddd lol
Yep, as we know everything M$ touches turns into gold. Gotta love those Tablet PC sales eh? Or what about the Windows Media Center PCs? Oh yeah, those are taking the market by storm right? Or maybe not. Well, back to reality, it sounds like M$ is getting more and more desperate these days. Plus with Longhorn nowhere in sight, not even with the Hubble telescope, they have to come up with something quick to try to stem the tide. Something tells me this won’t do them much better than the earlier mentioned couple of attempts have…
“Isn’t it kind of late to make and iPod killer?” asked my wife.
Ah, she does make a clear point.
Too late M$. But I’m sure the lemming will take the bait anyway.
didn’t they always try and avoid hardware, I guess the xbox hasn’t taught them a lesson.
…Why did I buy a portable music playerlike the iPod when I could have bought Creative’s “killer” which takes-up six times the volume (thice as long???) and weighs twice as much. This “killer” would be so fun to run with (as I often do)- and I thought my 15 GB was almost too large to use running.
And the Creavtive bigTHING cannot fit in my pocket. Actually, I thought they made one of these already- it’s called a portable DVD player.
Anyway, the only killing these things will do is if someone bashes someone else in the head. They totally miss the point (IMHO).
M$ “iPod killer”: $599
Additional “nessesary” add-ons: $150
Subscription to media per month: $30
Watching it fail faster than a foreign exchange student in English Comp: Priceless
Who wants to bet MS won’t charge for it at first–they will PAY companies to use it, thus making a player cheaper to make WITH it than without! That will let Apple’s competitors make players cheaper than Apple ever could. And MS will pay for advertising too. MS will eat the loss–which they can afford to do–until they dominate the market.
Or such is their plan I suspect. However, I think they have already lost. Like the X-Box, they may be able to keep a money-losing product around. But it will never dominate in the face of Apple elegance and ease-of-use.
This time, the majority platform IS the best and easiest to use. That’s not an advantage Apple can easily lose.
Prehaps if they model it after porn ads this might work�it’s twice as long and three times thicker, put your puny iPod away and use a real media player. (LOL). Oops but it comes with Windows CE, isn’t that the equivalent of taking viagra then drinking alcohol??
I don’t understand why Microsoft has to enter the portable music player market when they have just about 95% of the WORLD’S desktops. It almost seems to me that Gates and Microsoft are out to “F” Apple.
– Mark
Twice as long and three times as thick! I don’t know about you guys, but I have no desire to carry a brick around with me everywhere I go. At that size I’d rather carry a 12inch iBook to watch movies and listen to music.
I can’t wait to see what comes out at the WWDC. These guys are a day late and a dollar short. AND they aren’t even standing in the correct line (or the queue for our European friends)
Rather than trying to have vision and leapfrog Apple they would do better to stick to their old game of just trying to copy.
Once again, they show THEY JUST DON’T GET IT!”
Watch video while I run? Drive? Read?
TV keeps you from doing other things. Period.
And what about HDTV? That’s the future of video.
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umm couldnt you just buy a pda????? video music hard rive win CE sounds like a pda to me!!
It is clearly intended for a different market. So, how can it be an iPod killer?
Also, are they conceeding the US market to iPod? I could not find any reference to the release of this killer in the US. Too bad, MS didn’t realize that iPod is wildly popular in the UK too.
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One last thing: I am pretty sure that Apple will have released the 4th gen. iPod for a few months by the time MS releases their player.
JimmyN: “Plus with Longhorn nowhere in sight, not even with the Hubble telescope”.
That is the most hilarious thing I have seen in a long time. Thanks JimmyB
And once again, simplicity of interface and small attractive package will win out.
They didn’t mention the 10 minute battery life. They will offer an optional car-battery backpack for extended use.
maybe the virus authors will add multimedia presentations to entertain while it destroys the piece
But ooooh… it has USB
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Whether this video brick sells or not I’m concerned that with all the money at it’s disposal and the tactics it uses when it feels it’s monopoly slipping even to the slightest degree Microsoft is a very dangerous adversary. They will try to hold on to their strangle hold of the world at any cost.
BTW, “optional car-battery backpack” Hahaha. That was great, NoPCZone.
Microsoft. A media player. That runs on WinBloze CE (crappy experience).
BWA-HA-HA-HA-HA-HA-HA-HA-HA-HA-HA-!!!!!!!!!!!
*sniff. Oh, man. Thanks… that was a good one. ::::chuckle::::
Apple should pull a M$ and buy napster just to fu#k M$ and their plans of world domination – honestly at this point napster cant cost too much…
roughly three times as thick as an iPod and roughly twice as long
And four times as heavy, and doesn’t fit into any pocket. <sarcasm> Yep, that’s an iPod killer, all right.
One of those eyeglass projection displays would be ideal for a video iPod. I’d want one of those!