“Microsoft Corp. said on Tuesday that it is ‘not unreasonable’ for the company to introduce a mobile phone combined with features of its Zune digital music player to compete with Apple Inc.’s iPhone,” Daisuke Wakabayashi reports for Reuters.
“The Zune phone, a topic of speculation for months since Microsoft introduced its first digital music player last year, could be driven by consumer demand for one multimedia device to make phone calls, play music and take pictures,” Wakabayashi reports.
MacDailyNews Take: We’ve said it before, so we’ll say it again: Microsoft’s Zune is the WNBA of the digital media device world.*
Wakabayashi continues, “‘It wouldn’t be unreasonable to think at some point there might some integrated thing,’ Mindy Mount, chief financial officer of Microsoft’s entertainment and devices division, told investors at Citigroup’s global technology conference.”
MacDailyNews Take: Not unreasonable? Hell, we can guarantee that if they do it, it will be some “thing” – integrated in assbackwards fashion, as usual. That’s a foregone conclusion based upon decades of crap products from Microsoft. Forget some integrated phone thing, the Zune itself is “unreasonable.” It was years too late, offered way too little, and it was fecal brown. It’s a re-badged joke that any other company would have already killed if they were even stupid enough proceed with the launch in the first place.
Wakabayashi continues, “Microsoft has sent mixed signals about the Zune phone. At the time it introduced the Zune last year, the company said a Zune phone was definitely part of its future plans. Earlier this year, Chief Executive Steve Ballmer said at a CEO forum that the Zune phone is not a concept that Microsoft would ever pursue.”
Full article here.
MacDailyNews Take: Bottom line: Microsoft has no idea what they’re doing. Who’s surprised?
*Boring mediocrity that real people couldn’t care less about propped up by vastly larger organizations with agendas unrelated to the product itself. Ginned-up “interest” cannot sustain failure for long.
hahahahahahaha
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hahhahahahahahahah
Wow, can’t wait to have my first brown phone!
Unreasonable? Yes. Yes, it is.
LOL! how many billions are they gonna waste this time?
Enough to stop famine all over the world I bet…
morons
I suppose it will allow users to squirt messages between zunePhones. It wouldn’t surprise me in the least if MSFT reinvented SMS by simple renaming it and making it less secure and more broken.
Always trying to compete!
Can they just stick to one thing and to it right?
Who needs M$ in every market? That’s obsession.
And another money losing product.
In fact, I want M$ to release ZunePhone, maybe it will be M$’s Titanic, the final nail in the coffin.
Unreasonable? No. Unsellable? Yes.
more like no reasonable….
it’s here already
Why does MDN even bother plugging the Zune?
Zune Tang?….*silence*
Must be reinstalling Windows, anti-malware and fighting WGA servers on his cheap home cooked PC from parts gleamed off the local sidewalks.
This article is more of the punchline of a bad joke. Much more idiotic is the summary written by Paul Thurott:
http://www.winsupersite.com/reviews/iphone_07.asp
Paul’s quotes:
1) the iPhone is absolutely revolutionary
2) And while I have indeed provided a rating, or score, for the device, I do so only with the understanding that this rating is inherently flawed for two reasons. First, like any review, this iPhone review is a slice in time, an opinion about a product that is in flux and will no doubt change and improve in the months and years ahead. Second, everyone’s needs are different, and while I believe that the iPhone is utterly useless as a traditional smart phone, it is incredibly compelling in that it has created a new product category (Gee thanks Paul. So basically you are saying ANY review of any TECH product is inherently flawed because that review is only a slice in time, and everyone’s needs are different – wow, you have to be the worst journalist ever)
more to come…
I just can’t wait to squirt phone calls.
More Paul Thurott:
3) And as with the original Mac, it’s highly likely that the computing innovations seen first in the iPhone will popularize themselves further as Microsoft and other companies adapt them to their own products. Whatever happens, we’ll be able to trace a major form of computing in the future back to the iPhone just as we can now trace the modern PC back in time to the Mac. (Paul is saying that Apple has the best ideas, but lacks the ability to successfully market them…therefore MS will come in and do it right and make lots of money)
4) Looking back at the first six parts of this review, we might consider rating these functional areas separately and then combine and average them to arrive at a final score. This approach has some value, but is by definition flawed because some will prefer to weight certain features higher than others. But with this limitation in mind, let’s see what happens. (Again, Paul has no idea how to offer a good review. He is only good at writing in disclaimers for himself so in the future he can say “but guys, I SAID that my review was flawed)
more to come…
5) I examined the iPhone’s design and usability, as well as its core features, like the multi-touch screen with rotational capabilities, the virtual keyboard, the ambient light sensor, the device’s wireless capabilities, its built-in memory (and lack of expansion capabilities), and its Mac OS X underpinnings. This isn’t a huge win for the iPhone, overall: the hardware is excellent, even leading edge, but it is lacking numerous features and some core technologies–like rotation–are sparingly or only partially implemented throughout the device. It’s unclear whether the OS X base is a boon or curse at this point; the number of iPhone vulnerabilities that quickly popped up the wake of its release suggests it’s not much of a strength right now. And using a full desktop OS obviously adds needless complexity.
(Paul basically throws his weight behind Windows Mobile CS because hey, it doesn’t add needless complexity. And hey, he forgets the fact the core techs like rotation and cover flow leave competitors behind. Because all apps don’t use them he believes the iPhone is junk. He rates the tech a 3/5)
more to come…
Unreasonable? No. Undesirable and unmarketable? Yes.
6) The iPhone is a superb portable media player
7) It’s hard to exaggerate how problematic the iPhone’s email and Web browsing features are. Email is particularly bad
8) While Apple promises a “full Web” experience on the iPhone, and not the thumbnail-sized view you get with most smart phones, it delivers that experience through a second-rate version of a third-rate browser, Safari.
9) The iPhone delivers more of the Web than other cell phones (Paul rates the internet as a 3/5. Basically, he admits the web is better than any other cell phone but because he gets serviced for free by MS employees on the weekends, he only gives it a 3/5)
more to come…
10) If you’re in the market for a smart phone, forget the iPhone. It’s a lot more expensive than the Windows Mobile and Blackberry competition (Paully, you need to do your homework and add costs incurred at the end of a two year term to make that statement. Funny how you slag other journalists but enjoy reaming yourself)
11) It is gorgeous to look at and use, sleek and pretty, and desirable.
12) you will love the device more than you should
13) might just be the nicest cell phone ever made
14) The truth is, no one needs an iPhone
15) The iPhone is awesome. There’s just one problem: You don’t need it.
For that matter, no one NEEDS a car, a cell phone, heck even a computer. Brilliant Paully. You are just a tad hypocritical. Terrible review that leaves people feeling more confused. Just really bad journalism if you can call it that.
ZunePhone:
You may listen to your voice mail 3 times or for 3 days after which they disappear forever.
@Danno Bonano (Or is your real name Paul Turdrott?
Enough, no one reads his crap. He’s a shill of M$. Please stop polluting my screen.
How many points will it cost to call my Mom? How many points to a dollar again?
I have not seen one single Zune in use, in person, in a store. Who is buying these things
“I have not seen one single Zune in use, in person, in a store. Who is buying these things”
Nobody. They’re only “shipped” not sold. It could be said they are “shitting” in stores.
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Look! Over there! The Phune! The Phune! It’s gonna set the world alight. Literally. If they ever make it.
“I have not seen one single Zune in use, in person, in a store. Who is buying these things”
M$ execs, for their grandfathers.
Micro$oft Zune-The Senator Larry Craig of MP3 players.