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Report: Microsoft Mulls Making Its iPod Competitor, but With Games
by , 4:50 PM EST, January 27th, 2006
[Editor's Note: TMO covered this on Thursday, but today's coverage includes a Spin that looks at what Microsoft might be missing.]
Microsoft is contemplating making its own digital media device to directly compete with Apple's iPod, according to a report from BusinessWeek. Writing for the magazine, Jay Greene reported that the company is considering its own device as an end-to-end solution that could compete on the same ground as Apple's end-to-end iPod and iTunes solution, but Microsoft is also considering adding games to the device in an effort to leverage its Xbox console brand.
This would mark a departure for Big Redmond in the digital media space, as the company has heretofore focused on providing the software and other tools to third party manufacturers to use in developing there own devices. This is the same model Microsoft used to dominate the market for computer operating systems, but that strategy has so far not worked in this newer market. According to the NPD Group, Apple owned 67% of the digital media player market in 2005.
Copying the iPod won't be enough, however, according to a Microsoft executive who spoke with BusinessWeek. Peter Moore from Microsoft's Xbox division told Mr. Greene that leveraging the Xbox brand "is an opportunity," and that, ""It can't just be our version of the iPod."
That means adding games to such a device, a move that would really put Microsoft in direct competition with Sony's PlayStation Portable (PSP) more than the iPod. The PSP plays movies, music, and games with a form factor designed from the ground up for the latter of the three functions.
Despite the comments from Microsoft's Peter Moore, the company officially declined to confirm whether or not such a product is actually under consideration.
The full article also addresses some aspects of why Microsoft finds this market important, and that's namely looking into the future of digital media.
The Mac Observer Spin:
"It's about the music, stupid." Those words were spoken by Apple CEO Steve Jobs two years ago in reference to Apple's then-decision to not make the iPod into a video player. Of course, Apple has since added video support to the iPod in a clear turnaround, but what remains true is that the iPod, even the video iPod, is first and foremost a music player. Watching movies, TV shows, music videos or looking at pictures is a secondary function to the iPod's main job of being a music player.Of course, the real reason Microsoft would consider making its own digital media device is because its third party partners have so far failed to do it right. Microsoft has provided the platform, and Windows Media licensees have made all manner of devices that then sit on store shelves.
As the BusinessWeek article pointed out, Microsoft feels its important to control this space because of the importance of digital media. If the company's partners can't do it right, who else is left?
While Apple has been attacked by some pundits for having a closed system for iPod and iTunes, the reality is that the end-to-end control Apple has over its platform provides the one thing no Microsoft licensee can offer, a device that just works. The theory is that Microsoft could do that if it were similarly in charge of its own end-to-end solution where it was responsible for the device, the software, and the music store.
That Microsoft would consider even for a moment trying to build a platform such as this off of its Xbox brand shows that even if the company can succeed in making something that just works -- something Microsoft has never, ever done -- it is still missing the boat. An Xbox portable will take market share from Sony, not Apple, because despite all the other advances in this market, it's still about the music, stupid.
Observer Comments
Fri Jan 27, 2006 6:38 pm Subject: Well some people like games
Some people like to play solitare, Tetris, or what ever on those pocket book sized players. I would think that MicroSoft would have to make an iPod competitor with larger dimensions, an iPod is probably too small for any sort of sustained gaming, your fingers would get tired.
As to the music aspect, they need an iTunes like program or you would just end up with a list of MP3s installed, no playlists and other methods of organization.
Fri Jan 27, 2006 8:05 pm Subject: It'd be a PSP-competitor, most likely, but be called an iPod
Sun Jan 29, 2006 12:02 pm Subject: The only killer would be a rip-off
They need to ask themselves is adding games would add as much value as it would cost to bring the hardware up to that level. The PSP model works as like other Sony games consoles they make very little money on the hardware and recurring revenue on games.
History shows that general purpose products are almost always replaced by cheaper functionally specific products. It's very rare for functions to be consolidated back into a single general appliance - and rarer still if that appliance is more expensive.
Equally the PSP is a less functional device than the iPod in many ways. I do not go running with my PSP.
QuoteGuest wrote:
It does have that nice bright 4.5" screen though... it even has the 16:9 aspect ratio like it should.
I think we all wish the vid iPod had a screen like that...
And it would weigh just how much? Can you put the PSP in your pocket? Strap it to your arm as you exercise?
The PSP is, in round numbers, 6.9 x 2.9 x 0.9 inches, and 9.2 oz. Compare that to even the 60 GB iPod at 4.1 x 2.4 x 0.55 inches and 5.5 oz. (The 30 GB is 0.43 inches thick and weighs 4.8 oz.)
What about battery life? Realistic battery life for the PSP is being found to be somewhere between 90 minutes and 3 hours--and you thought that the iPod video was bad. Do a Google search on "psp battery life" and read some of the stories.
The iPod video retains the clickwheel, which can be manipulated (pause/play, volume) without looking at the device, using one hand. Can you do that with the PSP? Also, how easy is it to rip and load videos on the PSP?
Every checked the price of movies on UMD? They're usually at least as much as a DVD, even though they have less content. The studios know that they have kids hooked on the PSP.
Thu Feb 02, 2006 8:11 pm Subject:
QuoteAnonymous wrote:
"1) You wouldn't want to strap the iPod to your arm and take it to the gym or go jogging with it either... because its a hard drive based player, and repeated shocks ain't too good for it. "
What about the flash based iPods without any harddrive?
Yeah. There you go.
I think his point is that the iPods that play video (which are the ones most comparable to the PSP in capacity and capability) are hard-drive based.
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