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Microsoft Partners May Drop PlaysForSure
Monday, July 24th, 2006 at 3:00 PM - by Jeff Gamet
Microsoft's announcement that it is developing its own portable music player and download service came as a shock to many of the companies that already make products based on Microsoft technologies. Now, according to PC Magazine, some of those companies are considering dropping Microsoft's PlaysForSure platform.
PlaysForSure is a marketing certification that companies can license from Microsoft to show that their products are compatible with the company's digital rights management technology and file formats. The money these companies pay to Microsoft, now seen as a competitor instead of a partner, amounts to salt in the wound.
MP3 player makers like Creative, SanDisk, and iriver are being left to fend for themselves as Microsoft prepares to take on Apple's iPod+iTunes juggernaut.
From Microsoft's perspective, going out on its own probably has the best chance for success since it can built its own tightly integrated player platform, software, and online service - much like Apple has already done.
For the iPod competitors that are already on the market, however, that makes Microsoft's PlaysForSure less of a sure thing.
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