"}

Get Better Gear!

Premier Sponsors

Other World Computing

TechRestore

Top 5 Free Apps

Release Date: August 05, 2009
Genre: Games
Release Date: May 22, 2009
Genre: Games
Release Date: August 29, 2009
Genre: Games
Release Date: March 27, 2009
Release Date: August 07, 2009

iTunes New Music Releases

Release Date: September 29, 2009
Genre: Rock
Release Date: September 20, 2009
Release Date: September 15, 2009
Release Date: August 25, 2009
Genre: Rock
Release Date: August 25, 2009

Top 5 Paid Apps

Release Date: April 22, 2009
StickWars $0.99
Release Date: March 31, 2009
Genre: Games
Bloons $0.99
Release Date: April 05, 2009
Genre: Games

Discover New Music

  • Every Day: The Best of the Verve Years

    • 8 out of 10
    • Joe Williams
    • Joe Williams was Figure Two in my three-man education in singing. A brilliant vocalist, scatter, and interpreter of jazz and blues, Williams produces music that's totally unique, yet sounds so effortl
  • Plans

    • 8 out of 10
    • Death Cab for Cutie
    • With the introduction of Plans, Death Cab for Cutie became a new addition to many user's Artist list after the single "Soul Meets Body" became a hit on iTunes. Offering a fresh alternativ

  • Chicago Transit Authority

    • 10 out of 10
    • Chicago
    • For those of you who don't know, Chicago didn't always suck, and everyone in the band didn't always play a keyboard. When the band started off they were pioneers of rock and jazz fusion, and guita

  • Trouble

    • 8 out of 10
    • Ray LaMontagne
    • At first, Ray LaMontagne might strike you as just another breathy-voiced knockoff of folk/rock guitarists like John Mayer and Jack Johnson. But he's actually got a better voice than either, he tell

  • Odyssey Number Five

    • 10 out of 10
    • Powderfinger
    • Guitar-driven rock out of Australia, Powderfinger has not seen much exposure in the States, but should get a nod for their toe-tapping songs. Building off their previous release, "Internationalist" (

Reader Specials

Visit Deals On The Web for the best deals on all consumer electronics, iPods, and more!

News

Microsoft’s J Allard: Never Say Never to MS Phone

Microsoft’s J Allard, Chief of Microsoft’s Zune group, said that he’d "never say never" to a Microsoft-built mobile phone, according to Saul Hansell in his New York Times Blog on Friday.

"A cynic would describe Microsoft�s approach to the music player market as simple Apple envy.... So I’ve got to imagine that many in the inner sanctums of Redmond are hot to introduce a slick phone from Microsoft," Mr. Hansell wrote. So he put the question to Microsoft’s J Allard, who was circumspect about the Apple iPhone.

"People are buying it because it�s an Apple phone, not because it�s an iPod. It�s a lousy iPod. You can�t skip a track without looking at it. You can�t go running with the thing. It is the first consumer product that has done browsing [on a cellphone] extremely well," Mr. Allard said. He added that the success of the iPhone is the result of Apple’s "hangover from their relentless pursuit of building beautiful products for 25 years. That is their brand."

When asked about why the carriers have kept Microsoft from making good software for those phones in the past, Mr. Allard praised Apple. "In the past, the cellphone carrier was the final decision maker [about how phones were designed]. A cellphone operator is not best positioned to decide how to lay out a menu. I think the iPhone came out and showed people a great experience, and in some ways got everybody to check their ego at the door."

Finally, when asked about Microsoft’s motives for introducing the Zune, Mr. Allard offered this: "We didn�t create the Zune because we were dying to get into the hardware business and take inventory risk. We felt we had to do it. It�s tough from a P&L [profit and loss] point of view. Windows was incredible. We got to create most of the magic and take none of the financial risk. History isn�t going to repeat that with consumer goods."

Post Your Comments

  Remember Me  Forgot your password?

Not a member? Register now. You can post comments without logging in, but they'll show up as a "guest" post.

Commenting is not available in this section entry.