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Release Date: August 05, 2009
Genre: Games
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iTunes New Music Releases

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

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StickWars $0.99
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Discover New Music

  • Gimme Fiction

    • 10 out of 10
    • Spoon
    • Gimme Fiction by Spoon is a terrific album by an Austin band that I was lucky enough to catch on an Austin radio station during a Christmas visit.

  • Mezzanine

    • 6 out of 10
    • Massive Attack
    • "Black Milk" knocks me off my feet in this collection of moody and eclectic songs. Massive Attack uses samples and keyboards in a very unique way, but not all the songs pack the same punch.

  • The Life Pursuit

    • 8 out of 10
    • Belle & Sebastian
    • The Life Pursuit is a sort of Reeses Peanut Butter Cup. You get Belle & Sebastian's peanut butter (its wistful, often irresistible pop) dipped in a 'Have A Nice Day!' and glam 70s chocol

  • De Nova

    • 10 out of 10
    • The Redwalls
    • Wow! Perhaps my 5-star rating is simply because the Redwalls are not only new and fresh (none of them older than 22!), or perhaps its because -- despite their ages -- they are able to totally capture
  • Is This It

    • 10 out of 10
    • The Strokes
    • The Strokes set the music world on fire with this 2001 album, with headlines declaring that the New York band was here to save Rock and Roll. While the band hasn't made as much of a splash since t

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News

Microsoft iPhone Rival Rumors Back On

The on-again-off-again rumors that Microsoft is planning on building its own iPhone rival are back on again, and this time include word that the Redmond-based company is already negotiating with Verizon for a 2010 launch. Microsoft's alleged iPhone competitor will apparently include multimedia features, a touch screen interface, and access to the company's online Windows Marketplace for Mobile, according to the Wall Street Journal.

Rumors that Microsoft was working on its own smartphone and multimedia player have been surfacing for some time now. The company has, however, led the public to believe that it isn't designing a smartphone.

Microsoft's rumored smartphone will apparently be a collaboration with partners that build phones based on the company's software and hardware specifications, similar to Google's business model for Android-based devices.

So far, Microsoft hasn't been able to dethrone Apple's iPod with its Zune media players, and the iPhone has been gaining ground on its Windows Mobile devices. Unless Microsoft can come up with something that out-iPhones the iPhone, it will likely suffer from more Zune-like success with its smartphone efforts.

 

6 comments from the community.

You can post your own below.

Tiger said:

Hey, they could market it under the name Pontiac. It’s gonna be available!

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Lee Dronick said:

“Hey, they could market it under the name Pontiac. It?s gonna be available!”

It would probably be more like a “Gremlin,” both the auto and the creature. smile

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rpaege said:

I’m betting the first one will be brown.

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James M. said:

I think the company with the most to lose in all this is RIM.  The Storm is Verizon’s poster-boy flagship model.  2010 is a long way away, so there’s no telling what the leading devices will be or look like at that time, but if RIM is dependent on its Verizon relationship to bolster company prestige and profits, I’d imagine some hopping-mad execs in Waterloo, ON if Verizon starts pushing the Microsoft solution.  That raises an interesting question, really.  We know that providers covet exclusivity on the big-name devices (T-Mobile & the G1, Verizon & the BB Storm, AT&T & the iPhone, and Palm & the Pre), but I’d be curious how device manufacturers set conditions on the competing devices their providers can carry?

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Lee Dronick said:

“I?m betting the first one will be brown.”

I mostly liked the looks of the brown Zune. Scatological remarks by a lot of detractors aside, they could have made that model an elegant looking device. However, they screwed up the color combinations. Instead of that green bezel/ring around the body they should have used a brass or copper color for it and the controls.

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azarkon said:

The Zune is a great example of how when Microsoft tries to beat apple at it’s own game, it loses.  Reports say that the latest Zune is a solid product, but no iPod killer.  If Microsoft were to try and clone the iPhone (or the BlackBerry, or the Pre) their device would probably get a similar lackluster adoption—there’s little substitute for being first to market. 
The iPhone OS makes windows mobile look seriously last-gen, and the app store redesigned what a phone can do.  If Microsoft want’s to get back in the game the MS way, expect to see a refreshed windows mobile that not only runs on a cadre of smartphones, but also on the $50 filp phones.

   Quote

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