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Microsoft Teams Up for "iPod Killer"

Thursday, June 1st, 2006 at 11:05 AM - by

Microsoft is teaming up with several companies in an effort to create a video and music distribution system along with media players designed to go head-to-head with the iPod and iTunes Music Store. Toshiba, Victor Co. of Japan, NTT DoCoMo Inc., and five other companies will be working with Microsoft to produce a portable music and video player that will initially be available in Japan, according to Bloomberg.

The software for the new portable media devices will be developed by Microsoft, and the hardware will be built by Toshiba and Victor. DoCoMo also committed to producing a cell phone that is compatible with the software and will transfer Windows formatted music files from a PC to the hand set.

Apple's iPod holds the lion's share of the portable music player market, and the iTunes Music Store is the most popular legal media download service.

Microsoft's biggest obstacle to tackling Apple's market dominance is that, unlike Apple, it won't control its product completely from development to customer delivery. Excluding the successful Xbox gaming console, Microsoft relies on other companies to produce products based on its software and concepts, which usually results in product compromises - compromises that Apple doesn't have to make.

There is no official word yet on when to expect Microsoft's service or players to hit the market.

22 comments from the community.

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A guest said: (hide)

Thu Jun 01, 2006 12:35 pm

Already there is a virus that exploits this device and the software

Seriously they need more than just hardware, it is iTunes that helps make the iPod a success. MicroSoft needs something that makes managing the "killer" easy otherwise the device is just another clumsy to use gadget.

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A guest said: (hide)

Thu Jun 01, 2006 12:45 pm

Hey look... iPod Observer has not one but TWO stories on its front page now that have the term 'iPod Killer'. Its use is totally baseless (and somewhat laughable, considering the multitude of 'iPod Killers' who've come and gone), but hey, it gets hits, so who can argue?

I think IPO should just go all the way, and have 'iPod Killer' in EVERY headline. C'mon guys, you know you want to!

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Biff said:

member since 08 Apr 2004 with 1479 posts, unranked, send him a message or view his profile

Thu Jun 01, 2006 12:46 pm

LOL. Apparently you didn't notice the part where MS will develop the software. This is their answer to the "integrated" characteristic of iPod/iTunes.

Of course I would expect typical M$ design, so the hardware will have likely 50 buttons on the front and the software will probably be yet another unintuitive tab on the overly crowded WMP interface.

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Bosco said:

member since 03 Jun 2002 with 1002 posts, unranked, send him a message or view his profile

Thu Jun 01, 2006 12:47 pm

When will the killing stop? Killing iPods is not the solution. They have rights too. The iPod genocide must be halted. History will not be kind to those who slaughtered iPods indiscriminently, in an effort to genetically and socially engineer the digital music player market. What did the iPods ever do to deserve this?

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Tiger said:

member since 17 Jun 2003 with 1018 posts, unranked, send him a message or view his profile

Thu Jun 01, 2006 1:00 pm

Isn't this Microsoft's third attempt to kill the iPod? At what point to repeat offenders get thrown in jail?

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Brutno said:

member since 28 Aug 2002 with 198 posts, unranked, send him a message or view his profile

Thu Jun 01, 2006 1:01 pm

Bosco, you're having WAY too much fun with this. You should submit your postings to The Onion.

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A guest said: (hide)

Thu Jun 01, 2006 1:10 pm

Hang on so they need to develop NEW software. So they are saying that the present software is simply not up to the job then? Fuuny that they wern't saying that last week. So they launch 'URGE' one week the boss gets to walk the plank the following week and MS says it has to create totally new software the next. They are going for more relaunches than Frank Sinatra had come backs. Do the 'iDont' mob know that the supposed alternatives they boast of don't seem to have the confidence of the products software maker?

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Jeff Gamet said:

member since 15 Mar 2006 with 102 posts, TMO Staff, send him a message or view his profile

Thu Jun 01, 2006 1:11 pm

Guest wrote:
Hey look... iPod Observer has not one but TWO stories on its front page now that have the term 'iPod Killer'. Its use is totally baseless (and somewhat laughable, considering the multitude of 'iPod Killers' who've come and gone), but hey, it gets hits, so who can argue?

I think IPO should just go all the way, and have 'iPod Killer' in EVERY headline. C'mon guys, you know you want to!

Actually, I use "iPod Killer" in more of a Don Quixote style. I see it as a symbol of the futility so many product developers experience as they try to copy Apple's success by building the next "really great thing" that's sure to knock the iPod off of its pedestal. So far, they have all failed because they just don't get it: You need to design a quality product and download service as a whole if you want to compete with Apple in this arena. Now, if Microsoft insists on trying to team up with every company under the sun while it tries to, um, kill the iPod, I'll probably have make a keyboard shortcut that fills in "iPod Killer" for me. Or maybe I'll start using "Quixotian iPod Killer."

Jeff

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A guest said: (hide)

Thu Jun 01, 2006 2:05 pm

Let us not forget the peripheral market. There are thousands of add-ons for the iPod. Sure the headphones and earbuds work with virtually any audio gadget, but what about the carrying cases, car charger/transmitters, iHomes, and other gadgets all of which help drive iPod sales

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gslusher said:

member since 13 Nov 2002 with 2088 posts, unranked, send him a message or view his profile

Thu Jun 01, 2006 5:35 pm

Guest wrote:
They are going for more relaunches than Frank Sinatra had come backs.

LOL! However, at least Sinatra was actually talented. (I have two Sinatra albums among the almost 4,000 items in my iTunes library.)

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A guest said: (hide)

Thu Jun 01, 2006 6:27 pm

A Cell Phone + Music Player could cause serious damage to the iPod popularity here in Japan. Everyone has a cell phone, and everyone uses all the advanced features of the cell phones (The phones here are nothing like the ones sold in the U.S., so don't compare)

I don't think this is something we should be joking about... Apple needs to do something quick if they don't want to lose market share in Japan. Making a iPod phone or adding more music to iTMS (There's not much Japanese pop artists on iTMS) could be one solution.

The Japanese people are known to "heat-up" fast and "cool-down" fast too... I wouldn't be superised if the Music Keitais become the most popular music player within a year.

I'm not an anti-Apple person... I'm a long time Mac user myself. But it's true that I'm starting to see more and more people listen to music on a phone. I'm sure au's LISMO service put a small dent in the iPod popularity.

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gslusher said:

member since 13 Nov 2002 with 2088 posts, unranked, send him a message or view his profile

Thu Jun 01, 2006 6:49 pm

Anonymous wrote:
A Cell Phone + Music Player could cause serious damage to the iPod popularity here in Japan. Everyone has a cell phone, and everyone uses all the advanced features of the cell phones

Is there an "Buy Japanese" attitude in Japan? Several folks who commute to and from Korea on business have remarked on the popularity of devices from Korean companies, e.g., Samsung. If I recall correctly, the iPod's sales in Korea are pretty low.

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A guest said: (hide)

Thu Jun 01, 2006 6:53 pm

Guest wrote:
A Cell Phone + Music Player could cause serious damage to the iPod popularity here in Japan.

Nah. Music phones have been out for a year or two now, even music phones with hard drives are available. Hasn't really hurt the iPod much at all, because apparently a lot of people prefer a really dedicated device to a so-so multifunction one.

Btw, the "music cell phones will kill the iPod!" prediction has been made repeatedly by Steve Ballmer (chair-throwin' Microsoft CEO), to little effect. Mainly because 1) its wishful thinking, 2) he doesn't get it, and 3) because, well, he's Steve Ballmer and is often wrong.

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gslusher said:

member since 13 Nov 2002 with 2088 posts, unranked, send him a message or view his profile

Thu Jun 01, 2006 7:26 pm

Anonymous wrote:

Nah. Music phones have been out for a year or two now, even music phones with hard drives are available. Hasn't really hurt the iPod much at all, because apparently a lot of people prefer a really dedicated device to a so-so multifunction one.

Perhaps you missed this in the earlier comment:

" ... here in Japan."

Are you talking about Japan, the US, or somewhere else?

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A guest said: (hide)

Thu Jun 01, 2006 10:51 pm

Well if this iPod killer has an FM tuner I will dump my radioless iPods in a New York minute

How are Japanese cell phones different from ours? Are the advanced features easier to use?

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gslusher said:

member since 13 Nov 2002 with 2088 posts, unranked, send him a message or view his profile

Thu Jun 01, 2006 11:19 pm

Anonymous wrote:
Well if this iPod killer has an FM tuner I will dump my radioless iPods in a New York minute.

Why? You can get combination remote-FM tuners for the iPod. Apple has one for $49 that works with the Nano and the iPod Video (5G). Griffin's $40 iFM works with the iPod Mini and the 4G, 5G, Nano, and iPod Photo/Color.

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A guest said: (hide)

Fri Jun 02, 2006 12:14 am

gslusher wrote:
Anonymous wrote:
Well if this iPod killer has an FM tuner I will dump my radioless iPods in a New York minute.

Why? You can get combination remote-FM tuners for the iPod. Apple has one for $49 that works with the Nano and the iPod Video (5G). Griffin's $40 iFM works with the iPod Mini and the 4G, 5G, Nano, and iPod Photo/Color.

It was a joke, note the smiley face. A lot of hack reviewers will give an MP3 player a higher rating when compared to an iPod because of the built in FM tuner.

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A guest said: (hide)

Fri Jun 02, 2006 2:16 am

gslusher wrote:
Anonymous wrote:

Nah. Music phones have been out for a year or two now, even music phones with hard drives are available. Hasn't really hurt the iPod much at all, because apparently a lot of people prefer a really dedicated device to a so-so multifunction one.

Perhaps you missed this in the earlier comment:

" ... here in Japan."

Are you talking about Japan, the US, or somewhere else?

Haven't music cellphones been out in Japan longer than anywhere else in the world (save perhaps S. Korea)?

And to no great detriment to the iPod? That's my understanding from the Japanese folk I know, anyway.

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A guest said: (hide)

Fri Jun 02, 2006 2:19 am

Jeff Gamet wrote:
Guest wrote:
Hey look... iPod Observer has not one but TWO stories on its front page now that have the term 'iPod Killer'. Its use is totally baseless (and somewhat laughable, considering the multitude of 'iPod Killers' who've come and gone), but hey, it gets hits, so who can argue?

I think IPO should just go all the way, and have 'iPod Killer' in EVERY headline. C'mon guys, you know you want to!

Actually, I use "iPod Killer" in more of a Don Quixote style.

Which is a more accurate usage, but still, the term has definitely become a tired cliche. Why be one more caveman (ahem, journalist) beating it into the ground?

Quote this post ↓

A guest said: (hide)

Fri Jun 02, 2006 3:11 am

I think the crux of this is that M$ are once again playing catchup. Do you honestly think that Johnathan Ive, Steve Jobs and the rest of the team at Apple have been sitting around twiddling their thumbs? Apple themselves are working on the next generation iPod- wunderkind for sure - who knows what that is going to be! M$ have relied on me-too products & software for so long its in their DNA. Innovation is an anathema to them. Show me M$ innovation and I'll eat my iPod earbuds.

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gslusher said:

member since 13 Nov 2002 with 2088 posts, unranked, send him a message or view his profile

Fri Jun 02, 2006 3:33 am

Anonymous wrote:
I think the crux of this is that M$ are once again playing catchup. Do you honestly think that Johnathan Ive, Steve Jobs and the rest of the team at Apple have been sitting around twiddling their thumbs? Apple themselves are working on the next generation iPod- wunderkind for sure - who knows what that is going to be! M$ have relied on me-too products & software for so long its in their DNA. Innovation is an anathema to them. Show me M$ innovation and I'll eat my iPod earbuds.

I recall reading an interview with Jobs where he said that there are really cool things in the pipeline. That's typical of him, of course, but it fits. This fall, we're due for another major iPod model. It could be the iPhone (or whatever they call it--it can't be "iTalk," as Griffin Technology trademarked that name) or maybe a larger screen for video. If you want to see a really cool concept, check this video.

There are some practical issues (the click wheel should probably be on the folding part below the small screen), but the concept is spectacular. The spec ad is beautifully done--Apple should hire these guys!

(You can download the video for your Mac or the iPod.)

Quote this post ↓

A guest said: (hide)

Fri Jun 02, 2006 2:24 pm

gslusher wrote:
Anonymous wrote:
I think the crux of this is that M$ are once again playing catchup. Do you honestly think that Johnathan Ive, Steve Jobs and the rest of the team at Apple have been sitting around twiddling their thumbs? Apple themselves are working on the next generation iPod- wunderkind for sure - who knows what that is going to be! M$ have relied on me-too products & software for so long its in their DNA. Innovation is an anathema to them. Show me M$ innovation and I'll eat my iPod earbuds.

I recall reading an interview with Jobs where he said that there are really cool things in the pipeline. That's typical of him, of course, but it fits. This fall, we're due for another major iPod model. It could be the iPhone (or whatever they call it--it can't be "iTalk," as Griffin Technology trademarked that name) or maybe a larger screen for video. If you want to see a really cool concept, check this video.

There are some practical issues (the click wheel should probably be on the folding part below the small screen), but the concept is spectacular. The spec ad is beautifully done--Apple should hire these guys!

(You can download the video for your Mac or the iPod.)

I have to agree, that is a damn cool concept.

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