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Microsoft, Sony Announce iPod Competitors

Posted by CowboyNeal on from the running-for-the-money dept.

Pfhreak writes "According to the Denver Post -- Las Vegas section, a little over halfway down the page -- Microsoft will begin selling a $50 music player that will 'look and feel as good as the iPod' later this year. Yusuf Mehdi, a Microsoft VP, is quoted as saying that the player will give customers more choices than Apple." In related news, Tetsugaku-San writes "The Register has the scoop on Sony's new portable audio/visual playback device. Impressively it plays MPEG2, MPEG4, BMP, GIF, PNG, TIFF and MP3 (finally they got the message Apple was gonna whoop em!) straight out of the box. Not as good battery life as I'd like to see, but real world tests remain to be seen."

3 of 610 comments (clear)

  1. Re:Is there any way by dtfarmer · · Score: 5, Interesting

    I don't think it will have a similar capacity. I wouldn't even bet on it being a microsoft product, as that last bastion of journalistic integrity, as the apple turns has a linked story that has a bit more to chew on (but not much more) than the denver post article.

    The quote about the $50 players was left out, but it does still contain the 'look and feel' quote, and he is obviously referring to third-party players that will be launched alongside a new microsoft music download service.

    What kind of hard drive could a manufacturer possibly put in a player for less than $50 - none, maybe flash 128/256 - but that's already on the market, and has been for some time. Anyway, I choose to believe this to be just more Microsoft FUD until I see such a $50 iPod killer.

  2. Re:No .ogg, no sale. by janbjurstrom · · Score: 5, Interesting

    Or even better, be active: Hop over to iPod Linux and join the hackers there - for OGG support (& more!) on the iPod. 'Tis beautiful, this open-source thing of ours *sniff*.

    --
    668.5
  3. Re:No .ogg, no sale. by ratsnapple+tea · · Score: 5, Interesting

    Operator: And our next question we'll take is from Arik Hesseldahl with Forbes.com.

    Arik Hesseldahl: Hi, Steve. Always concerned about -- not concerned, I guess, but wondering -- one of the previous questions was about revenue. I'm wondering if iTunes has reached the break even point yet.

    Steve Jobs: Yes. The iTunes music store had a small profit this past quarter.

    Arik Hesseldahl: Had a small profit. OK. Any interest whatsoever, since in the open source OGG Vorbis format?

    Steve Jobs: We're certainly not getting any requests from customers for it.

    Arik Hesseldahl: OK.

    Source: Conference call, April 29, 2004.