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Microsoft To Construct iPod/DS/PSP Killer
Karsten writes "According to The Mercury News Microsoft is developing a PSP/DS/GBA/iPod-killer. J. Allard is leading the project." J. Allard is the man behind the Xbox, and from looking at the article it sounds like it's at least a year before this device, if it hits daylight, would be coming.
Dammit, can't they make a Windows killer?
This guy's the limit!
I've said it before and I'll say it again--for the love of god, please stop printing mindless headlines of the form "[insert company name here] is [planning/making] a [insert industry-wide leading product name here] killer."
My work here is dung.
This won't work, but we should all know that already know that. You can't just stick all the available technology into something and hope it all works out, this will end up being as big as origami with about 2 hours of battery life. I like things to be seperate, which is why I have an MP3 player, and a DS (and a camera and phone and whatever else they'll probably try and throw in it) I like things to be excellent at the one thing that they do, not just "acceptable" at everything under the sun
*''I can't believe it's not a hyperlink.''
in the tools section. It's called sledgehammer and is guaranteed to kill all of those devices in one shot.
Timo's Audio Software http://www.esseraudio.com
I'm not a MS fanboy, but I do have very good experiences with Microsoft over my lifetime. I've had some terrible problems, too, but nothing that has affected me in a bad way. I believe Microsoft's Windows has been a big reason why PCs are so cheap -- a common operating system that was easy to use has helped to bring more people to computers. I think we'd be in the 80s still if it wasn't for Windows 3.0 -- Apple had no chance given their closed hardware.
My experience with MS in handhelds is terrible. I've owned about 30 PDAs in my life (I tend to use them for 3-4 months and then sell them to friends or family or give them away). All my Newtons were my favorite (from the original MessagePad through the 2100). I feel terrible that I sold all my Newtons years ago -- I think I'd still be using the beasts today.
Microsoft doesn't know how to downsize anything. The big complaints about Windows from the geek crowd is more appropriate for Microsoft in the small-PC crowd. I had a Microsoft car radio once -- Worst. Thing. Ever. My current PDA is Microsoft based and it works very well wirelessly -- yet I have to reboot it about 10 times a day to get it to run fast.
I have no faith in Microsoft in terms of an iPod killer. The X-Box is mostly a fluke to me -- a lot of money spent, very little profit made -- which means the item is NOT a success in terms of market viability. For me, the best products are those that make a profit, giving the manufacturer real reason to keep upgrading and supporting it.
If the Microsoft 'iPod' killer is another spend-a-ton-and-earn-none fluke, it won't last. Microsoft needs a happy customer, and a happy customer pays a happy profit. Without that incentive, Microsoft will be fighting battles on too many fronts, and we know what happens to the imperialists that have done that in the past.
For all intents and purposes, the PSP should have killed the DS from a technical viewpoint. Fortunately, ingenuity in the gaming industry can still make up for somewhat lesser tech. Nintendo has rules the handheld market since 1989, and I don't really see that changing anytime soon. Besides, Microsoft, at best, will come up with a Windows-running, $400 handheld with a 3-hour battery lift. I'll pass.
I should be a product consultant.
Make what the mac people are crying for.
The device must be the same, exact form factor as the current gen ipod.
Make it out of aluminum or titanium with a matte or beadblasted finish.
The screen should be the entire front of the device.
It's only user input; the touchscreen and perhaps a single scroll wheel. NO MORE. Think about inertial input in a second release. MAYBE.
Put a video and headphone jack on it.
Put 802.11 on it and stop being a bitch to the media industries.
Make it with open programmable interface and a real OS.
The only user interface and application options should be just what the ipod has - a video player, audio player, and basic little apps like the ipod has.
Let the market fill in the gaps.
Sell millions. When you do, buy me a ferrari, ok thanks?
..don't panic