A $50 Microsoft iPod Killer? Feh!!
Microsoft is apparently preparing to battle the iPod. Not satisfied with decimating the Macintosh with undercut pricing (and, admittedly, a more sound distribution model) Microsoft wants the iPod to have a more Apple-like 5 percent market-share.
But will it work? Yes, and no.
Yes, because there is a significant percentage of people out there who simply don’t appreciate the stunning combination of design, technology, and usability that is Apple. These people appreciate a cheap price, languish in the familiarity of all things Microsoft, and don’t appreciate good design.
No, because this percentage of people is not 5 percent! The only reason Apple currently has such a low percentage of market share is because of the corporate market. Fueled by cost savings (helped along by Microsofts more sound distribution model as above) corporations flocked to Windows. Yes, they have suffered with buggy systems, viruses, and more but that is beside the point. To the bulk of working America a PC is, well a PC. This has led to parents demanding more and more that their children have a “real-world” experience with computers in schools which leads to less and less Macs in the school. It is a downward spiral that leads to 5 percent and until the Mac conquers the corporate domain I’m afraid its going to stay that way.
Where does that leave the iPod? Glad you asked! Because most consumers won’t have PC’s forced upon them by their bosses they will have a choice. And because Apple (wisely) released the iPod for both Mac and Windows everyone can use an iPod.
Yes, there will still be those who chose mediocrity over Apple. But something tells me that more than 5 percent of the population get it. And no matter what monopolistic cannons Microsoft aims at Apple this is a battle it can’t win.
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Comments
This is bad for the industry. At $50 there is no way MS can deliver a player that isn’t below cost. The nascent digital player industry doesn’t need an 800lb Gorilla killing the profits yet. This all points to the predatory nature of MS. They have no foresight at all. They simply look for what’s hot and then put the leader of out commission. Once this happens and MS owns the market catagory the innovation dies because MS never really understood the market anyways. Thus you and I are left with no competition and MS crap. THIS is why were supposed to have a DOJ that actually looks to prevent these acts. It’s not because we hate MS but it’s because we realize a competitive marketplace is good for all.
I think we might be jumping to conclusions here. I haven’t seen any kind of true business model for Microsofts plan to “lease” music to its customers, or I should say potential customers. There is quite a bit of controvercy around ownership rights of music on iTunes and other formats, and the fact that there is a concern of actual use of the product after downloading. The concern also relates to the potential “stripped” use of such downloads in the future.
With such concerns brewing over ownership, how is a lease of music going to fair better. Easy answer; it will not get off the ground because of the the imediate uncertanty of how long the access to music will be.
One more point is the fact we all know Microsoft has a history of price increases after even modest sucess in the marketplace. You can look at price structures for many of their software titles to see the trends.
Basically, I won’t be concerned in the slightest unless Microsoft shows a long term business plan to present music, in high accessability, in the market place; be it for $50 or $5000, it just doesn’t matter.
I say bring it on! It will only cement the fact that Microsoft makes things hard to use and buggy. Then people will really look to the iPod and wonder why it’s so much better. The intuitive interface, good software, they’ll run to it in droves!
wile im not a big Apple computer fan I do love my ipod and I know many other people who think the same way i do. I will probably always by the computer with a microsoft OS but I think (for at least now) I am going to stick to the Ipod no matter who puts out what at any price.
Windows and Office are albatrosses. If you’ve used an XBox, you’ll see its UI is much nicer - if you used Windows Media Center, you’ll also see a very nice UI. To a smaller extent, Windows Pocket PC is more user-friendly than Palm OS… which is amazing because Pocket PC still abides by many Windows conventions.
Microsoft where they can, has shown that they can think outside of Windows and its terrible experience. An iPod killer? not difficult to believe because they, just like Apple did, could utilize a third party developer to bring it to market.
Don’t forget that even iTunes was made possible by SoundJam. Digital music has been a market Apple was smart enough to popularize, not smart enough to create or even innovate.