Microsoft iPod for $50 !

i hope they fail!!!

virividox said:

i hope they fail!!!

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Why?

It'll be interesting to see what they can come up with for $50.

CmdrLaForge said:

Because they have $40Billion in their

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I thought they had 52 billion lol

I think we have to remember that the iPod is already an icon in today's society. People who can afford the iPod will probably buy one, and those who cannot or who want a player that they are not afraid to throw (and break) around will buy the Microsoft.

I myself look forward to what Microsoft is going to bring out. They aren't going to mess up this time--I don't think they can afford to bring out a bad product again.

Also, does anyone know how much Apple pays for one iPod 15 GB? Because I would be interested to know--it could be that Microsoft isn't getting that large a profit from these players, say 100%, whereas Apple gets 300%. Just a thought.

ahh sry didnt mean to post this time just ignore this (i pressed "quote" instead of "edit" on my last post)

You could have just hit the back button. As I could have before posting this superflous rubbish.

i predict an utter failure for one reason: look at their quote - going for the "look and feel of iPod."

iPod works because it's a good complete package. unless M$ can copy the iPod and sell for $50, they will fail because you never beat a complete package by aiming to beat it. you don't beat iPods by trying to make iPod better - you beat iPod by designing another complete product that's better than iPod.

at this point, it's vaporware anyway. for all we know, they could release a very mediocre product for $150. they claim as low as $50...

they do this all the time - just announcing something spectacular before and the actual product not living up to it. heck, they announced longhorn years ahead of its release and they already gave up on including some of the features.

stark contrast to the way apple introduced iPod... nothing but secrecy and the claim that the "device will change the world"...

Microsoft: Dont tell anyone, were just using an old school tape deck, none of our customers will know

It's very much like Microsoft to aim at something that they can shoot down instead of making something completely innovative that they could beat the iPod with. Instead of, "It's power and beauty will move you," it's, "It will look and feel like the iPod."

Anna said:

Microsoft: Dont tell anyone, were just using an old school tape deck, none of our customers will know

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You just hit the reason that this device might not fail--the customers don't know the difference between good stuff and junk. They just see a $50 price tag and want to buy it. It's all about marketing.

The thing I find really scary is that Microsoft is using the C word again--choice. Every time they say they're giving customers a choice, it means they're forcing their own propriatary (and usually inferior) standards on the customers. Whenever they complain about another product taking away choice, they just mean that the other product competes with theirs. In this case, they say they'll give more "choices" than Apple. I'll bet $100 that just means it supports WMA.

They can afford to sell their products at a loss just to get them into people's houses. They view multi-billion dollar lawsuits as "the cost of doing business" just to get you to use their standards. You have to wonder what their ultimate goal is. Control of everybody on the planet?

I don't know. I know four friends around me that have switched in the last year. These four people were do disgusted with Microsoft and everything else associated with buying a PC (listening to idiot stock boys at office supply stores, for one thing) that I'm 100% positive they'll never buy another MS product again.

I also know maybe 10 people who, while "poor" college students, starving artists, musicans etc., still found a way to get a $300+ iPod.

I only speak of friends around me. I'm not saying "NO ONE WILL BUY M$ CRAP!!" - most likely they'll be sold at Walmart and Office Max and they'd sell millions of units. I'm just saying a lot of my friends are tired of MS products and would probably never buy a $50 music player.

You hope they fail, yet you have so supporting comment. So typical of fan...

Anyway, if the MS iPod killer succeeds, say hello to cheaper iPods. Bring on the $50 playa!!! When MS set their mind on a goal, they'll most likely will achieve it, no matter how much money they'll lose, eg, XBox.

FuzzyBallz said:

When MS set their mind on a goal, they'll most likely will achieve it, no matter how much money they'll lose, eg, XBox.

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and what goal have they achieved with XBox? they are a corporation - they want to turn profit. therefore, they've achieved absolutely nothing with XBox yet.

jxyama said:

and what goal have they achieved with XBox? they are a corporation - they want to turn profit. therefore, they've achieved absolutely nothing with XBox yet.

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They've sold the XBox at a loss, only to make it all back and then some with lucrative game licensing. That's how the console industry works.

If this MS iPod killer ever gets off the ground it will sell at a profit loss, but could advance WMA as the de facto audio standard. Apple's iPod may be hot right now but they will have a hard time competing with a $50 alternative available at Walmart.

Village said:

They've sold the XBox at a loss, only to make it all back and then some with lucrative game licensing. That's how the console industry works.

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no they haven't. they aren't anywhere near the point where they are making money overall, even counting game sales. i'll try and look for a source. it's also a common myth that consoles always take a loss but make up on games. that was the case with dreamcast. but not so with playstation or playstation 2. including R&D costs, PS and PS2 sold at a "loss," but the unit itself wasn't made of parts that cost more than the price charged. XBox, such is not the case. XBox as a whole charges less than the costs of parts in it.

If Microsoft could really copy the look and feel of an Apple product I wouldn't have needed to switch. Although this ought to be good for a few laughs when it comes out.

sethwerkheiser said:

I don't know. I know four friends around me that have switched in the last year. These four people were do disgusted with Microsoft and everything else associated with buying a PC (listening to idiot stock boys at office supply stores, for one thing) that I'm 100% positive they'll never buy another MS product again.

I also know maybe 10 people who, while "poor" college students, starving artists, musicans etc., still found a way to get a $300+ iPod.

I only speak of friends around me. I'm not saying "NO ONE WILL BUY M$ CRAP!!" - most likely they'll be sold at Walmart and Office Max and they'd sell millions of units. I'm just saying a lot of my friends are tired of MS products and would probably never buy a $50 music player.

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You hit it on the head I am the poorest cheapest bugger of them all and i have a 20 gig ipod hahaha stupid freinds with there walkmans

The Microsoft-branded devices will "look and feel" as good as the iPod for as little as $50, said Yusuf Mehdi, corporate vice president of MSN at Microsoft Corp.

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That look and feel is very relative. I bet Microsoft says thet windows xp looks and feels great too..

Horrortaxi said:

The thing I find really scary is that Microsoft is using the C word again--choice. Every time they say they're giving customers a choice, it means they're forcing their own propriatary (and usually inferior) standards on the customers. Whenever they complain about another product taking away choice, they just mean that the other product competes with theirs. In this case, they say they'll give more "choices" than Apple. I'll bet $100 that just means it supports WMA.

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Exactly. The only real choice happening is between formats. If you buy into the iTunes-iPod combination, you've bought an end-to-end integrated solution based on AAC. If you buy anything else, you have your "choice" of a bunch of mediocre-to-halfway decent music players and a bunch of mediocre-to-barely decent music stores, but in the end you're still stuck with Microsoft's WMA. So where's the choice, really? I always think of it as being offered a choice between 100 varieties of ketchup, or one sauce handmade by a real chef.

I for one think that if it was really that cheap to make players with features and functionality equivalent to the iPod, another company would have done it by now. A $50 player is too cheap to have much flash memory, or be hard-drive based, so what do they think they're competing with? Other flash players, maybe, but certainly not the iPod.

Really, Microsoft just comes out with crap like this as if they think "If we say it, it will be true." Waiter, I'll have what they're smoking, please.

The article is pretty vague, but I don't see any reference to capacity at all. I doubt they're planning to lose $200 per unit - I bet it's just another 64/128/256 MB "flash" player with an improved (by MS definition anyway) interface.

I know MS has sold things at a loss before, and does so now - but even the current DoJ would have a hard time overlooking MS selling a truly iPod-equivalent device for $50, given its court convictions/settlements.

(Note to truly rabid political types: PLEASE try to show some restraint when responding to this - keep the thread at least somewhat on topic!)

heres what apple should do

they should trademark the look and feel of the iPod and re-release the 1st generation iPods for cheap. next they should sue microsoft for trying to create a monopoly in the digital music player industry. or M$ could be really stupid and say it looks like a iPod it feels like a iPod it plays music like an iPod but, only 20MB worth. Also apple should somehow find a way to copyright the idea for a online music store built into the mp3 software. (again keeping microsoft from breaking into the scene) and last but not least apple should upgrade the music store so that you can also download and keep music videos and damnit give iTunes video playback not in store! and than when the G5 version 2 comes out (mid-late june) Apple is rolling in the money and microsoft is pissed because apple once again beat out the competition with sheer ingenuity as it always had. some people want video playback for the iPod but, I say who needs it? it's just going to be a distraction for people who are trying to get work done where as music isn't a distraction for some people as it helps them focus.



one of the longest posts EVER!....(these claims have not been evaulated by anyone on macrumors nor is it in anyway related to the post)

I'd imagine the player might be cheap, but they will lock you into some kind of monthly music service. Making the real money there....

But looking at history... It won't take long before someone hacks the low cost music player making it no longer tied to there music service. Then making it just a money looser...

Should be interesting... I hope it doesn't hurt Apple, but on the other hand I wouldn't mind seeing them get a little competition. Competition may result in a push for new functionality and/or lower cost of hardware.

forget the speculation on whether it will work or not. what about the fact that it's another case of Microsoft blatantly copying what Apple does? that's what bothers me every time this happens. they're always playing catch-up with Apple. real inovation is usually coming from Apple. Microsoft and Sony both deserve metaphoric slaps in the face in my opinion for lack of originality and unabashed intellectual theft.

have you ever been with a group of people, and you make a good joke, and then someone else in the group takes that joke and runs with it, applies it to all kinds of things, changes it and wears it out? so that in the end everyone is sick of hearing the joke? it's embarassing. i guess so is market competition.