Bill Gates says cell phone will beat iPod

[jared_kipe]

The thing is ... what on earth could you imagine could replace the ipod. Only a device that lets you listen to any music you could ever want to listen to on command (not like xm radio). Something like apple selling it's entire music store on one device. Or possibly gaining access (wireless!) to a music collection. But honestly when could that happen?

EDIT: Whoa, where am I posting?!?!

 

[FoxyKaye]

The thing is ... what on earth could you imagine could replace the ipod. Only a device that lets you listen to any music you could ever want to listen to on command (not like xm radio). Something like apple selling it's entire music store on one device. Or possibly gaining access (wireless!) to a music collection. But honestly when could that happen?

Don't forget sound quality and storage too - the technology just isn't there yet to bring all these factors together. The way Bill's talking, this could happen tomorrow, but it seems to me that folks are right that the iPod will eventually give way to something else in a matter of years. I mean, who ownes just a walkman these days (one that plays tapes and has a radio)? Walkmans were the boom of the 80s, were replaced by portable CD players in the 90s, and the iPod in this decade.

 

[Timo_Existencia]

I think convergence is over-rated. We were told that the PDA was dead, because nobody wanted to carry a PDA and a phone. So, the concept of PDA has been continually whittled away until now, we don't really have PDA's anymore; we have toys that people pretend are PDA's.

If my bitterness isn't apparent...I was a proud owner of an Apple Newton. It served a purpose with function and style that none of my 4 Palms have ever come close to matching. The problem is one of size. You need sufficient screen real estate to be able to write adequately. You'll never get good PDA functionality on a 3" x 4" screen. But, the computer world convinced consumers that smaller was better. We'll see the return of truly functional PDA's once we get over the idea that screen size doesn't matter. Can you imagine predicting that letter-sized paper is going to disappear because those small flip-cover paper notebooks are going to replace them?

Anyway, back to the iPod and Cell phones. I own a Treo. I can load songs on it. I've spent a few hours getting this to all work just right, loaded the songs, built some playlists, and I've now used it as an MP3 player exactly 0 times. Now, I hate how big my Treo is, but it does provide access to my email and occasional web surfing. For that, I'll keep it. But, I long for a tiny phone.

I carry my phone 95% of the time I'm out, and because of that, I want it to be as small as possible. Period. That's all I want.

I carry my iPod perhaps 50% of the time, and what I really want is long battery life, and the ability to carry ALL of my music. I'm willing to carry the bulk of the iPod when I want that functionality.

So, if someone can marry the two (phone that is as small as possible) and an MP3 player that carrys all of my music and gets great battery life, then great. But, we are at least 5 years from this. And by then, there will be even smaller phones.

If convergence means losing key features (such as size, storage capacity, battery life) then it will fail.

Oh...and bring back the Newton. I liked the size.

 

[herbalizer]

iPhone

I think it would be great if apple made a killer iPhone/ipod. The ipod is a status symbol for a lot of people. Cell phones are a status symbol for a lot of people. Combine them and they might just be the next big thing.

 

[MrDavid]

I think it would be great if apple made a killer iPhone/ipod. The ipod is a status symbol for a lot of people. Cell phones are a status symbol for a lot of people. Combine them and they might just be the next big thing.

Exactally, just create a little niche with it.

Phone
512 MB RAM (More would always be better 😀)
1 Megapixel camera (More would always be better 😀)
At least a full day worth of battery.

I'm happy 😎.

 

[Eniregnat]

I think convergence is over-rated. ...If convergence means losing key features (such as size, storage capacity, battery life) then it will fail.
Oh...and bring back the Newton. I liked the size.

There is something to be said about dedicated devices. I have never heard of a chef or mechanic using a multi-tool as their soul tool, the Bullet Blender has yet to convert the majority of America to one kitchen appliance, and the Encyclopedia Britannica hasn’t solved all my information needs. All-in-one’s are nice, but there is something to be said for a dedicated device. The core of the iPod line is it’s storage capacity to size ratio. It’s used primarily for music, but as technology evolves I bet that it will be used as the central store house most of our data. If not an iPod, then something else, but it’s primary purpose will be storage.

Yea, I loved (love) my Newton. I still have an eMate300 that I am fond of, though I don’t use it often.

 

[dejo]

Speaking of all-in-one devices, check out the new Samsung:

Samsung's new phone: Where's the kitchen sink?

The best part I thought was this:

...has enough extra memory to store an album's worth of digital music.

Wow! A whole album! How can this not take over the market? 😉

 

[SiliconAddict]

I think it would be great if apple made a killer iPhone/ipod. The ipod is a status symbol for a lot of people. Cell phones are a status symbol for a lot of people. Combine them and they might just be the next big thing.

Hopefully that will be what comes out in a few months from Moto. If nothing else I have faith that somewhere in the bowels of Apple there lurks an Apple branded mobile phone that does WIFI and VoIP.

 

[dejo]

There is something to be said about dedicated devices. I have never heard of a chef or mechanic using a multi-tool as their soul tool, the Bullet Blender has yet to convert the majority of America to one kitchen appliance

Remember the "spork"?

 

[FoxyKaye]

I think it would be great if apple made a killer iPhone/ipod. The ipod is a status symbol for a lot of people. Cell phones are a status symbol for a lot of people. Combine them and they might just be the next big thing.

I tend to agree with you here - especially if it only needed one headset/earbud, and if the quality of the sound and speakers in the earpieces are the same or better than the current iPods. Add a calendar and contacts database, synch it with your computer and voila. It would have to have a lot of storage though (20GB plus) and be as portable (small) as cell phones today.

Prepare for God's wrath.

Must... resist... temptation... to respond... with cutting... remark... about... Christianity.

 

[swissmann]

I think it is critical for Apple to turn their iPod into something much more. Palm is competing shortly with a 4 GB model, Sony PSP is there, lots of other music players are out there too. The iPod just doesn't have so much of an edge anymore - except for mindshare and advertising. That won't hold up forever. I wouldn't have gotten my iPod if I hadn't been able to get it for $70. I would however pay 300-500 for a 20 GB iPod/PDA/Phone. I don't care if it is bigger than just a phone. It is way smaller than carrying all 3 at once. I don't like Bill but I think that he is potentially right here. Please Apple don't repeat history on this one.

 

[david_r_p]

Man you nailed it!

What a pittiful, bitter man. Although I agree to a certain extent that the iPod boom cant go on forever, I also think Bill is so jealous of Apple's success he cant sleep at night. The man dominates the computer world and is still so insecure that a tiny lil' ol' company like Apple get his underwear in a knot. Good grief.

Here's a guy - Bill Gates - who has so much money he couldn't spend it in 100 lifetimes. Completely dominates an industry with a product that he blatantly copied and he has to put in his two, bitter cents regarding the iPod. Just the other day he was ripping Tiger too.

I honestly beleive he's a very petty, angry little dweeb, who despite having copius wealth and undeniable luck, still has to poke holes in the other guy's balloons. Regarding the "nothing lasts forever"... Let's hope not... Like a Windows monoploy!

 

[FoxyKaye]

Remember the "spork"?

What's to remember? I'm still getting handed those darn things. 🙄

Hopefully any unified phone/MP3 device would be a little more elegant, especially if it comes from Apple.

 

[aegisdesign]

I know this may sound like sacrilege but I'd like Apple to ditch the iPod's wheel.

Bear with me, I'm not mad. 🙂

I need PDA type functions in a device some of the time, and iPod like functions some of the time. For me, the Palm LifeDrive looks like the perfect device BUT it runs PalmOS. If Apple replaced the iPod screen and wheel with a LifeDrive sized screen and gave it a virtual wheel on screen, I think it'd be as good as today's iPod, but, you'd have a bigger screen for video and PDA functions. These days, that should also include GPS navigation which is where many PDAs get used now.

For a phone, I've three different phones depending on what I'm doing. If I'm away from home for a while I take a black & white Nokia 6310i with a big battery. It lasts me over a week. Most other occasions where a PDA is too geeky I take my SE T610 as it's small. My main phone is an SE P910i but it's not that good as a PDA being only marginally better than a Palm device but without the bulk of a Treo. The software on smartphones is terrible so if Apple could apply some interface magic it'd sell.

Personally, if I could get a phone as small as the T610, with the features and battery life of the Nokia 6310i, Apple user interface, and it linked up with a PDA/iPod/Lifedrive merged device via bluetooth and add in a WiFi/bluetooth bridge, I'd be happy with that. I can then leave the bulk behind if not needed or otherwise leave it in a bag and forget about it. The bridge would solve my VoIP/broadband needs too allowing me to use my mobile phone as a VoIP phone when in range of a network. Add on a ThinkOutside Bluetooth keyboard and it'd be more useful to me than an OQO.

Add in phone camera integration maybe but only if it's 3 megapixel+ and with a decent lens without affecting phone size. A USB link to the iPod would be nice too.

btw. OQO guys - I'd buy one in a flash if it ran OSX instead of Windows.

 

[paulypants]

I'm sorry but I'll never listen to my music on a phone, it's not a music player even if it can play music. I don't want a "digital swiss army knife". I don't even download those ultra cheesy ringtones, they're for high school kids...

 

[Borg9]

iPod will be assimilated. Resistance is futile.

 

[tizza]

As so many people are saying here, I think Bill is really starting to feel the heat from Apple. Is it possible (please let it be possible) that in my lifetime we will see Windows no longer be the dominant OS in the world?? Regardless of that I think Apple have got down pat continually rejuvinating their technology. They know the current iPod/iTMS formula can't dominate forever, but who is better placed to come up with the next big thing? Windoze? ... I don't think so 😉

 

[dejo]

Is it possible (please let it be possible) that in my lifetime we will see Windows no longer be the dominant OS in the world??

Depends how old you are.

All empires fall eventually. I think it's not only possible, it's probable (although perhaps we may not all live to see it happen).

 

[scotty321]

Does anyone find it interesting that Microsoft never even THOUGHT about entering the digital music market until Apple came out with iPod? The only thing Microsoft EVER does is "wait & copy Apple."

 

[Balin64]

The Bear Awakes...

This remark by Gates can be two-fold.

Microsoft is such a huge behemoth that of course it can no longer "innovate" (in their case morphing other's ideas and technologies into their own).

The fact that Apple has never gone away, and that sharp competetion exists between the companies at least in the media spotlight, vexes Gates. He has been receiving these little pokes for teh last couple years: as Apple has gone from "the quirky cult-going-out-of-business" company to the "Cool, hip, Innovative and Successful" Apple Computer. I think Gates frustration stems from the slow Longhorn development, Apple's continuing success, the opensource/Linux movement, the rise of Google... yes: his monopoly has forces competing against it.

Let's remember that Microsoft relies on the mentality of the business world: not the quickest of cats; as soon as medium companies begin adopting nin-Microsoft "solutions" the practice will spread... and Microsoft will begin to decline in importance.

Also: the fact that Gates and others at Microsoft are escalating their attacks on Apple ironically reflects their uneasiness. It is the equivalent of Kroger, the U.S.'s largest grocer, attacking Trader Joe's as saying that their business plan and brand can't last forever. Is Trader Joe's a danger to Kroger? Hell no! But as more little Trader Joe's start to open (they are appearing in the Midwest now) they might start worrying: like Apple, once you go to a Trader Joe's, you never go back to anything else.

Yet: look at the XBox. I think if Gates keeps going like this, he just might have to make the behemoth even bigger and create an XBug or something division: flood the market with the new WMA devices while taking a huge loss... it could happen: the XBox did not dethrone the PlayStation, but I think few poeple thought the XBox would do so well...

Anyway: Gates is starting to get pissed, and when the Bear gets angry... well. Let's see what happens.

 

[Lacero]

Or iPod will beat the cellphone.... 😀

 

[bluedevil97]

Mp3 Phone

While I think it's a long way off for full convergence, there are times that I admit that an mp3 playing phone would be great - like when you are going somewhere that you want to have an hour or two of music, but don't want to take your iPod with you - i.e. subway/metro on the way to meet friends out for the night. But once again, listening to the mp3 player for an hour straight would have to have minimal effect on the phone's battery life. This might only fill the same niche as the ipod shuffle.

 

[beatle888]

fine let cell phones merge with iPods..just as long as they use iTunes I'm OK with it....Bill is missing the other big point...

Its about the software too! iTunes is a great interface! waaay better than any of the others I've seen. Personally I use iTunes more at home than on the go in an iPod - its just easy, and the sound quality is pretty darn good too.

not fine. apple makes their profit from ipods not itunes. there goes the combo.

 

[beatle888]

So basically...

1. SOMEDAY all the common portable devices will be able to be combined without any sacrifices. This super-device will be just as easy to use, just as cheap, just as small/light, just as fast, hold just as much data, be just as durable/reliable, and last just as long on one charge as the best ONE-function devices do today today. So there will be no reason to use anything else.

2. Apple is ultimately doomed because they are not doing ALL of that at once TODAY.

3. And Apple will never do anything new in the future. The current iPod is the last new product Apple will ever be able to design.

4. Nobody else can do all that today either. But still, Apple is the one that is doomed.

Nice logic 🙂

whos saying that? the problem apple is facing comes from the wireless carriers playing nice with apple. they can simply say NO we wont support your device and cut us out of the revenue stream....that leaves apple in the cold with this download to cell phone market.

THATS the problem.

however someone mention why doesnt apple just go to VOIP. now THAT would blow some minds. can you just imagine the stir that would cause.

 

[feffer37]

Microsoft has already lost

I love how web forums give all of us experts who are smarter than those like Bill Gates to tell it how it really is 😀

And now, my 2 cents!

The two most important battles being fought right now are the Educational and the Personal Entertainment battles, and Apple is winning the second, and gaining ground in the first.

As iPod continues to become a catch phrase for our generations, like eBay among others, Apple will continue to solidify it's hold over the masses as the hip alternative to personal computing entertainment (note, not gaming, as Sony (Playstation) already won that battle, with MS & Nintendo distant followers). Apple iPods are just the entry way for users to see how much better the Apple Product line is, bringing many new switchers into the fold.

Now, as Apple keeps making headway into the educational market, by getting more school districts and universities to adopt OSX as the standard, Apple will become the computer of choice for the vast majority of those users. More of them (myslef included), will choose to keep buying Apple over the PC's they left behind, and even bring them into market. Hell, I only bought a Dell for a POS system I'm building for a Retail store as my last choice. I'd do anything to get that to port through a Mac. It's just a matter of time and continuing market penetration for the future computer users.

If I'm Bill Gates, I do everything I can to poo poo the current Reign of Cool Apple has going, and keep everyone's attention away from MS's many problems (security, Longhorn's overdue arrival, etc). Microsoft has already lost the battle of the superior consumer OS, so it has to promote new markets in order to keep it's empire growing.