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Microsoft confirms the 'iPod killer' rumors are false


Yesterday, Engadget posted some less-than-clear images with rumors of an iPod killer coming soon from the Microsoft camp. Today, PC Magazine has confirmation from a Microsoft rep that these rumors were nothing more than hot air. In fact, they were simply the result of a mis-translated Japanese press release about Microsoft's new Windows Media Player 11 software; they had nothing to do with hardware.

So for those of you who might have developed a chronic nail-biting habit, worried that Microsoft's new '#1 with a bullet', MTV-infused music service and killer new hardware were going to usurp Apple's iPod and iTunes overnight (ironically, the only time MTV has anything to do with music these days), I think it's safe to say you can give your nerves a rest.

[UPDATE: Microsoft was setting other rumors about an iPod killer straight; their announcement wasn't tied to these images that Engadget posted yesterday. Those could be shots of a Gigabeat-S portable media player from Toshiba, for all anyone knows.]

Yesterday, Engadget posted some less-than-clear images with rumors of an iPod killer coming soon from the Microsoft camp. Today, PC...
 

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derek

ok everyone...
let's listen to MICROSOFT!!! THEY NEVER LIE!!!! ...

June 07 2006 at 6:06 PM Report abuse rate up rate down Reply
David

Lost in translation :)

June 06 2006 at 12:23 PM Report abuse rate up rate down Reply
greatslack

maybe it's just me, but the little nub on the upper right corner of the player makes it look like a phone rather than a PMP. If so, I think that could be an ipod killer. The first to come out with a phone with decent song carrying capacity (NOT 100 songs) in a reasonable form factor will make a ton of money. Whether that's Microsoft, Apple, or someone else we'll have to wait and see.

June 05 2006 at 11:12 PM Report abuse rate up rate down Reply
Kevin

exclusively, i mean

June 05 2006 at 5:19 PM Report abuse rate up rate down Reply
Kevin

i mean a co-project with sony developing the hardware and microsoft developing the software..

a nice sony player that works with urge, for example..

June 05 2006 at 5:18 PM Report abuse rate up rate down Reply
Craig

4) Yeah Sony make fantastic products, but its gonna take a while before they are the 'ipod killer'. Loads of people own iPods, and have their music in iTunes and have bought DRMed music from the store. Sony and MS will have to come up with a way of making these songs playable, come up with better features, make it cheaper and 'cooler'.

June 05 2006 at 5:11 PM Report abuse rate up rate down Reply
Kevin

the true ipod killer will come from sony + microsoft

June 05 2006 at 5:06 PM Report abuse rate up rate down Reply
meatmcguffin

@tommy

and just what exactly happens when you stop paying....

The hundreds of hours you spent creating the perfect library have been wasted, you end up listening to the albums that you had before you started the renting process that you've grown out of and realise the accumulated monthly fee could have been used for so much music. You end up with nowt and out of pocket.

Don't fool yourself into thinking this is a better deal than the traditional buy-and-keep method and anything other than playsforsure vendor lock-in. There's no way in hell the riaa, microsoft et all would ever allow the consumer to get away with a good deal.

June 05 2006 at 4:39 PM Report abuse rate up rate down Reply
Patrick Kane

Did you really, really, really have to use a Fall Out Boy quote? Yeesh. (I acknowledge the fact that this is not an uncommon phrase, but really!)

June 05 2006 at 4:26 PM Report abuse rate up rate down Reply
Tommy

mmm, but I think URGE is going to be a very good competitior for iTunes, because it has a feature that I think is very cool; The kind of 'flat-fee' for music, you can download as much music as you want for a small amount of money each month. I think this is very cool.

June 05 2006 at 4:08 PM Report abuse rate up rate down Reply
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