Could it be? Yes... it must be the MicroSoft Fune!
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Posted on 09/04/2007 3:47:43 PM PDT by Swordmaker
An executive in Microsoft’s entertainment and games division Tuesday hinted that Microsoft may be developing its own rival to Apple’s iPhone, based on Windows Mobile OS.
Speaking at Citi’s annual Global Technology Conference in New York on Tuesday, Mindy Mount, corporate vice president and CFO for Microsoft’s Entertainment and Devices Division, said it’s not “unreasonable” to think that Microsoft will integrate photo, music and touchscreen features into a Windows Mobile product in the future, though she declined to comment on the specifics of when or what that might look like.
Microsoft’s idea with Windows Mobile has been to move every-day business capabilities, such as accessing e-mail, from the PC to the mobile device. However, most people “tend to have one phone for personal as well as work [use],” Mount said. “Being able to do pictures and music is something that consumers are going to want, so it’s a natural thing for us to want in our product roadmap.”
Microsoft is rumored to be evolving its Zune multimedia player — its rival to the iPod — with new features out by the holiday time at the end of the year, though Mount declined to confirm this on Tuesday. But a hybrid product melding Zune, which so far has had lackluster response from consumers, with Windows Mobile features is not completely unrealistic for the future.
Microsoft has already worked with hardware partners to develop Windows Mobile handsets with touchscreen capabilities that are similar to the iPhone’s. For example, the HTC Touch from High Tech Computer is one of the latest Windows Mobile devices to offer users the ability to use a touchscreen to scroll through e-mail and contacts and browse Web pages.
But the HTC Touch smartphone, which is available in the U.K., Europe and Asia and should makes its North American debut later this year, doesn’t have the type of multimedia capabilities that give the iPhone an edge over rival smartphones, at least in the short term. Market research firm iSuppli said Tuesday that in July, its first full month of release, the iPhone outsold popular competitors such as the Research in Motion Blackberry and Palm Treo devices.
Regarding RIM, comments Mount made Tuesday also seemed to shoot down speculation last week that Microsoft is in talks to purchase the Canadian maker of mobile hardware and software. “We don’t comment on rumors, but what I would ask people is, what that really gets you,” she said.
Much of RIM’s success has been with the device portion of its BlackBerry business, whereas Microsoft has been very successful with using third parties to build its Windows Mobile devices, Mount said. The company sold 11 million Windows Mobile licenses last year, and expects to do 20 million in the current fiscal year. “We’re pretty happy with that roadmap right now,” she said.
That roadmap so far does not include Microsoft offering hardware for its Windows Mobile OS, which also means if the company did release an iPhone rival based on Windows Mobile, it’s unclear whether it would be through a third party or from the company itself. Still, if the Xbox 360, Zune and Milan table-top computer with touchscreen features the company previewed earlier this year are any indication, Microsoft seems to be warming up to the idea of offering consumer hardware devices alongside its traditional software, so an iPhone rival from the vendor is within the realm of possibility.
Could it be? Yes... it must be the MicroSoft Fune!
If you want on or off the Mac Ping List, Freepmail me.
LOL !
So - what is the deal - it seems that MS is always trailing others in technological ideas - from the first consumer GUI, to office software, to the media player (iPod vs. Zune), and now to the mobile phone.
It truly makes one wonder how they got to be so big and powerful... I guess on everyone else's coat tails? Let everyone else take the risk, then steal/copy their ideas and use your huge economic power to force the others out of the way?
Maybe they can call it the “iSuck.”
Sorry, Sword, I just had to re-post this for those that missed it.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nRKIDdIaFyE
Truly no mystery. I've been doing some consulting for a *very* large company, whose methods are very archaic. "King of the Command Line" is the dubious honor I grant to those who run the day-to-day business. Make no mistake. They are exceptional with the command line interface to any application. I would have though that in the 21st century, we might have evolved beyond that.
Many, many companies are simply not willing to go beyond their 8 bit universe. Pay M$ more fees = Linus' security blanket. = (in their mind) smart business.
That’s classic!
...or the Zone...
I recall reading a couple of things in this connection... one, from one of those thick third-party tech manuals about DOS, that it continued to support the old CP/M interrupts and such into at least 5.0 v; and two, that Gary was out wind-surfing on Lake Tahoe or something when the IBM suits got there.
“It truly makes one wonder how they got to be so big and powerful”
Here is how: their MS-DOS had more market share than CPM. MSFT used this to go to the PC vendors and told them if you ever want to sell ANY MSFT product on your PCs you have to put MS-DOS on ALL.
The PC makers could not risk having NO access to MS software and caved.
It's only funny because it is so true.
Thanks for the morning laugh!
I’m sure it will be as big a success as Zune. Or Vista. Or maybe even Bob.
And in case anyone on earth hasn’t seen it, Microsoft packages the iPod.
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