Lance Ulanoff


Years ago, I predicted Microsoft would walk away from the Xbox platform (just as it had done with other doomed hardware ventures: sound cards, wireless networking hardware, etc.). I was wrong and, at this point, I hope the company never loses interest in the popular gaming console. Now J. Allard, the guy who brought you the Xbox, is reportedly preparing to help Microsoft launch a wireless iPod rival and connected music service sometime later this year. I'll call it, for want of a better term, the "MiPod".

Allards' involvement appears to give the whole project the imprimatur of success, even though there's nothing on the market and Microsoft isn't even commenting on the rumor. The reality is that Redmond will be on far shakier ground with this wireless iPod killer than previous ventures. It faces wicked competition and a youth market that believes Apple is cool and Microsoft is not. What's more, with Gates leaving and other key execs making quiet exits, there's a sense that the company is going through a fundamental shift. Is it the right time to try and roll out a market-changing product? So many questions. So few answers.

If Microsoft did start talking about its plans, I'd ask these questions (and I'll even make up my own Microsoft-esque answers):

We cannot stand that Apple owns this market. We thought we could get a piece with the Windows Media Player-based players, but even with all those WMP-based players, we still have maybe 25 percent of the market. For us, it's 90 percent or nothing.

How should companies like Samsung, Phillips, Creative, Toshiba and others perceive this move?
Perceive? Let's be clear: they don't have to perceive anything. What we do will help them…we promise. If our player somehow becomes more popular than all their players put together, well, that's not our fault—well, it's our aim, but not our fault.Continue reading...