"The first handheld gadgets to play music and movies on Microsoft’s "iPod killer" software will be available in Europe in the second half of 2004, the company said Thursday. The gadgets will run on Microsoft's yet-to-be-unveiled Portable Media Center software in a direct assault on iPod, Apple’s hot-selling digital music player. Working with a host of manufacturing partners, Microsoft is introducing a device that plays movies and stores digital photos as well as songs in a bid to grab a share of the fast-growing digital media player market."
I wonder why Microsoft has chosen to release the device in Europe first? Sweden, the UK, and Denmark will get the first crack at the device, which is expect to sell for the equivalent of $700 to $800 USD and have a 20 or 40 GB hard drive for the media content. Similar to some of Microsoft's other efforts, this is a long-term play. An analyst from Jupiter Research says that these devices will not have widespread appeal yet, and I tend to agree with him. Digital photography is quickly becoming mainstream, but transferring and editing digital video is still a confusing and chaotic world to the average consumer. I'd expect it to be 2006 before devices like this start to become popular, and that's only if there are services and tools in place to allow the creation and transfer of content to be fast and easy for consumers.
First Microsoft Portable Media Center-Based Hardware Coming Soon to Europe in Second Half of 2004
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