Adam Krebs

Alber1690

JohnJohn

__________________
JohnJohn
PocketUp.com
- iPhone3G - Blackberry Curve

Felix Torres

I'd recommend some cajun spices if you follow through on that.

You do know there is precedent for this, right?
MS licensed Exchange push email connectivity to Nokia a while back and they are both quite happy about it. And they are licensing Silverlight to all comers. Just this week it came out they help fund Apache.
MS is not particularly religious about licensing their tech to competitors or supporting competing platforms when customers require it.
(Look at XBOX's support for iPods, DiVX, and h.264, for starters...)

So there is no reason for MS *not* to take advantage of Nokia's phone-pushing clout, nor is there any reason why Nokia wouldn't want to get a cheap counter to iTunes for their phones; their options are Rhapsody, Napster, and Zune.

Would it really surprise anybody if they sat down with all three to see who came in with the best deal? And if they did, that MS would win?

Adam Krebs

I'd have to disagree with that. In the world of consumer electronics, image is of the utmost importance. This just doesn't make sense from an image perspective, and it certainly doesn't make sense from a tech perspective--the Zune firmware is built upon Windows CE, and lives within the Microsoft ecosystem. You might recall that Exchange was licensed for Apple's iPhones. Want to take bets on when Zune capabilities are coming to the iPhone?

JohnJohn

***long quote trimmed by mod JD***

Just because Nokia has Exchange does not mean they're doing the Zune Phone. I could make the argument that Nokia is moving closer to Mobile Professional market by licensing Exchange. Zune Phone would be the opposite direction in my mind. Which might be a good business model, but unlikely.

If the Zune Phone happens I think it will be made by a hardware manufacture that already makes Windows mobile devices. The tuff part for Microsoft on this one will be making it easy...not trying to cram too much in it. "Make it simple stupid" However now that it's AFTER the iPhone it will get compared up and down. This may cause Microsoft to add useless, complicated features, only a few need. When I say complicated I don't mean us, forum people. Non-forum people are really pretty stupid when it comes to this stuff.

I think it will be a winner at a very, very low price point. Make it inexpensive. A 15 year old kid should easily be able to talk their father/mother into buying them one.

What are your thoughts on the demographics of a Zune Phone buyer? Answering that question may give us some insight who will make them.

__________________
JohnJohn
PocketUp.com
- iPhone3G - Blackberry Curve

Rocco Augusto

__________________

hamishmacdonald

Stinger

Nokia already have their own music store as part of Ovi and it serves way more countries than the Zune store.

If Microsoft want to write a Zune store app for Symbian then there's nothing to stop them (especially after Symbian goes open source). However, I can't see Nokia bundling it with their phones unless it's a North America-only deal.

Felix Torres

Well, its pretty obvious that the target audience is the same as for the Danger platform. High school/college kids primarily, no? Young adults to a lesser extent. Say 14-24?
They spent half a billion buying those guys up for a reason.
And that demographic is hardly a bastion of WM.

What is so odd about MS doing a two-fold (or three-fold) approach to expanding the reach of the Zune marketplace?

1- MS can't *force* WM phone manufacturers to bundle Zune Marketplace.
(Can you spell antitrust little boys and girls?) At most they can offer it as a download for *users* to add to the phones.

2- MS *could* be making a deal with a *carrier* or two and *they* could be the ones asking it go on a Nokia phone.

3- Or it could be they are dealing with Nokia itself. Its not as if Nokia's music store is doing any better than the various carrier-owned music stores. And, uh, yes, last time I looked Zune hadn't yet reach Europe so it is either NorthAm-only *or* it is part of the euro launch of Zune. Take your pick.

4- Zune is by definition a separate business within MS from WM, just as XBOX is; its even run by many of the same people. Their mission statement doesn't *require* them to play by the same rules as the WMP guys. So yes, it would be odd to see a Zune client of *a* Nokia phone before *a* WM client but hardly impossible. That might be the price of getting Nokia to play ball.

This particular rumor isn't about whether the dog can play chess--he obviously can--but rather, why isn't he chasing cars instead. There is no reason MS *can't* do this: the question we need to ask is, *why* would they?

And then factor in: why did they do Zune as separate from Playsforsure, in the first place? Why buy Danger?

The obvious answer is there are places WM can't, by its nature and roots, go. As great a platform as WM is, it can't go everywhere, do everything, without compromising its strengths. And its strengths are its apps. Its corporate-friendly features. That sold 18 million licenses. But not 20, right? Sounds like there's a wall somewhere...

So why put all your eggs in that one basket? Why not do WM for some markets (which may or not include a Zune client), Danger for others, and yes, if appropriate, deal with Nokia for still others.

Why not?
One size does not fit all, even in pantyhose...

Now, I'm going back to lurking.
I have people to annoy elsewhere...