FreeLists / blindipod / [blindipod] Microsoft's music device

["Brian Hartgen" <brian.hartgen@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx>]

Forwarded from Jeff bishop's Blog:

There's been lots of buzz about the rumored plans for a Microsoft competitor
to the iPod, with news reports coming out yesterday saying it will be out in
time for the holidays this year. The basic story is that Microsoft has
gotten sick of waiting for any of its partners to beat the iPod and has
decided
to just build its own device, taking a page from their success with the
Xbox. Nothing too surprising there. However, Engadget has uncovered one
juicy tidbit
that, if it turns out to be true, is quite interesting. In order to break
the stranglehold Apple has on the downloadable music store market thanks to
its own copy protection system,
Microsoft's will apparently scan your iTunes and
allow you to download any tracks you bought from iTunes for free on its own
platform.
The company, obviously, would then pay the rightsholders for the songs, but
according to the article, Microsoft sees this as a worthwhile marketing
expense
to move people off of iTunes. If it's true, it's definitely a smart move, as
there's little likelihood of any other method getting people out of iTunes
lock-in. Though, it's not clear if the new songs will be just as locked-in
to Microsoft's format, though that seems likely. Of course, we've wondered
in
the past why other companies (like ISPs) haven't done the same, agreeing to
eat the costs on downloads, allowing them to
be a loss leader
that brings in plenty of new customers.


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