Microsoft: We'll eventually 'be the leader' in digital media players

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  • Reply 61 of 107
    Quote:
    Originally Posted by SDW2001


    The Sony PS2 has sold 112 million units compared to the Xbox's 24-25 million units, according to wikipedia.



    If you'd look a little closer you'd see that the PS2 has shipped 112 million units, which is far different from sold.



    On topic, I don't think Microsoft will catch up to Apple any time soon.
  • Reply 62 of 107
    asciiascii Posts: 5,936member
    There's nothing inevitable about MS beating Apple. It depends on cause and effect, on the future actions of both companies. He doesn't know what future actions Steve will take.
  • Reply 63 of 107
    Quote:

    meh 2I=sincerely hope that Apple continues on with their spectacular climb but I also hope that mom & pop America do what they did so many times before and choose an inferior product because I have a small vested interest, like SpamSandwich, in seeing the M$ stock do well.



    Just to be clear, I own much more AAPL than MSFT...and good thing that. AAPL is the one thing that has saved my portfolio.



    I'm very curious what other holdings our MelGross rounds out his portfolio with, since he's a very canny investor.
  • Reply 64 of 107
  • Reply 65 of 107
    jeffdmjeffdm Posts: 12,951member
    Quote:
    Originally Posted by Mackilroy


    If you'd look a little closer you'd see that the PS2 has shipped 112 million units, which is far different from sold.



    I don't think that's a valid point in this discussion. The difference between the two numbers is probably less than a percent. I don't believe that the numbers shipped and the numbers sold are significantly different, unless you want to suggest that there may be tens of millions of them scattered around all the stores as excess inventory. That's far too expensive to be allowed to happen.
  • Reply 66 of 107
    tundraboytundraboy Posts: 1,884member
    Hey JeffDM, maybe Mackilroy works for GM, Ford or Chrysler.
  • Reply 67 of 107
    solipsismsolipsism Posts: 25,726member
    Quote:
    Originally Posted by JeffDM


    I don't think that's a valid point in this discussion. The difference between the two numbers is probably less than a percent. I don't believe that the numbers shipped and the numbers sold are significantly different, unless you want to suggest that there may be tens of millions of them scattered around all the stores as excess inventory. That's far too expensive to be allowed to happen.



    I wouldn't call it a common tactic for many companies, but large companies have used this method as a marketing strategy to convince potential customers that their product is doing better than it really is. A poster --I believe on this site-- who is a Sears employee made a comment about how they keep getting shipments of Zunes in despite not being able to move the product.



    IMO, the Zune is an ideal product to use with this marketing strategy. The majority of people use Windows (and know very little about Macs) and may make their decision on the popularity of the player.
  • Reply 68 of 107
    alanskyalansky Posts: 235member
    "I actually think M$ might be in trouble in the long term. Apple's marketshare is growing..."



    The genie is out of the bottle. Apple's market share will continue to grow and Vista has the potential to be such a humongous disaster that the Zune fiasco will look like a tea party.
  • Reply 69 of 107
    solipsismsolipsism Posts: 25,726member
    Quote:
    Originally Posted by alansky


    "I actually think M$ might be in trouble in the long term. Apple's marketshare is growing..."



    The genie is out of the bottle. Apple's market share will continue to grow and Vista has the potential to be such a humongous disaster that the Zune fiasco will look like a tea party.





    I've been using WIndows Vista since RC1 and I have to say that the current version is quite stable. I haven't tried to install many 3rd-party on it but I found that there were some things that were quite nice* about it.



    Disclaimer: Nice as in a nice improvement over WinXP.
  • Reply 70 of 107
    Quote:
    Originally Posted by solipsism


    I've been using WIndows Vista since RC1 and I have to say that the current version is quite stable. I haven't tried to install many 3rd-party on it but I found that there were some things that were quite nice* about it.



    Disclaimer: Nice as in a nice improvement over WinXP.



    Yes. I have the EXACT same sentiment.



    Unfortunately for Apple, Vista is just enough better than XP to keep people sucking off of MS's teet.



    -Clive
  • Reply 71 of 107
    solipsismsolipsism Posts: 25,726member
    Quote:
    Originally Posted by Clive At Five


    Yes. I have the EXACT same sentiment.



    Unfortunately for Apple, Vista is just enough better than XP to keep people sucking off of MS's teet.



    -Clive



    I'm glad someone agrees, I thought I was going to be hung to dry with my pro-Vista statements. :-)
  • Reply 72 of 107
    Quote:
    Originally Posted by solipsism


    I'm glad someone agrees, I thought I was going to be hung to dry with my pro-Vista statements. :-)



    i've been using vista for a while, and yes i will admit it's more stable than XP in the PCs i've used it in... however, it wont get me anywhere close to switching from mac to PC...



    i just bought an iPod video today to replace my (now dead sigh) 20gb 4G iPod, and had the choice of getting a zune... it was kind of funny actually to see the big huge stack of zunes just sitting there in their boxes and seeing that the ipod stack was nearly empty from all the iPods selling
  • Reply 73 of 107
    kreshkresh Posts: 379member
    I think it's a little disingenious to compare one model of Zune with the entire iPod product line.



    I am by no means a fan of the Zune, there are 7 iPods in my family and hope that the Zune fails miserably. The Zune represents a threat to cause Apple to push the iPod towards mediocrity to compete on worthless features.



    The problem is this: The iPod 30GB is not even close to being the best selling iPod. By comparing the Zune to All iPods, it makes it look like iPod outsells the Zune by 25:1. I think this is way off base. In actuality the iPod 30GB may only be outselling the Zune by 5:1 or 6:1.



    There are alot of Apple haters out there and if Microsoft introduces 3 or 4 Zune (Nano type) flash players and a Zune (Shuffle type) player, then the battle may heat up overnight quite considerably!



    I know Apple does not breakout individual product sales info, but does anyone have a real grasp on how many iPod 30GB sells per quarter?
  • Reply 74 of 107
    Quote:
    Originally Posted by kim kap sol


    "We think that's actually pretty awesome" - the words of a vice president...can you imagine? I wouldn't put much faith into a company that has vice presidents that can't express themselves with a richer vocabulary.



    The day MS is the leader in digital media players is the day Apple is leader in personal computing.



    Talk about lowered expectations. Good lord.
  • Reply 75 of 107
    Quote:
    Originally Posted by drblank


    I wonder when they are going to oust Steve Ballmer. Gates is already on his way out. I guess Ballmer will drag the stock to the point of no return. It still hasn't gone past 30 and their announcements for Vista and Zune haven't really done anything for the stock.



    I smell selloff.



    Ballmer makes Gil Amelio's time at Apple look exciting.
  • Reply 76 of 107
    Quote:
    Originally Posted by Splinemodel


    Um, how about a CEO who says "Insanely Great?"



    My 7-year old uses the phrase "pretty awesome." Lots of his pals use the same phrase. I have never heard him (or, now that I think of it, anyone other than Steve Jobs) say "insanely great."



    I think "insanely great" is a pretty awesome comment.



  • Reply 77 of 107
    Quote:
    Originally Posted by Caribou Killa


    without a doubt most teens, especially those who hate apple whihc is a good number





    Exactly where are you getting your info that a good number of teens hate Apple? Judging by the percentage of teens who own (and love) iPods, I'd think it'd be just the opposite.



    So where are these hordes of Apple-hating teens?





    --N
  • Reply 78 of 107
    According to a slightly older story regarding Black Friday week at http://news.zdnet.com/2100-9595_22-6140649.html "SanDisk tied Apple Computer, with 39 percent of all MP3 players sold for the week, but the similarities end there. iPods led all manufacturers with 66 percent of dollars spent in the category, while SanDisk had 18 percent...



    Those figures do not include iPods sold directly from Apple, which does not release sales figures from Apple.com or Apple stores...



    Microsoft's much-ballyhooed MP3 player, the Zune, captured 2.1 percent of units sold, tying with Disney and coming in behind Apple, SanDisk, Creative and Memorex.
  • Reply 79 of 107
    Quote:
    Originally Posted by DeaPeaJay


    The other thing worthy of noting is that if Apple does release this futuristic widescreen, touch-screen iPod in January (don't know if they will or not), that will put them leaps and bounds ahead of all their competition. If it's taking Apple this long to develop it, I don't see other companies catching up very quickly.



    The current 5G has barely been updated at all. Microsoft is competing with a very old player right now.



    It's always good to drag out this mockup off the web. It will P*WN every "mid-high end portable media player out there" !!!!! ...Palm-sized. Touchscreen without smudging up the scratch- and smudge-resistant screen. On screen controls fade out gracefully after you adjust it. Of course, a Hold switch somewhere to enjoy Pirates without accidental interruption... iCal, Contacts, all looking great --- like the original Palm and HandSprings, I put one of those scratch-resistant films on, zero air bubbles, 100% protection. I'd pop the Palm out with one hand, and no need to use the stylus, just press the buttons and press on screen with my nails. Very useful when you are at a public phone (payphone) with the handset against your shoulder, or with the other hand fumbling with a mobile phone. Or if you're out and about and you just gotta check for sure your appointment time/ address. I'd expect this iPod widescreen to offer that kind of usability, in addition to its primary function as a media player, alongside announcement of content from Universal, WB, Dreamworks, Sony/Columbia/Tristar... Materials tech is advanced enough now that you can have a clear, sharp, bright, touchable, scratch and finger-oil -proof screen.







    My gut instinct is that most of the work has gone into usability -- how it holds in the hand, how it feels, how inputting text(?) may happen - stylus? tapping?? And most most importantly, materials -- no more smudge, scratch, OMFG screen cracked!!111!!, complaints and class actions suits. They want to get it right, right off the bat, and dropship a bigger, better, clearer, etc. model mid-2007. We'll see it Macworld2007 January or so. A separate press event possibly, alongside the iPhone. Or iPhone and TouchPod at Macworld2007.



    OK. TouchPod sounds terrible. Brainstorming... [insert spinning beachball]

    Oh great Oracle of marketing Naming, please bestow upon us Steve's Grace and Brilliance

    Let the RDF Shine like a thousand Suns in the everblue sky...




    iPod touch

    iPod notouch

    TouchMe iPod

    TickleMe iPod

    SquirtablePod

    SquirtPod

    vPod

    iPod video GT800X

    iPod video touch

    iPod wide

    iPod v

    iPod maxi (hmm.. sounds like a tampon)

    iPod widescreen

    iPod max (hmm... sounds like a soft drink)

    iPod max . "Max screen, Zero buttons"

    iPod cinema

    iPod cinemascope

    iPod movie

    ..............................
  • Reply 80 of 107
    Steve Jobs: "In designing the iPod movie, we kinda went overboard on it. We put it in a 3 year old's hands for like, 3 weeks. That's right, with the slime, drool, food bits, and other infant goo. Our inside team at Redmond even got some samples of Steve Ballmer's squirts and dipped the iPod movie in it. [Pulls out slime-infested iPod movie]... Guess what, it all *comes off* - fingerprints, scratches, spills, Ballmer-juice, it just doesn't stick. [Shakes iPod movie, the slime seems to magically flake off. iPod looks presentable but not-quite-so-shiny.] ...But of course some of you will want to keep your iPod movie in tip-top condition. So for the first time ever, we've got a *washable* iPod. That's right... [dips iPod movie in a clear square jar of water, wiggles it around a bit, takes it out, just dries it a bit with his shirt... audience is ensnared in a glowing, ethereal RDF of unbelievableness as an immaculate looking, shiny iPod movie emerges in all its glory.] ...Oh, and we made the screen bulletproof too. So unless you're pumping 300 rounds of high-caliber ammo into your iPod movie at point blank range, we're not going to believe it EVER if you whine about your iPod movie scratching... Coz', well, we're sick of those complaints..."
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