by: David Polinchock
I've been reading about Microsoft's venture into the world of the iPod for a few days, but this piece from Engadget had something that really blew me away! MS will scan your iTunes account and pay for you to add those songs to their new player. Ingenious, I say!
But it gets better. To attract current iPod users Microsoft is going to let you download for free any songs you've already bought from the iTunes Music Store. They'll actually scan iTunes for purchased tracks and then automatically add those to your account. Microsoft will still have to pay the rights-holders for the songs, but they believe it'll be worth it to acquire converts to their new player.
They’re adding WiFi and a social network play, which could also be very interesting twist on the music experience. The idea of using technology to create the same kind of social networking offline that we find online is pretty compelling to us. It’s a topic that we’re starting to explore this concept ourselves and applaud what they’re doing here. There’s lots more detail in the Engadget story, so make sure you read the whole piece.
Microsoft's new portable audio and video player will have a screen that's "bigger than that of the iPod video" (which isn't really saying much) and built-in WiFi so you can not only download content directly to the player (sort of like with the MusicGremlin), but actually participate in an Xbox Live-like social network that will help you connect with other people with similar taste and interests. Whether that's going to be the Live Anywhere service they introduced at E3 we don't yet know. But we do know the tag line they're pitching for the device combined with this new network is "Connected Entertainment."
Link: Microsoft planning WiFi-enabled portable media player, working on MVNO for next year – Engadget.
Original Post: http://blog.brandexperiencelab.org/experience_manifesto/2006/07/engadget.html
