AfterDawn: News

Gates: Microsoft won't make iPhone rival

In an interview with Germany's Frankfurter Allgemeine Zeitung, Microsoft Corp. chairman Bill Gates said the company will not launch a mobile phone product to compete directly with Apple's iPhone. The iPhone was released mid-2007 and was a big hit with consumers. Of course, it has long been speculated that Microsoft would make something to compete with the iPhone and Apple.

"No, we won't do that. In the so-called smart phone business we will concentrate solely on software with our Windows Mobile program," Gates said. "We have partnerships with a lot of device manufacturers from Samsung to Motorola and this variety brings us significantly more than if we would make our own mobile phone."



Microsoft already competes with Apple's iPod products by selling its Zune MP3 players. While the latest update to the Zune models has been seen by many as the best threat to the iPod so far, Apple remains far ahead in the market and isn't showing signs of budging.

Source:
Yahoo (Reuters)

Written by: James Delahunty @ 10 Jan 2008 18:46

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• 8 comments

• lawndog

  just a quick post to those that havent seen the zune or tried it. I love it. Comes ready to play mp3, and any other windows media, and with the help of clone dvd can play dvds directly off the the zune. The other day I converted the a book to read onto my zune. Can say nothin but great things about the zune. Yes I'm sure ipod can do all these things also.
  Now about the aparent rumer to compete with iphone, there have been rumers floating around that the zune will one day compete with the iphone, but rumers are just that rumers and it appears microsoft is attempting to squash this rumer?!?!?

  10.1.2008 20:53 #1

• hade

  microsoft sucks when it comes to hardware or electronics for that matter. the zune blows, no where near what the ipod is. if you like it great, but the mass market certainly hasn't really accepted it. the original xbox failed miserably to the ps2. if someone doesn't like that comparison because of the brand sony brought to the table then fine, but the same argument can be said with the original playstation. the 360 suffers from hardware malfunctions and even that system will fall WAY SHORT to the dominance we saw with the ps2 in terms of sales. no matter how you slice it they simply make inferior products becuase they lack innovation. microsoft tends to be 2nd when entering into markets. simply followers not innovators and when your primarly a software company, im not so sure what else to expect.
  
  if anyone feels LIVE is awesome i wont sit and argue, but LIVE is not an electronic or piece of hardware. even there software has declined over the years, and vista is terrible IMO.

  11.1.2008 03:53 #2

• 7thsinger

  Quote:"We have partnerships with a lot of device manufacturers from Samsung to Motorola and this variety brings us significantly more than if we would make our own mobile phone."
  That's the key right there. If Gates thought he had a running shot at competing with the iphone, he'd jump. That was exactly the idea of the Zune. Gates has managed to set up enough partnerships to do exactly as he quoted. It would cost him/M$ too much to conceptualize, prototype, and produce something designed to compete with the iphone. All on a gamble.

  11.1.2008 08:46 #3

• lawndog

  first in regards to ipod verses ipod. Yes hade you are correct, the mass market has certainly not accepted the zune. But the Zune has not been out near as long as the ipod, and it not marketed nearly as much as the ipod is. More than likely it is because of what you said they are fallowers and not leaders. In my opion though it is a very solid unit and is very versitile. I have never used an ipod so I'm not going to bash them, except for 1 thing I heard about them....If the RUMOR is true originally the only songs available to play on ipods were ones bought on itunes...unless you used 3rd party software to convert. Zune does not do that. MP3 WMA MPEG almost all formats are supported. All that are supported by windows are compatable.
  Again heard as rumor not a fact.
  Now in regards to the comment of microsoft not being innovators. Could this be why microsoft is looking to buy Logitech??
  http://www.afterdawn.com/news/archive/12478.cfm
  
  Just a side note though. Isn't everything out there just a fallower of somebody else? Just tweak it a little bit, rewrite a couple codes, and call it a different name.
  Yes microsoft is primarly a software company, but whats wrong with opening up yor horizens?? Hell what is sonys' primarly business they make TV's, Radio, Computers, laptops, walkmans(old school sorry) cd players, car sterios, DVD players, DVD media, DVDs, CDs they are just as versitile.
  Apple started with the mac and has branched out to ipods itunes and now the phone industry
  Everybody branches out to different things, its a way of life everybody wants more and more and more and more and more.
  It's what makes the world turn. And don't hate them for it cause we are the same way. We ant more money to buy all their toys. We want more and more and more and more and more and more
  We are never happy. Go ahead and deny it. Cause if it wasn't true you would have the same car you bought when you were sixteen, or the same toys you had when you were a little kid.
  
  If microsoft wants to compete with the iphone I say more power to them. All it would do is make iphones price lower to compete with it. Then all of you that are iphone lovers should be happier because it wouldn't cost so much for the new ones. It creates competion.
  And no I won't buy either because I want a Blackberry.
  Just my thoughts
  LD

  12.1.2008 14:01 #4

• rokmsokm

  guess they learned their lesson with the zune. why buy a knockoff ipod at the same price as an ipod?

  12.1.2008 18:07 #5

• xSModder

  It would just be idiotic of them to make like a Zuner or something.
  
  And as for the Zune-
  The only reason I like it is because it's a bit more windows compatible. Apart from that, it's an ipod with a bigger sideways screen. Nothing too great.

  15.1.2008 16:48 #6

• borhan9

  Sticking to what Microsoft knows best i like that.

  22.1.2008 16:39 #7

• dragnandy

  the ipod sucks. the only reason more than have mp3 owners are ipod users is because of apples techniques in marketing and advertisement. aside from that, apple ipods are terrible. if there was any competition between ipod nano, it would be something like the sansa e200 series or the sansa view. for ipod videos, creative is better with its vision:M or vision :W. also the gigabeat is a great mp3 player that will blow the ipod out of the water, but nobody hears about it because of marketing and such.
  
  aside from ipods, it was a wise move for gates to not compete with iphone.

  10.2.2008 01:19 #8