On: Never underestimate Microsoft’s ability to turn a corner

[briansmith]

Zune and even iPod are both going to fail, because very few people want to carry around a music device separate from their phone.

[unalone → briansmith]

Well, yeah. That's why Apple introduced the iPhone. I'm interested in seeing if Microsoft follows with their own product.

[briansmith → unalone]

There's all kinds of Windows Mobile phones that have iPod-esque features. However, the device makers don't want use the Zune branding, because they want to use their own branding.

[unalone → briansmith]

But there's a difference between having a phone that CAN play music, and a phone that's designed to make listening to music enjoyable.

My current phone has a music player. I would never use it. I would take a crappy unknown MP3 player to my phone's music player. It's awful. And a part of what makes it awful is that I don't intuitively know how to make it play music.

Compare that to the iPhone. Microsoft might try to make a competing phone. Right now, they've got nothing.

[Splines → briansmith]

These are the same people that want to have a VCR integrated with their television.

No thanks.