Gates, Cell Phones, iPods, and Smoke
A few weeks ago, Bill Gates (also known as “Darth Micro”) gave an interview to a German newspaper (Frankfurter Allgemeine Zeitung) in which he said:
"As good as Apple may be, I don't believe the success of the iPod is sustainable in the long run.”
"You can make parallels with computers: Apple was very strong in this field before, with its Macintosh and its graphics user interface -- like the iPod today -- and then lost its position."
"If you were to ask me which mobile device will take top place for listening to music, I'd bet on the mobile phone for sure," Gates said.
Now, I don’t know about you, but I think the industry pundits, including Gates, have missed the boat on this whole cell phone/music player thing. I have no desire for one of these gadgets. I like my music player separate. A cell phone/PDA combo I have room for and maybe even a music player/PDA, but the all-in-one combo device they envision just doesn’t appeal to me. Why? Because playing music and using my cell phone or PDA involve two different mindsets. The first is one of escape and enjoyment; the second is one of business and communication. Somehow, Apple’s iPod Photo makes more sense to me than the combo cell phone/music players (including the iTunes phone) the media and industry are hyping.
Yes, it is handy to put everything in one device. But I already carry three devices with me now (cell phone, PDA, iPod). So, obviously, though I’d like to carry fewer, it hasn’t bothered me that much that I’m not.
Secondly, anytime you combine devices, you always trade off some functionality and optimization for the included functionality. Will consumers want to do that? I’m not so sure. I don’t want to stand or sit for hours with my cell phone pressed up against my ear, listening to it spout music. The idea is only workable if I was on a headset, which would make me even more like the codependents already running around with phonesets welded to their eardrums.
Moreover, Gates seems to be taking every opportunity to take shots at Apple, especially when Microsoft is introducing a product into an arena where Apple already has a presence. Notice that he never can talk about how much better his product is; he spends his time (and this holds true with his Linux attacks as well) trying to discredit his competitor or their products. As always, Microsoft’s arrogant focus is on everyone else. If I were Bill Gates, I’d be looking more at what Microsoft is not doing. Turns out, it’s quite a lot.
"As good as Apple may be, I don't believe the success of the iPod is sustainable in the long run.”
"You can make parallels with computers: Apple was very strong in this field before, with its Macintosh and its graphics user interface -- like the iPod today -- and then lost its position."
"If you were to ask me which mobile device will take top place for listening to music, I'd bet on the mobile phone for sure," Gates said.
Now, I don’t know about you, but I think the industry pundits, including Gates, have missed the boat on this whole cell phone/music player thing. I have no desire for one of these gadgets. I like my music player separate. A cell phone/PDA combo I have room for and maybe even a music player/PDA, but the all-in-one combo device they envision just doesn’t appeal to me. Why? Because playing music and using my cell phone or PDA involve two different mindsets. The first is one of escape and enjoyment; the second is one of business and communication. Somehow, Apple’s iPod Photo makes more sense to me than the combo cell phone/music players (including the iTunes phone) the media and industry are hyping.
Yes, it is handy to put everything in one device. But I already carry three devices with me now (cell phone, PDA, iPod). So, obviously, though I’d like to carry fewer, it hasn’t bothered me that much that I’m not.
Secondly, anytime you combine devices, you always trade off some functionality and optimization for the included functionality. Will consumers want to do that? I’m not so sure. I don’t want to stand or sit for hours with my cell phone pressed up against my ear, listening to it spout music. The idea is only workable if I was on a headset, which would make me even more like the codependents already running around with phonesets welded to their eardrums.
Moreover, Gates seems to be taking every opportunity to take shots at Apple, especially when Microsoft is introducing a product into an arena where Apple already has a presence. Notice that he never can talk about how much better his product is; he spends his time (and this holds true with his Linux attacks as well) trying to discredit his competitor or their products. As always, Microsoft’s arrogant focus is on everyone else. If I were Bill Gates, I’d be looking more at what Microsoft is not doing. Turns out, it’s quite a lot.
posted by Andy Foster at
9:01 AM
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