MS partners prepare the Portable Media Center 'iPod Killer'

March 19, 2004

With the popularity of portable HD based audio players, Microsoft is
aiming to go a step further by demonstrating its Portable
Media
Center at CeBIT. Its partners Creative and iRiver will
feature devices supporting this with a large colour LCD panel and a hefty hard
drive. It is essentially a 'video'
iPod, but with the capability to playback movies and photos as well as
music. Microsoft expects this to be
a hot product for Christmas 2004.

Despite the commercial hype about video and photo support, there are many
drawbacks which have prevented similar products from becoming popular in the
past. First comes the high pricing
such as Â£400 for the 20GB Creative Zen model. Next there is not much commercial
content available for these devices which mean users will likely need to record
or prepare their own content.
Battery life is quite short at 3 hours and as the
majority of HD based players now use proprietary batters, the user is then stuck
on hold for a power-outlet. These
units would not suit drivers, cyclists or anyone else who needs to concentrate
on something else. Finally, not
many consumers would feel comfortable using such an expensive-looking unit in a
public place such as on a train or waiting area.

While
more attractive prices may help the portable media players to compete, it would
still be hard to compete even with a PDA.
PDA's generally have much more powerful CPU capabilities as well as have
better features such as note taking, application support and a diary. The only drawback with most current
PDA's is their small storage capacity and not being compatible with most
download music services such as iTunes although this may change over time.

Microsoft launched its 'Windows for iPods' platform over a year
ago - as Media2Go - but this week it began demonstrating the technology in
earnest at CeBIT, backed by devices from hardware partners Creative and
iRiver.

Now called the Portable Media Center, each gadget features
a hefty hard drive and a large-format LCD panel. Microsoft's pitch is that
the devices will allow users to take their photos, music and movies with
them wherever they go - essentially, we're talking a video iPod.

"We think this is going to be one of the hot devices for Christmas
2004," said James Bernard, Microsoft's product manager for Portable Media
Center, according to Reuters. The UK, Sweden and Denmark will see PMCs go
on sale first, followed by Germany, France, Italy and Spain by the end of
the year.

It's hard not to be impressed with the early models,
such as Creative's Zen Portable Media Center or iRiver's PMC-140, with
their bright 3.5in display and 40GB storage capacity. They're certainly
more attractive than those bulky Archos jobs. But we don't feel Apple has
to start worrying just yet.

The Zen, for instance, is expected to
retail for between Â£400 and Â£450, depending on whether you choose the 20GB
model or the 40GB unit. Either way, it's an expensive purchase. Couple
that with the limited availability of commercial Windows Media video
content, plus the fact that if you want to watch taped TV shows, you'll
need a Media Center PC, and the platform's appeal is already limited to
wealthy early adopters.

The fact that the battery is going to
empty after just three hours' of video playback won't help either. Nor
will the absence of way to copy over DVDs to the devices.

Read the full article
here.

It
looks like while portable music players are doing so well, portable media
players may just not be able to compete with all those other gadgets. Anyone interested in taking photos on
the move would likely go for a camera mobile phone. For DVD playback, portable DVD-players
already do this job as well as provide a decent size portable screen. Maybe Microsoft may just be able to come
up with a better solution to make
Portable
Media
Center capable devices a hot selling
product.

Source: The Register