Microsoft, The Entertainer?

The article focuses on Microsoft Corp.'s efforts to break into the digital media market with new products. Now that Apple has reinvented itself as the king of the digital music world, Microsoft is trying to wrestle that mantle away with a new breed of iPod rivals, including ones that play color video as well as music. More important, the company is rolling out an update of its Windows Media Player audio and video software that's designed to make it just as easy to purchase and manage music with Microsoft powered gear as it is with Apple's iPod and iTunes combo. Yet for all the effort, Microsoft isn't going to displace Apple anytime soon. The stylish, simple elegance of Apple's iPod, together with its pioneering iTunes download service, has come to define digital music. It has sold nearly 4 million iPods and more than 100 million songs, and its momentum shows no signs of abating. With the iPod so strong in the digital music biz, Microsoft thinks that video-on-the-go may be its best chance to pull ahead long term. The gadgets, though, aren't likely to kick-start a video revolution anytime soon. Their biggest drawback is simply that they're inconvenient. Users can copy video only from a PC, not directly from a television or DVD player. Copying hassles aside, the products are hefty and pricey, at $500 each. Analysts aren't willing to write off the long-term potential for portable video gadgets. Microsoft's partners could spiff up design, and Microsoft eventually will make video transfer more convenient.