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Microsoft to Launch URGE This Week
Posted by: Tweaker
Date added: 21:58, 15th May 2006 GMT
Source: Beta News
Microsoft's next chapter in its battle against the iPod and ITunes begins this week, as the company releases Windows Media Player 11 to the public. Additionally, Microsoft will promote heavily a test version of the URGE music service, a project it co-developed with MTV.
Seeing that a seamless ecosystem is what has propelled the iPod to its iconic status, Microsoft has also taken a page from the Apple playbook and co-developed a portable player called the "Clix." The new device is a project between Windows-based player market leader iRiver and the Redmond company.
The deluge of media-related announcements is seen by some as an indirect admission that the company's previous strategy of allowing freedom among its partners to do as they wish in the digital media space was a failure.
Microsoft's much-hyped PlaysForSure program ran into issues as Microsoft had to ensure that the multitude of devices would all synchronize correctly with Windows Media Player, many of which didn't.
Additionally, Microsoft had no control over the various music services that have popped up as a result of its open licensing program, This meant that if compatibility issues arose with players, there was little, if anything, the company could do.
In turn, Microsoft s now promoting an entire digital music ecosystem, rather than just focusing on the technology and leaving the rest up to its partners.
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