More Microsoft xPod indications?

Tags: Music, Apple, Napster, Microsoft, Marketing

Bloomberg, in this case via The Seattle Times notes that Microsoft has an extensive program to ensure that Apple's iPod gets some serious competition. Specifically:

Microsoft is working with electronics makers including Royal Philips Electronics, Samsung Electronics and Creative Technology to design and test music players that rival iPod, said Erik Huggers, head of Microsoft's Digital Media Division.

"Come this fall there is going to be a number of devices that get close to competing with Apple's iPod," Huggers said yesterday in San Francisco. By the second quarter of next year, "There is going to be a whole lineup of products that can compete with Apple in industrial design, usability, functionality and features."

No surprises there. I'll note that all those manufacturers already have digital music players in the market, so why aren't those considered competitive now? Perhaps it has something to do with the PlaysForSure certification program, which a Jupiter analyst skewers nicely.

While Apple's iPod and iTunes music store work together easily, Microsoft has faced difficulty showing customers which of the many Windows-based players and music stores are compatible. A campaign called "PlaysForSure," to put a logo on devices that would show consumers what works together, hasn't helped because not all devices with the logo actually work with the promised services.

"We tend to call it 'PlaysForAlmostSure,' " Gartenberg said. "Meanwhile, Apple's iPod and iTunes are dancing together like Fred Astaire and Ginger Rogers."

I'll repeat the challenge that Microsoft faces: they not only need to compete with features, but also by marketing consumer products that work out of the box and don't require an IT department to support. Given Microsoft's reliability and security history, they have a long way to go before they put a dent in iPod's 80% market share.