Jobs predicts Microsoft will introduce X-player this year

A Newsweek interview published at MSNBC has a couple of interesting Steve Jobs tidbits I haven't seen published anywhere. These include:

1. Apple decided to build 14 million iPods last summer. That was a gutsy move considering that they had never sold more than four and a half million iPods in a quarter. Of course, in hindsight, the amazing thing is that 14 million wasn't enough; many consumers couldn't buy iPods anywhere but at Apple stores over the holidays.
   


2. The PC model doesn't work for consumer electronics. This parallels a call we've made in the past. Job's words: "The problem is, the PC model doesn’t work in the consumer electronics industry, where you’ve got all these companies and some does one thing and another does another thing. It just doesn’t work."
   


3. Microsoft will introduce an MP3 X-Player in 2006. Jobs notes that in 2005, everyone said that they were going to take away share from the iPod that year. It didn't happen, so the same story came up at CES this year. But Jobs predicts a change because Microsoft will finally take matters into its own hands and introduce something that Jobs calls "X-player, or whatever. This year". I noted that effort last year as well.
   

So will a Microsoft xPod or xPlayer be able to make a dent in iPod domination? I don't think so. Technologically, there is no question that Microsoft can make an xPod that works. But I don't think Microsoft knows how to market it as a cultural icon like the iPod is. It just isn't in in the company's corporate culture, nor is it what the Microsoft brand stands for. Just as Apple couldn't dent Microsoft's dominance in PCs head-on, I don't think Microsoft can dent Apple's iPod dominance by simply making a competing product. It will have to innovate in a completely new way to outflank Apple in music and video -- and that's not going to be easy.

Technorati Tags: Apple, iPod, Marketing, Microsoft, xPod, Steve Jobs