| Zune plus Xbox 360 may give Microsoft the edge |
|
| by Stan Beer | |
| Sunday, 17 September 2006 | |
|
Another factor to consider is Apple's fanatical penchant for keeping everything a closed system. Thus, it's a pretty safe bet to assume that iTV will only stream iTunes content to the TV from your PC or Mac or iPod. This may be where Microsoft will gain an advantage. A wirelessly fitted out Xbox 360 could stream video and music from a number of sources, in a number of formats, including iPod (only non-iTunes music because of the Apple DRM), most other MP3 players, Amazon Unbox, Guba, CinemaNow, Movielink and the other video and music download sites. The non-Apple world mostly uses either Microsoft's PlayForSure DRM or no DRM. Presumably Zune, as well as being able download music and eventually videos from Microsoft's own store the Zune Marketplace, will also be compatible with videos and music from just about every download source other than iTunes. In addition, Zune, unlike iPod, is going to be an 802.11 wireless device, which means that it may well just fit into the wireless home network like the Xbox 360, thus allowing users to stream music and videos wirelessly to and from their Xbox 360 and PC. iPod as we now know remains a wireless device. As we have found out in the past couple of days, Zune is only making a half-hearted attempt to match the iPod for style. However, with a bigger screen, a more robust casing, wireless networking capabilities and tight integration with Xbox 360, Zune may well have enough ammunition to give Apple's iPod a run for its money. {moscomment}
Get stories like this delivered daily - FREE - subscribe now
|
Tags
| < Next story in category | Previous story in the category > |
|---|
