Argo, Microsoft's iPod killer

Actually ive heard this thing plays videos and movies in good quality. and can hold pictures and many things the ipod doesnt have. i think when people know what the 'Argo' does, it will become more popular than the ipod although it is a little bigger, it holds twice as many songs.

Hey, I work in an electronics store and have been obsessed with mp3 players and gadgetry for years. I feel a strong sense of ipod lovage here... Whilst I have no problem with apple, and accept that the ipod is a nice simple player, there are far better devices out there already! This new microsoft gizmo currently looks like a pile of w#@&%, but have any of you even seen an iriver clix? longer battery life, far more features, nicer interface and most importantly - doesn't require software and can interface with any machine - BAR a mac, the only reason being that apple haven't picked up on mtp yet - which despite popular opinion, is not actually a microsoft-only interface... beats the nano if you ask me, or if you ask anybody that has seen mine!

Sure, Microsoft. Splendid idea. Too bad WMP isn't Mac-compatible. Unless WMP is opened up for avalibility on Macs, there's a crowd of people that MS can't convert, no matter how hard they try.

This is relly sad...if you think about it this Argo is microsoft's way of giveing up in the portable media race. Why? Well think about it even Microsoft says it is an iPod killer but all this means is they are just makeing it because THEY CANT BEAT THE IPOD!!!!!!!

Woot long live the iPod

(*cough* windows sucks*cough*)

I use Windows Mobile 5.0 on my Moto Q phone and I've downloaded and used URGE. The are both terrible for their user interfaces and ultra crash prone programs. I can't imagine the crashes, lock-ups, glitches, and overall headaches one would get while trying to get a Microsoft hardware device to connect to a WiFi or secure WiFi network...let alone use it to navigate a music site and download and buy songs!

Come on, we all know that most of the consumers buying these products don't have a clue of what is going on as far as the iPod world and it's effect. Also they don't know jack about the specifications, and this is where Apple is focusing on in their promotion. You don't see "GB" in space at all highlighted in advertisements, you see "### songs, pictures, and movies" it holds because it is what the people know. Steve is doing a great job at that and I don't see it stopping.

Microsoft will have to do a good job with Archos on the advertisement to get known. The target they are reaching now are mainly techies, and that is in magazines, shows, etc... They need to take notes from Apple and reform their actions to provide lost consumers valuable information.

Too busy to comment but you catch my drift.

The UK music industry as a whole is only worth about £1.25billion. I'm not sure how much M$ are worth but Apple are worth £38billion. M$ must be worth more. My point is that it would be small change to M$ to replace everyone's iTunes. I don't think M$ would let a little thing like money get in the way of it bludgeoning iPod to death. So money is not the issue. The issue is whether M$ have the brains to give people what they want (a SEXY, intuitive, portable, usable music playing product). I don't think M$ does have the brains to achieve this task. It'll release a product for geeks, a product over-loaded with superfluous functionality, when what the majority of people want in this space is something that just plays their damn music. A media device that plays music and video with wi-fi and bondage gear and donuts? Now that would be a DIFFERENT product wouldn't it. Convergence is good but too much is bad. M$ should focus first on getting a great "simple" music product right, then explore variations on the theme once they have shown that they can get the basics right and have built up a following (which is what Apple did). M$ shold essentially learn from and copy Apple. That's what they're really good at ;-)

Sorry, typo. If i have 50 old iTunes songs, microsoft pays for 50 new songs (not 100, obviously) to be delivered to me free of charge.

troymccluresf, i believe the arrangement would be that microsoft would absorb the costs for new songs to be purchased. So if i have 50 songs from iTunes, Microsoft pays for 100 new songs in WMA format to be sent to me. I don't pay anything, but microsoft does. It's a similar strategy to the one they're taking with the Xbox360 (they actually lose money on each of the units they sell i believe). They hope to ship enough units that it will create a strong market and then make their money up by users purchasing songs through their service.

I've got to think that it's unlikely that this will be the iPod killer. However, don't assume that the iPod is invulnerable. Or at least I hope Apple doesn't. That's the kind of hubris that really gets companies in trouble. After all, a few years back, everyone assumed that the web search battle was over. Only a fool would try and enter that market. And then came Google...