Remember this time last year, when Microsoft’s Steve Ballmer stepped on stage at CES to show off HP’s Slate? That was supposed to be their answer to the as-yet unannounced iPad, but we all know how that went down. Now Microsoft is back at CES 2011, with both Apple TV and Google TV in their crosshairs.
Business Insider is reporting that Microsoft plans to extend their success with the Xbox 360, getting media companies on board for a new set-top box that removes the game element and brings on the movie and television content. The plan appears to be in response to the Apple TV and Google TV, although it certainly isn’t the first time that Microsoft has tried to invade the living room.
"Microsoft's going to make a splash in this market with a stripped-down version of Windows tailored for set-top boxes and connected TVs,” reports Brier Dudley in the Seattle Times. “The software is a version of its embedded device software, overlaid with the Windows Media Center interface, with media streaming and remote-control capabilities.
“The boxes are expected to cost around $200 and go on sale later this year,” Dudley continues. “They’ll pose a serious challenge to the new Apple and Google TV devices, largely because the Windows boxes have a polished and familiar TV-program guide that makes it easy to blend and navigate both online and broadcast content."
It all sounds well and good, but let’s not forget how excited many of us were about that Slate tablet computer this time last year. Apple and Google have both discovered that set-top boxes in the living room is all about what kind of content partnerships you can wrangle to make it all click -- and there’s no way of knowing if Microsoft will have any better luck than the competition in that regard.
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(Image courtesy of Business Insider)
MacMike
January 04, 2011 at 11:43am
The first problem is that this thing runs Windows for it's OS. Wait until your TV locks up with the blue screen of death while you're in the middle of watching your favorite show. Secondly it's $200 which is $100 more than most products currently on the market like Roku or the Apple TV. Lastly, as the person before me said, they're late to the party again so unless they have an absolutely stellar product (which they won't) with an attractive price point (it's not) this will be another wannabe Microsoft product relegated to the technological dust bin of history.
mactony
January 04, 2011 at 11:17am
give me a break windows is always late to the party, they got beat on the iphone they got beat on the ipad they got beat on apple tv. Windows need to to start providing their clients with stuff that matter not stuff that they repackage and try to sell as new! there is not one thing that windows has done that make me say wow except for the xbox 360 and kenicts but keep in mind K was brought from some other company
so again Make stuff create stuff that will blow the doors off of apple. Am apple all the way I want someone to push apple more and more to produce better and wilder products for the future and they continue to do that as we speak without pressure
