Monday, October 18, 2004
Windows Media Player 10 Mobile: The Good, The Bad, The Ugly
Posted by Jason Dunn in "ARTICLE" @ 08:00 AM
"Microsoft's end-to-end vision for digital media encompasses a number of important usage scenarios, and sets apart the company's goals from that of less far-reaching initiatives from Apple Computer and other companies. In the center of the Microsoft vision is a PC running Windows Media Player 10 (see my review) and, preferably, Windows XP Media Center Edition 2005 (see my review). This digital hub connects with content from online services like MSN Music (see my preview), Napster, Wal-Mart, MusicMatch, Virgin Digital, Movielink, CinemaNow, and others, and then extends out to a wide range of complementary products and devices, including portable digital audio and media devices like the Portable Media Center (see my review), car stereos, Media Center Extender devices (see my review), digital media receivers, and Windows-Powered Smartphones and Pocket PCs. For those latter devices, Microsoft has created a major new version of Windows Media Player, called Windows Media Player 10 Mobile, which turns your cell phone or PDA (personal digital assistant) into a multimedia powerhouse. In this review, we'll examine that product."
This was the big news from last week, and I had such a week from hell that I never got a chance to write about it. Check out the article - in short, Windows Media Player 10 Mobile is damn cool. It supports the full Janus DRM, which means you can download your Napster-bought or Napster-subscription songs and it will work...even on a memory card. :D The reason question though is "How do I get it?" - and the answer isn't a good one. Here's what Paul says about that:
"Stupidly, Windows Media Player 10 Mobile will only be made available to consumers who purchase new Windows Mobile 2003 Second Edition-based portable devices, such as the stunning Dell Axim X50v on which I tested the product. Microsoft will not be making WMP 10 Mobile available to other users as a free or paid download."
He's half right - WMP 10 Mobile will be available on new devices coming out, but some devices will get the update. Microsoft releases the code to the OEMs, and it's up to the OEMs to release it to their users. Myself and my fellow MVPs have fought and fought to get Microsoft to release a RAM/Flash ROM version directly to end users, but that has yet to happen. The best thing you can do is to call your OEM and tell them that you want this software to be released. HP has indicated they have plans to released WMP 10 Mobile for some of their Pocket PCs, but not all, and they declined to give actual model numbers to me. I'd venture to say that all 2003 SE devices will get it, and possibly some 2003 devices, but beyond that, probably nothing else.
It's a grim situation, and a frustrating one for the vast majority of Pocket PC owners with older devices. This is yet more proof that Microsoft allows the OEMs to have too much power - it's their platform, they should treat it like one and allow updates to the core OS and applications. Microsoft has betrayed their heritage as a platform company by allowing the OEMs to stick it to their customers again and again. :?
This was the big news from last week, and I had such a week from hell that I never got a chance to write about it. Check out the article - in short, Windows Media Player 10 Mobile is damn cool. It supports the full Janus DRM, which means you can download your Napster-bought or Napster-subscription songs and it will work...even on a memory card. :D The reason question though is "How do I get it?" - and the answer isn't a good one. Here's what Paul says about that:
"Stupidly, Windows Media Player 10 Mobile will only be made available to consumers who purchase new Windows Mobile 2003 Second Edition-based portable devices, such as the stunning Dell Axim X50v on which I tested the product. Microsoft will not be making WMP 10 Mobile available to other users as a free or paid download."
He's half right - WMP 10 Mobile will be available on new devices coming out, but some devices will get the update. Microsoft releases the code to the OEMs, and it's up to the OEMs to release it to their users. Myself and my fellow MVPs have fought and fought to get Microsoft to release a RAM/Flash ROM version directly to end users, but that has yet to happen. The best thing you can do is to call your OEM and tell them that you want this software to be released. HP has indicated they have plans to released WMP 10 Mobile for some of their Pocket PCs, but not all, and they declined to give actual model numbers to me. I'd venture to say that all 2003 SE devices will get it, and possibly some 2003 devices, but beyond that, probably nothing else.
It's a grim situation, and a frustrating one for the vast majority of Pocket PC owners with older devices. This is yet more proof that Microsoft allows the OEMs to have too much power - it's their platform, they should treat it like one and allow updates to the core OS and applications. Microsoft has betrayed their heritage as a platform company by allowing the OEMs to stick it to their customers again and again. :?
