BlameThePixel!

The Microsoft XPOD



With so many portable music players on the market, it could only have been expected that Microsoft—giants in the home computer world—would innovate a solution of their own to capture more of the entertainment market. This is particularly relevant as the iPod, created by rivals Apple, is getting so much attention. It is no surprise, then, to learn of the new Microsoft XPOD, a portable music player for the 20th century.

Following on the from the success story of the XBOX, Microsoft's slim-line gaming console, the XPOD combines the lightweight design and keen ergonomics expected of the company.

Read on to learn more about this wonderful new device, including screenshots of the Microsoft XPOD, both showing it working, and opened up to expose the complicated circuitry inside

The XPOD: On the move



Here we can see Microsoft's new XPOD on the move and working. The LCD is nice and clear, and you should be able to tell that the track playing is one by the Beastie Boys, with the name of the band scrolling on the screen. Note the useful carrying handle, designed with weight in mind and much more convenient than losing the XPOD in your pocket. Note also the connector at the bottom of the Microsoft XPOD that plugs in to the docking station, for speedy parallel port transfer of your music collection. It almost goes without saying that the colourful buttons are easy to use and are comfortable for any sized hands to use.

The XPOD: Ready for dissection



It is easy to see that the Microsoft XPOD looks and feels good from the outside, with clarity of sound almost guaranteed from the rugged design, there will be many people eager to see the technology that has been expertly put together to make such a music player possible. To save many curious people from voiding their warranties, this unit will be opened up to have a deeper look inside. Here you can see the XPOD turned off and waiting to have the cover removed.

The XPOD: The control board



With the cover and display of the XPOD removed we get our first glance at the innards of the portable music player. The circuit board uses advanced "Through-Board" technology for its integrated circuits, as well as using discrete components to save on space, which you can see is at a premium. It's a marvel how Microsoft have managed to fit so much in to the space that is available! In the middle of the board you can see the main decoding chip; this is used to convert the Windows Media Format files, which are compatible with all versions of Windows from XP and later, in to audio music that is then fed to the headphones.

The XPOD: The storage device



Delving deeper in to the XPOD's innards, by taking out the control board carefully, the storage device is found sitting at the bottom of the case. This is where all the Windows Media Format files are stored. For the XPOD, Microsoft have opted for this low-profile, ultra-small hard drive that is normally found in modern desktop computers. This allows for up to a whopping 500 Megabytes of music data to be stored for playback. If you look carefully at the text on the drive, you can see the EULA for the Microsoft XPOD; in it is the statement that you implicitly agree to the EULA by purchasing the unit. Let's put it back together.

The XPOD: Versus the iPod



When this newcomer to the field of portable music players, the Microsoft XPOD, is placed side-by-side with Apple's supposed "best player on the market" iPod, it should be obvious which one is the superior. With no carrying handle, fragile docking connector, lack of solid buttons, and easily-losable size going against it, Apple's iPod loses out to the clear winner. It is only a matter of time before the Microsoft XPOD has displaced that inferior unit from the market completely.

Joe, I love you.

Heheheh. Did you come up with that all by yourself or did you have some help ?
If Microsoft actually did release a device to rival the ipod, they'd be in legal suits so fast their heads would be spinning. Apple's already killed one other company that tried to make a rival.

LMAO
thats great....
but there is no way it will ever beat Apple's ipod

Nah, I got it off a site. The site is a bit...adult rated...so I wasn't going to link directly to it.




Wasn't expecting that response

IIRC, Apple got a huge fine for killing the competition, so with microsolf's huge legal team, I think Apple would lose

ill buy it if i can eat the buttons.

can i eat the buttons?

Funny, I found them extremely tasty-looking too. It must be a brain disease.

Joe, how did you get that stuff from the site it is hosted on? (I Checked the pic URL) It seems like you have to pay, and that its only porn...

I got linked to it by a friend, who got it from there...so I suppose he paid. (Fucking stupid pr0n. )

Man, what is Microsoft up to now


Look at the size difference, the iPod is tiny!

I don't know about you, but I think those buttons are actually jelly beans...
That'd explain alot.

I wonder how much you need to squeeze that thing to make it fit into your pocket like the ipod does......



While actually it looks like a fake made from a removable PC HD case

The guy got the buttons wrong, its
Yellow(y) Red(b)
Blue(x) Green(a)
-not-
Yellow(y) Blue(x)
Green(a) Red(b)
...its obvious hes never owned a microsoft product
(Pioneer322$1<3 xbox)

Lol that's great stuff, and yes those buttons must be jelly beans.