Nokia and Microsoft get friendly over Windows Media
posted Feb 14th 2005 1:40PM
Never thought we'd see this happen, but the threat of Apple fooling around with Motorola (whether real or perceived) has thrown Nokia into the arms of Microsoft (again!). Earlier today Nokia announced they were licensing Microsoft's ActiveSync, now they've revealed their plans to add support for Windows Media Audio files, Windows Media DRM 10 and Media Transfer Protocol to their handsets. They don't get too down and dirty with the specifics (like which phones will be compatible or not), but from the looks of it this arrangement would let wireless carriers offer a download service (which Nokia is developing with Loudeye) that could sync up with Windows Media Player 10, and would also include the ability to transfer over DRM-protected WMA files from a PC. Not sure whether this means we can expect a bunch of Nokia phones that work with Napster To Go, but this is something of a slap in the face for RealPlayer. Just last week those two companies were making nice, even issuing a press release about how they were "extending their collaboration".
This is not a good thing. I don't really care about the success of iTMS one bit, but i do care about the success of MPEG-4 (as opposed to WM). It looked like the whole mobile market had decided on 3gp/mpeg4 as the way forward, but this partnership throws that idea out of the window. M$ is the biggest on the desktop and Nokia is the biggest in mobiles, so them joining together is a BIG boost for Windows Media.
If Windows media becomes the de facto standard for digital media then everything from our satellite receivers to our mobile phones will be dictated by M$. Windows Media is the new Office format (doc/xls). It's what will lock consumers in and ensure M$ earns $$$ for years to come.
If Windows Media becomes the de facto standard for digital media then I will no longer enjoy digital media. Nor will anyone I can influence.
"I don't really care about the success of iTMS one bit, but i do care about the success of MPEG-4 (as opposed to WM)."
Thing is, MPEG-4 (video) basically sucks ass compared to WM9 (video). I've tried to encode both and at the same bit rate WM is superior. It also supports true high-definition video along with multi-channel audio, so it's a perfectly good next-generation codec.
For audio the reverse may be true, I don't know; the tests I've seen suggest that it may be. But I don't see WMA ever becoming a "standard" when you've got so many different "mp3 players" out there. I mean a lot of people just don't want to use *any* DRM-encrusted format. And honestly, with Apple as successful in music as they are today (and with the Moto deal that this Nokia thing's in reaction to), I think MPEG-4 (AAC) is probably more successful than WMA already.
But on the other hand, Windows is Windows - of course WM will be sort of a "defacto standard" on Windows-based PC's (that's why they call it "Windows Media"), just as Quicktime (including MPEG-4 Quicktime) is a "defacto standard" on Macs and Vorbis is a "defacto standard" on Linux. But MPEG-4 and WM are *both* proprietary formats. There's nothing open about MPEG-4, so you'd better throw that argument out the window. It's a patented, licensed codec, just as MS is doing with Windows Media.
If anybody of you would have bothered to read the press releases of both companies, you would have noticed that this technology will indeed use AAC audio with OMA DRM on the phone side and that Microsoft will add support for AAC in Windows Media Player.
Jeff, MPEG-4 isn't an open standard if open means free. There are patent holders and you have to pay for it, so in that sense it is similar to WM. However, the difference is that the direction that MPEG-4 takes is not directed by one company, which will be the case with WM. Furthermore, M$ has ultimate control over WM so if it wants to stop someone using its format then they can do that quite easily but not licensing it.
For example, imagine more and more people start to buy Macs because they find it's nicer to make home movies with iMovie. And then imagine M$ says hey we want to put a stop to this, so they don't let Apple license the WM format anymore. This is just a simple example and as digital media becomes more widespread and the same format is being used in a variety of areas (satellite TV, mobiles) the chances of someone coming along with a product/service that M$ sees as a thread to it's dominance is quite big. If M$ controls the underlying format then it can kill off that competition quite easily.
If on the other hand everyone is using MPEG-4 then they will really be competing within the standard, all on an equal footing and consumers making decisions on who makes the best product, not who owns the format.
I'd also like to just say that Apple's share of the music market right now doesn't mean that much in the long run. The markets for mpe3 players and legal downloads are still a very small percentage of the potential. If people start using Windows Media based devices because a) it's bundled with Windows b) there's more variety in hardware c) there's more variety in online stores, then Apple's lead will quickly disappear.
As for the quality issue, I agree that from what i have seen WM is better than standard MPEG-4. However, AVC/H.264 is coming out now and it clearly takes the crown back as best compression/quality.
Lauri, i didn't realise that. Indeed, the Yahoo article states this:
"
The mobile music service from Nokia and Loudeye is based on the OMA DRM and MPEG AAC standards and enables a wireless operator's customers to search, listen, download and pay for music using an operator branded music application on their mobile device.
"
I still find it worrying that WMP10 will be on Nokia phones, and i won't buy one. But perhaps things aren't as bad as i assumed. Yet.
DRM AAC MP4 3GP
WTF?
Consumers don't care. They like things like iTunes and "Plays for Sure": so long as you don't get Sony-stupid with memory sticks and orphan encoding schemes, the game will be fought on those terms.
In the meantime just go back to boing boing and get in a frothy DRM rage with that Doctorow jack-ass.
Oliver, Microsoft could never do what you said in your "simple example", it is just not possible. They would get slapped with an antitrust or similar lawsuit or similar so fast that their head would spin. They would be required to follow the same standards that any other owner of a defacto format would be required to follow.
Just curious what is the model of the phone on the picture. Looks like an old model but kind of an interesting design.
The phone on the picture is Nokia 3220, pretty much a teen-phone.