Microsoft pranks with oFone, Apple rolls eyes

Seeing as the Zune was such a hit, Microsoft decided to repeat the success and tackle the iPhone before it even gets out the gate; friends, we give you the Microsoft oFone. Not to be outdone by Apple's multi-touch keyless interface, the oFone features not one or two, but three keyboards that can all pivot about the small central screen. Need to bag some wild game for dinner? No worries, oFone can do that too, simply extend the three arms (like in the pic above) and it apparently makes a decent boomerang. We're loving where they're going with this idea -- cool and unusable, just how we like our fake phones. Check the vid after the break.

[Bob E @ May 9th 2007 7:13AM]

The 3-way pong scene was hysterical!

What is MS up to?

[superted @ May 9th 2007 7:18AM]

aaany way

[Jamie Marsden @ May 9th 2007 7:32AM]

I'm deeply concerned by Jared... He doesn't appear to be able to read. Even if he can't though, it's important that he should be able to work out from the video alone that this wasn't particularly serious...

[Nick Robinson @ May 9th 2007 11:49AM]

Or, if you had taken your own advice and read Jared's comment properly, you may have actually noticed that he was asking if the video came out of Microsoft or if it's just the work of some bored geek. Not whether it is a real product. I don't think there was any doubt about that. The article states it fairly clearly.

[Jared Gibbs @ May 10th 2007 8:11PM]

Thanks Nick. That's exactly what I was asking. Flaming isn't necessarily bad, it's when the flame is given to those who don't know how to use it..

[Jamie Marsden @ May 10th 2007 8:24PM]

*grins*

[Jeff @ May 9th 2007 7:36AM]

"We're loving where they're going with this idea -- cool and unusable"

So I guess they nailed the iPhone.

[David Pye @ May 9th 2007 7:51AM]

Hmmm, maybe if M$ invested the same money and time in making real products as it does pathetic spoofs they'd create something worth having???

It's terrible but I'd still rather use an oPhone than Vista, at least it has novelty value.

[Rezwan @ May 9th 2007 7:00PM]

Oh yea, those 'I am a mac' commercials are a hoot.

[ssuk @ May 9th 2007 8:08AM]

Do you apple zealots have jobs... Or lives? Seems there's a constant stream of you just waiting to bash MS at any given moment. Go get a job you apple loving hippies.

Nah, I joke. The ad was bloody halarious though, props to the guys behind this.

[REDbULL Runner @ Jun 3rd 2007 4:27PM]

"Do you apple zealots have jobs... Or lives? Seems there's a constant stream of you just waiting to bash MS at any given moment. Go get a job you apple loving hippies."

And it also seems that there is a constant stream of apple bashing idiots that show up streaming shit at anything apple... seriously... everyone needs to fucking chill

[Blacknimbus @ May 9th 2007 8:15AM]

I always love the emo comments by Mac addicts whenever there's a mention of Microsoft. Talk about short-man's disease.

It must be so very hard to walk around with that much angst.

[Joe @ May 9th 2007 8:16AM]

Ok, this sounds sad, but I would actually buy one, haha. I like the boomerang feature, and think of the gaming abilities. wow, i cant even keep a straight face right now.

[varish @ May 9th 2007 8:30AM]

haha, classic :)

[Bee Hatch @ May 9th 2007 8:36AM]

This was funny. Did MS really make this? Because they really are telling the truth. They're shit at design. The Zune isn't a million miles from this.

[seamus d dog @ May 9th 2007 8:40AM]

This is no joke. This is MS R & D at its finest. Apple, start your photocopiers.

[LordPaul @ May 9th 2007 9:01AM]

Hang on crazy freakboys - Microsoft have had a successful mobile operating system for years. It wouldn't take much to rebadge one of those with a Microsoft logo. I believe they also do 3g.

Fanboys are silly.

This video is funny

[Jeff @ May 9th 2007 11:49AM]

you must have a funny definition for "successful"

unless you think it means "in existence" or "inconsequential"

[Jon @ May 9th 2007 9:14AM]

Funny how no one gets upset at the Mac/PC Commercials, yet the minute Microsoft turns the tables and makes fun of them, you all have a fit.

[Todd @ May 9th 2007 9:30AM]

The resentment to Microsoft's ( lame ) attempts at "viral marketing" comes from them trying to have it both ways.

Pick one Redmond - Either you are a light hearted company with funny viral ads and spoofs, who is ALSO light hearted about software licensing costs...

OR

...you are the evil monopoly willing to run small businesses into the ground in order to enforce your licensing costs. Cold hearted companies hold user's data hostage with proprietary closed formats in order to force paid upgrades, and they don't have any sense of humor.

You cannot have it both ways.

[rp @ May 9th 2007 3:28PM]

Yeah, no one ever complains about those Mac vs. PC commercials, especially on Engadget. Especially not Microsoft, and especially not Bill Gates, or Balmer, or anyone else for that matter. Everyone loves the Mac vs PC commercials! Wheeeeeee

[Jeff Lewis @ May 9th 2007 3:56PM]

I'm sorry - which parallel universe DID you say you came from?

PC people in general hate those ads and they do complain about them. Heck, I've even heard Mac people wince at them. I'm and Mac AND PC user and I hate them.

More to the point - you clearly missed that this fake ad parodies MICROSOFT, not Apple. It's like the infamous 'what would the marketing look like if Microsoft made the iPod' video that a bunch of people at Microsoft made up. It's hilarious, spot on and viciously attacks Micrsoft's own marketing practices.

If you want to be honest here - you should give props to Microsoft for having the guts to laugh at themselves. I doubt you'd see this kind of thing escape Apple... oh wait - I forgot - Apple never does anything wrong.

Yeah. Right.

[waLLy @ May 9th 2007 2:06PM]

I forgot that Apple wasn't a corporation. How stupid of me.

[fred @ Jun 7th 2007 2:25PM]

http://www.wired.com/gadgets/mac/commentary/cultofmac/2006/01/70072

read this. they aren't as money hungry as you'd think.

[Jesse @ May 9th 2007 9:36AM]

haha, that is hilarious! My favorite is still the one they did where everytime an error is reported the dev gets punished:)

[FrankTheCrank @ May 9th 2007 9:36AM]

Hardy, har, har....real funny!

[lysernix @ May 9th 2007 9:45AM]

The marketing jab about how they would spruce up the bland iPod box is much better.

[Eleventeen @ May 9th 2007 9:47AM]

"We'll fix that in the first ROM update."

Hilarious!

[Chocolate Starfish @ May 9th 2007 9:50AM]

I actually see a lot of potential. I'd buy one.

And 3-way pong looks uber.

[adammhaile @ May 9th 2007 9:53AM]

to answer people's question....YES, this was actually made by microsoft. They showed it about 2000 devs at MEDC last week. It was supposed to make a point of how the mobile market is changing so rapidly, so there is a great need to make our apps readily adaptable.
But yeah, they were definitely trying to make fun of the iPhone a bit too.

[Dave95 @ May 9th 2007 9:55AM]

Um! Microsoft also made a 'prank' video on the iPod packaging and a few months later came out with the iPod inspired Zune package. Stay tuned for the iPhone inspired redesigned MS phone :)
- Microsoft redesigns iPod packaging -
http://www.youtube.com/results?search_query=Microsoft+redesigns+iPod+packaging&search=Search

It's like a new (good-looking) kid entering school getting all the attention from the girls. The other kids who's been there for years will get jealous and poke fun.

[DIMEBAG @ May 9th 2007 10:55AM]

Gotta give it to Microsh!t, at least they can poke fun at themselves…

[Matt @ May 9th 2007 11:28AM]

This video is great, it's quite sad how the apple fanboys can't take a second from worshiping Jobs to appreciate a funny video. I'll admit, I'm kind of a Microsoft fanboy, and those Mac/PC ads that aren't blatant lies are quite funny.

And @Todd - Apple tries to have it both ways too. They try to be the "cool" and "hip" company of the people, while charging far too much for their products, which they only get away with because they have a monopoly on their hardware. If you want a mac you have to buy it from Apple. And can you imagine if Microsoft tried to bundle all the apps that Apple does with Windows? They got in trouble for bundling it with Windows Media Player and Internet Explorer, they would get sued so fast if they tried to put in everything that Mac OSX came with.

[mike @ May 9th 2007 11:40AM]

Do you apple zealots have jobs... Or lives? Seems there's a constant stream of you just waiting to bash MS at any given moment.
--

Oh don't worry. We just have a 2% marketshare. I swear. ;)

[LordPaul @ May 9th 2007 12:24PM]

I'm pretty sure the SPV sold pretty well in Europe over the last several years

[Jeff @ May 9th 2007 3:19PM]

I'm sure there are some devices that exist that use winCE (or whatever they're calling it now)

but MS's share of the cellphone OS market is a fraction of a percent. Even just their marketshare within smartphones (the only area they are competing) is in the single digits. as far as i know, it's still not turning a profit, as marketing and R&D costs outstrip their income.

so while something might "sell well" - i'm still not sure i'd call a fraction-of-a-percent marketshare and money losses a "success" - but that's just me.

[Jeff @ May 9th 2007 11:53AM]

So - you're telling us that this (video) was made by Microsoft? - your title would seem to say so.

If so, they've treated MS's shortcomings fairly bluntly, and i gotta commend them for that (though i would have assumed this was made outside of MS)

[Joe Shmoe @ May 9th 2007 1:20PM]

They do that all the time. The most recent example being a spoof of the iPod packaging wherein they made fun of ... themselves.

Why is it so hard to believe that a company can have a sense of humor about itself? They are probably more aware of their shortcomings than anyone else. Consider your perspective on your employer. Do you find things about your firm that are humorous? I should hope so.

[Landlocked @ May 9th 2007 12:02PM]

I think Mac/PC commercials AND this are funny. Nothing wrong with healthy competition...and having fun with it.

[directive0 @ May 9th 2007 12:20PM]

Jeeze... half you people can't take a joke, can you?

[gfar @ May 9th 2007 12:21PM]

no need for an iPhone killer -- it committed suicide the day it was announced.

[Burke @ May 9th 2007 12:23PM]

Instead of wasting their time on this crap how about you fix the xbox 360 fail rates and improve the zune a little???

[David J. @ May 9th 2007 3:03PM]

Well, first of all I assume the same people who work on the
Zune & Xbox were not involved in the making of this video...

Sheesh. Microsoft has more employees than most towns in the U.S. have in population: Who cares if they had a little bit of fun making a video for one of their dev. conferences?

[qwerty @ May 9th 2007 12:46PM]

Hmm... it looks like a 'radioactive' sign...

[Jeff @ May 9th 2007 3:13PM]

the iPod packaging thing is the ONLY other example i know of, and it wasn't officially "attached" to MS's marketing department until weeks after it was on the web, and then when it came out that it was actually done by MS, it was official.

I didn't see anything crediting MS for this video, so i'm wondering if it really WAS done by MS like engadget is saying (IE: where does it credit MS?) or if it's just more bad writing my engadget that sounds like something but doesn't really mean it.

so, to repeat the question (and following comment): was this actually done by MS? if so, i commend them.

[zorg @ May 9th 2007 2:15PM]

Those of us who are cool and are not fanboys are so laughing at you are fanboys and are whining like babies.

Let me put it another way. We (the cool, not-fanboys) can't believe how much time you (the not-cool, fanboys) have to parade around with all your complaints.

Let me put it still another way. I barely have time to post this because being cool and not being a fanboy takes a lot of my time. You are not really important enough for me to laugh at.

Let me put it yet another way. I actually have a bot to post this for me because I am too cool for you fanboys. That bot is laughing at you as hard as it can.

[RH @ May 9th 2007 2:46PM]

looks like the glaive…

[warrenpeace™ @ May 9th 2007 2:51PM]

You mean Micro$oft has a sense of humor?

[M @ May 9th 2007 2:58PM]

Best design Microsoft has come up with in years.....maybe they should let the funny guys run the company.

[David J. @ May 9th 2007 3:03PM]

@warrenpeace,

Ever see the 'bug report' video? The one with Bill Gates & Napoleon Dynamite?

I'd have to say Microsoft is one of the largest companies out there who still likes to poke fun. It's all not suits & ladders!