Building Spokes: Devices Link to Home Hub

To establish the Windows PC as a home entertainment hub, Microsoft must ensure that there are plenty of devices that can attach to that hub. Unlike hardware-oriented competitors such as Apple and Sony, Microsoft intends to achieve this goal by creating software platforms that third-parties can then use to create compatible devices. These software platforms focus on two main scenarios:

• Transferring PC-based content to portable devices (“on the go”)
• Enabling PC-based content to be played on traditional consumer electronics devices (TVs, stereos), either on removable media or streamed from the PC over a home network (“in the home”).

On the Go

Microsoft has been quite successful in convincing third parties to create dedicated portable audio players that support the Windows Media platform: almost 400 such devices are available from more than a dozen companies, including consumer electronics stalwarts like Kenwood, Panasonic, Philips, and, RCA. However, Apple’s iPod continues to dominate this market with about 60% market share overall and more than 90% market share of hard-drive-based players, according to NPD.