So Microsoft's thinking of developing an iPod-killer? So says BusinessWeek, which reports that Microsoft hasn't decided whether to go ahead with the "xPod" project yet. My advice is simple: don't do it,  Bill, because it's already too late unless you want to be a marginal play. I mean, the iPod is so well-entrenched, Creative Technology and iRiver barely have a foothold - let alone Dell and its Digital Jukebox. The iPod's hold on the market has given its default status with consumers in that when most people think about buying an MP3 player, they immediatley think about an iPod. The same goes for the Blackberry and mobile e-mail, no matter what Motorola, Nokia and Microsoft may try to tell you otherwise.

I've got an investment story in today's National Post about how a growing number of analysts are jumping on the Nortel bandwagon. A big chunk of the enthusiasm has to do with the expectations newly-minted CEO Mike Zafirovski and his plan to revive the embattled company by giving it a sharper strategic vision - as opposed to its all-things-to-all-people approach that spread its focus (and R&D dollars) too thin. While Zafirovski is a breath of fresh air after John Roth, Frank Dunn and Bill Owens but investors should be cautious before they start to believe Nortel's back on the right track. This is a company with a multitude of internal challenges that will time to fix, while it faces external issues such as rising competition from low-cost rivals such as Huawei and low margins in high-growth markets such as India and China. It would probably make sense to wait until Nortel issues its fourth-quarter results in a couple weeks before getting too excited about Nortel's prospects, particularly given it should be the first time Mike Z. will talk publicly since he started the new gig in mid-November.

If you're looking for where telecom carriers need to go to stay competitive, SaskTel offers plenty of insight. The government-owned carrier in Western Canada is upgrading its residential broadband network to between 40Mbps and 50 Mbps by the end of this year in 10 large centres, and it plans to upgrade the system to 100Mbps by 2016. SaskTel CEO Robert Watson said the need for a bigger pipe is simple: consumers are going to demand an always-on network that can provide super-fast Web surfing, video-on-demand, pay-per-view and high-definition television. What's particularly interesting is Watson's admission that 100Mbps will be attained by rolling out fiber to the home - a strategy being pursued currently by Verizon. Bell Canada insists it can eventually get to 50Mbps by using the less expensive fiber to the node route but it's counting on new compression technology to get the job done. For SaskTel, its decision to move aggressively is based on the need to be ready when competition from cablecos starts to appears. It's a strategy many, if not all, carriers, should examine given the inroads being made by the cablecos in telephony.
Update: It's interesting to read a post today by Om Malik on how BellSouth is winning new DSL business with its higher price 3Mbps and 6Mbps broadband services. It puts some perspective on SaskTel's plans.