MacRumors.com

Bill gates made interview comments to a German newspaper that he sees mobile phones overtaking iPods for portable music players.

"As good as Apple may be, I don't believe the success of the iPod is sustainable in the long run," he said in an interview published in Thursday's Frankfurter Allgemeine Zeitung.

He drew comparisons to Apple's early lead in personal computers/GUIs which was later lost. In typical Microsoft fashion, Microsoft is marketing Windows Mobile smartphone software to cell phone manufacturers.

Mobile phones are anticipated to make a major move towards MP3/Audio playback. As well, even Steve Jobs has indicated that cell phone popularity has largely made the concept of a PDA of less importance. Whether or not this trend will continue to encompass MP3 players remains to be seen.