'If Microsoft made ...' series continues with fugly iPhone knockoff

"If Microsoft made ..." is a fledgling genre in the world of YouTube. The whole thing started around 2007 with "If Microsoft made the iPod," which imagined the company releasing the device with cheesy packaging that over-explained every product feature, in contrast to Apple's minimalism. The gist: Microsoft doesn't know marketing. Now, after others imagined how Microsoft would make cars, toasters and Gmail, someone has inevitably gotten around to the iPhone. How would that go? First, it would look like the brick phone that Michael Douglas used in Wall Street. Second, it would have a dumb name: the Zune-like "Fune." Finally, it would have really stupid features like AM radio reception (with an extendable antenna), fax capability and online access via AOL. Laugh it up, Apple fans, but bear in mind that Microsoft has learned its marketing lesson of late and has come back with its own decent satirical ads against Apple. Now, no jokes about "If Microsoft made satirical ads ..."

—Posted by Todd Wasserman