“Microsoft’s Zune portable music player will let people share and sample tracks via wi-fi, reports suggest,” BBC News reports. “Although details of the gadgets are sketchy, Microsoft said it will use a hard drive, wi-fi and owners will be able to buy tracks that are downloaded direct to the device. The first Zune player will appear in late 2006 with more to follow in 2007.”
“Zune is the umbrella term for the hardware player, the software on it and the download service it will be tied into. Music tracks, movies and other content will be available via this service,” The Beeb reports. “Microsoft said that, at first, only music will be available via Zune with other content to follow later.”
“Incompatible copy protection systems will make it unlikely that music can be moved seamlessly from iTunes – used predominately by iPod owners – to Zune or vice versa,” The Beeb reports. “It is not clear whether Zune will be a closed system or if it will work with the other music, media and movie systems Microsoft is a partner in. Microsoft has yet to say how, or if, Zune will work with its existing MSN Music service or how it will affect its alliance with MTV on a download service. There is also no word on whether Zune will impact the Plays For Sure initiative which helps people work out what gadgets will play their music collection.”
“Respected analyst Rob Enderle from the Enderle Group said the Zune project was less about Microsoft making its own iPod and more about changing the entire music download market,” The Beeb reports. “‘It is a flanking move,’ Mr Enderle said. ‘Microsoft is trying to encompass Apple and turn them into a bit player.’ He added: ‘The strategy is brilliant, but the question is can they execute?’ Mr Enderle said Zune was likely to be pitched at those creating music, movies and other content. The service would also use download statistics to generate lists of the most popular tracks and compile recommendations of artists that others might like.”
“By contrast, said Mr Enderle, Apple was aimed more squarely at consumers,” The Beeb reports. “By courting artists and recording studios Microsoft could end up with a very large portfolio of fresh content on Zune, said Mr Enderle. ‘If you get the artists excited collectively, they will be more powerful than a Steve Jobs can be,’ he said.”
Full article here.
Respected analyst Rob Enderle? Bwahahahahahahahahaha! The Beeb wrote “respected…” Bwahaha! For “analyst” Rob Enderle! Bwahahahahahahahahaha! Is this from the “Humour” section?
Phew! Of course, everything Enderle says is wrong or idiotic gibberish. The strategy is brilliant? Does Enderle mean the strategy where Microsoft eats its own partners or the one where no one outside Microsoft fully knows the features and specs of the new device(s) and/or service(s) or the one where, if Microsoft ever gets even a hint of traction, Steve Jobs licenses FairPlay DRM to selected partners (Ahem, Sony) and/or everyone else thereby rendering Zune a complete and total loss?
If Rob Enderle thinks Microsoft’s Zune is “brilliant strategy,” you know it’s DOA. There’s no more effective ‘killer’ than an Enderle kiss of death.
Is Microsoft really trying to turn Apple into a “bit player” or are they trying to grab a minority share that Apple’s “competitors” currently occupy? We strongly suspect the latter.
Zune will use “statistics to generate lists of the most popular tracks and compile recommendations of artists that others might like” as part of its “brilliant strategy.” You know, just like iTunes does already. Supposedly, this means that Zune is aimed squarely at artists. So, Apple can have those hundreds of millions of consumers, Microsoft will take the 50-100 “artists” that will sell out to Redmond. Brilliant.
Rob “Microsoft Wrote the First Mac OS” Enderle is an idiot and so are the idiots at the BBC who decided to get his quotes and attempt to pass him off as “respected.”
Still, thanks for the early Monday morning laugh, Beeb!
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If Rob Enderle thinks Microsoft’s Zune is “brilliant strategy,” you know it’s DOA.
I didn’t even have to type that, MDN did it for me. I would have referred to him as the Fudmeister though.
I queried Rob Enderle about this, using some of MDN’s points, but not all. Here is his response to me:
I see, you actually don’t understand the strategy or simply assume that
since it didn’t come from Apple it won’t work (I might even agree with
that last part).
First there is nothing in this that says Microsoft won’t license most
parts of this out (and that is part of the plan). People have been
asking, begging, and pleading Steve to license Fair Play out, so far he
has said he never will do this. Of course we all know Steve tells the
truth when he says he won’t do stuff (Intel, Flash etc.). Guy lies
like
a rug.
As for whether people outside of Microsoft know about this, they have
pitched it to a broad cross section of artists and labels and both
groups like it better then iTunes. (Not a surprise on the label side,
the labels have not been happy with iTunes for some time). Much of
this
is anecdotal but Microsoft has been sharing which is how this story
leaked in the first place.
A Strategy is a plan, the plan is good, execution has been a bit of an
issue for Microsoft of late and you have to know Apple’s own excellent
competitive analysis has seen this coming and will have a response. No
strategy ever survives the battlefield. But, all of that being said,
this is a good strategy, and the execution team looks good but man,
betting on Microsoft executing these days is really iffy.
Enjoy your laugh, but if you did your homework before you wrote perhaps
you would be respected as well.
Enjoy your laugh.
Rob Enderle
Principal Analyst
Enderle Group
(408) 272-8560 work
(408) 832-6326 cell
enderle@enderlegroup.com
I’m not bashing Rob, and I have a lot of experience with strategy, and I honestly don’t get his point.
How is this a flanking move?
I’d love to understand his point better, but it really doesn’t make any sense.
Huh? Enderle pretty much says in the response that MS won’t succeed, but “the plan is good”, “groups like it better _then_ iTunes”, etc…
Does Enderle think the plan is brilliant since it only exists on paper (for now), or brilliant as in “it might render you blind” brilliant, or what? I honestly don’t get his point, either.
BTW, I think Steve will eventually license FairPlay when it suits Apple. Right now, it does not. And so what if Steve “lies like a rug”. Why should he give up his competative advantage (or give Apple a disadvantage) by telling us their secrets? Folks are chasing Apple. Why should Apple advertise its strategy for success and give competitors and leg up on what’s going to happen?
Well perhaps we need to do our own homework and come to the conclusion that MS wrote the MacOS, too. And we’ll be respected for doing so. Next thing you know, MS wrote iTunes, too.
MS problem is that they built a online music frameowrk they licensed to others since 1999 – and essentially ignored by consumers.
Somehow in their deluded belief, they are going to come up with something better in 6 months time?
And they have already pretty much said it will NOT work with Urge or plays4sure – after all this time that MS claimed that anything other than WMA is “closd,” they really are closing themselves off from their partners with a new flavor of WMA that is not like any other WMA – how confused will those sticking to the ipod be?
Napster WMA works with Creative and samsung but not Sony WMA … MS WMA does not work with MTV WMA …
Or maybe just buy an ipod?
Yea, Enderle is an amazing idiot. He’s like that Iraqi Minster of Information during the fighting portion of the war … “what American troops?”
zu-ne (zün)
n. Extremely Vulgar Slang.
A terribly deformed anus.
An extremely contemptible, detestable person. Someone with vulgar taste and shocking manners.
Ex: They all agreed that there might not be greater zune in the analyst world that Rob Enderle.
……………………
Rob, rob rob… you are making it so easy. But thank you for your dedication to being the best living example… no matter how discusting it is to witness.
Ummm, what strategy?
Oh, you mean the one Apple used many years ago when the iPod was released?
Actually, that fits with Microsoft’s past couple of years – do everything they can to catch up to Apple, but always stay a few years behind. Brilliant strategy!
How can 40 million iPod users all buying songs from iTunes, result in anyone trurning Apple into a “bit player” overnight?
Wow…how analytical…and worthy of respect…
So will these creative artists they enlist be able to use Zune to listen to the songs they create in ProTools on their Macs? I guess they probably liked the sound of increased royalties from Zune(?) without giving much thought to which platform is used for said creation! Sounds like they talked to 3 major artists who think they’re getting ripped off online.
I do not have hard numbers. It seems that WiFi requires a larger battery one of the key “features” of the iPods is their size. Apple has beeen vigourously reducing the size of iPods for increasing functionality. How big will Zune need to be to include the battery that will allow 8 hours play time. I suspect Zune’s acceptance may resemble that of another MS product, Bob.