“The launch of Zune pitches Microsoft into direct competition with Apple but few think that, initially, it will have the clout to upset the dominance of iTunes and the iPod,” Mark Ward reports for BBC News.
“At launch Microsoft will only be offering one Zune player – a 30GB model with a 7.6cm colour screen and FM radio that comes in black, white or brown. Also at launch the Zune service will only offer music and associated art. Movies and TV shows will come later,” Ward reports. “‘They put a big screen designed for movies, but there are no movies for it,’ said analyst Rob Enderle. ‘That is a design mistake.'”
“Built in to every Zune device is a wireless music sharing system. The short range data swapping system lets Zune owners beam tracks, playlists and images to other Zune players nearby,” Ward reports. “Tracks shared in this way can be listened to three times or kept for three days before they disappear. This ability to share is at the heart of Microsoft’s ambitions for the player and the way it hopes to differentiate itself from what it dubs the ‘closed’ world of Apple’s iTunes.”
Full article here.
Microsoft has made their usual mistake. They looked around for something to differentiate themselves from Apple and hit upon “sharing.” That doesn’t mean it’s a desired feature by consumers. Ask yourself how many times you wished you could beam a song to a friend. Probably a few times, right? An odd time here or there for most, right? It gets worse. Now ask yourself how many times you wished you could beam a song to a friend that they could only listen to three times or keep for three days before it disappeared from their iPod. Never, right? Typical Microsoft: they do it because its possible – technology for technology’s sake – not because it’s a particularly useful feature and then they don’t do it very well at all. How do real humans share? It’s called “iPod jacking” and it’s decidedly less techno, but done far more often: you unplug your headphones from your iPod and plug into your friend’s iPod to hear the song. Done. Sharing accomplished. Now get off my iPod!
For this reason, and many others, Microsoft Zune will fail because Microsoft, as is their modus operandi, doesn’t know and/or care what the customer wants or what features would be good for the use.
Related articles:
BBC online poll asks ‘Will Microsoft’s Zune be a success?’ – September 15, 2006
Microsoft hypocrisy exposed with Zune: What ever happened to ‘choice?’ – September 14, 2006
Analyst: Microsoft Zune with fake scroll wheel ‘hardly an Apple iPod killer’ – September 14, 2006
Analyst: Microsoft Zune won’t spoil Apple’s biggest iPod Christmas ever – September 14, 2006
Microsoft unveils Zune 30GB player, Zune Marketplace; declines to disclose prices – September 14, 2006
Microsoft sees room in music player market for ‘Zune’ to challenge Apple’s dominant iPod – September 06, 2006
Analyst: Microsoft’s Zune an ‘underwhelming’ repackaged Toshiba Gigabeat; no threat to Apple iPod – August 30, 2006
Microsoft confirms brick-like Zune to be made by Toshiba – August 25, 2006
Microsoft Zune is chunky brick made by Toshiba – August 25, 2006
Microsoft to spend hundreds of millions, several years on Zune trying to catch Apple iPod+iTunes – July 27, 2006
Zune: Apple cannot lose. Microsoft cannot win. – July 26, 2006
To look it up: Maybe zunatics?
MacDailyNews Take:
“Microsoft has made their usual mistake. They looked around for something to differentiate themselves from Apple and hit upon “sharing.” That doesn’t mean it’s a desired feature by consumers.”
MDN hits the nail on the head here. This is just the “if we build it, they will come” theory of product development, rather than really understanding what the customers _actually_ want & need in the first place.
Instead, you should have the “right” features, not simply more features.
Apple “gets” it, many other companies don’t
Social networking on the internet is a hot topic these days – even Ma & Pa watching CNN have heard of it! “…So if we add a social networking feature to Zune, then it’ll be HOT!”, must have gone the thinking at MS. Maybe a good idea, who knows? but the implementation (3day limit) sure doesn’t sound like it was driven by customer requirement.
MS has a long history of failed non-PC hardware platforms it has promoted to developers, most of which the average consumer never even heard of (they certainly never bought any!) – AutoPC and HandheldPC variants of WinCE from several years ago come to mind. Xbox is an exception, although I think it’s still losing money, big time. Maybe Zune will be different, but based on the weak (non)start, I wouldn’t hold my breath…
Interesting opportunity, sharing viruses, um, I mean, sharing songs between friends.
“Hey, man, what happened? All my tunes are gone!”
From dictionary.com:
zoonosis: n : A disease of animals, such as rabies or psittacosis, that can be transmitted to humans.
zoonotic: adj : of or relating to or constituting zoonosis; “the Ebola virus is believed to be zoonotic”
Still not as funny as the other thread.
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“errr, Microsoft and “sharp marketing” are Oxymorons….when was the last time you saw a great Microsoft ad?? whether print or TV?”
…ummmmmmm marketing and advertising are not the same thing.
the xbox team has proven they get can things done, and I’m sure SJ will respond. If you remember he predicted this, way earlier in the year. He pretty much said that Microsoft would have to get into the game *this year* with an ‘xplayer’ or whatever. So I’m sure he’s prepared.
but man whats up with the hatred?…not good for the gizzard.