Zune, Zune, Zune
You are probably sick of hearing about this but get ready for another article about the new Zune, Microsoft’s media player and service that is attempting to go where only Apple have trod before (successfully). Microsoft has confirmed the imminent release of the Zune line of products.
“Under the Zune brand, we will deliver a family of hardware and software products, the first of which will be available this year,” said Chris Stephenson, general manager of market for entertainment and services at Microsoft, in an statement. “We see a great opportunity to bring together technology and community to allow consumers to explore and discover music together.”
Microsoft intends to hit the market with the first Zune audio player before Christmas to take advantage of the holiday shopping season. Devices under the Zune brand are expected to be WiFi enabled and have hard drives for media file storage. The Zune brand includes the media service in addition to the hardware and should make audio and video media available to Zune subscribers. It has been reported that the Zune players will be based on Windows Mobile.
(via CNN)
Related research and analysis from GigaOM Pro:
Subscriber content. Sign up for a free trial.
My hunch is that Apple has set them up. It was widely reported through the rumor mill that Apple had been forced to delay releasing the gen 6 iPod until 2007. And then by coincidence we started to hear rumors about Microsoft releasing it’s own device. Then Microsoft acknowledged it, and then released a few details about the device.
Not surprisingly, Apple has been very quiet.
Now this may be a great player with great features, but Apple is just a lot better at creating buzz and releasing products.
I may be wrong but I have a feeling that about 2 to 4 weeks before the Zune is released, Steve Jobs will hold a keynote announcing the new generation iPod and iTunes Music Store that will kill the Zune before it reaches the shelves and maintain their market share.
It’d be nice if MS converged their Portable Media Center software and Windows Mobile onto this platform… and then sel me one with an integrated multi-megapixel camera and phone.
Thanks JK for the heads up! There is an interesting new website, at http://www.comingzune.com/ It looks nothing like what MS would do!
As for acjif98…be objective and act as if you have a tertiary education! If you are so interested in war/killing, do the honorable thing and enlist in the army!
Your ‘lord and master’ Steve Jobs is do different from you guys… check out this 1997 Macworld video at: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WxOp5mBY9IY
My favorite quote “…We have to let go of the notion that for Apple to win, Microsoft must loose.”
Please, no Steve Jobs fanboy here – just an observation. They want to protect their 75% to 80% iPod market share so I will bet the house that they have something coming. The rumor is Microsoft is planning some license credits to customers to pry them from the ITMS. If it makes the market more competitive and the devices cheaper then I am all for it.
I am glad Zune will be based on Windows Mobile. Obviously an enertainment based PPC style device with a 30gb hard drive. Many possibilities.
I think we have been waiting for that combination.
As for joining the army – I am a little old for that but thanks for the tip.
As you know, business is competitive and there are winners and losers every day. Will Microsoft crumble if the Zune doesn’t do well. Well no, but by being competitive in this arena the real winner in this battle (sorry for the military reference) will be the consumer. Devices improve and prices come down.
We see it every day.
To quote George S. Patton;
“Nobody ever defended anything successfully, there is only attack and attack and attack some more”
I went to MW 1997… Steve had just come back to the company and things were very different. Think no iPod, no iTMS, no iMac, no OS X… But still, you’re right — Steve’s goal isn’t to “kill” Microsoft, per se; that’s neither realistic nor necessary. On the other hand, seeing one’s vision for how people interact with technology dominate the market culture, if not always the market itself, provides a certain vindication and sense of accomplishment. Consider the “letting go of the notion” quote in this light; it doesn’t mean the goal isn’t for Apple to win, just that beating Microsoft isn’t a necessary precondition to that.
What’s that they say about imitation? My intuition is, if Zune is just an imitation (good or bad) of the iPod experience (the whole experience), it’s going to have a hard time catching up. I think we’ll have a much better idea when the details emerge. And, Apple has been really quiet, but then, they are notorious for that. I don’t agree they’ve “set Microsoft up” (remember, beating Microsoft isn’t the goal), but at the same time, I would doubt they’ve been resting on their laurels.
Matt,
Good points.
This is not a Microsoft vs. Apple old world grudge match. It isn’t to beat Microsoft, it is about shareholder value. Strictly business. If I owned a company with 85% market share in anything – I would not not stand still, I would remain aggressive to maintain it.
You are right that Apple being quiet is nothing new and OK using the term “set up” obviously set the wrong tone.
However, it isn’t unusual for companies to put out press releases or generate PR to somehow get competitors to show their hand or change strategies. It was just unusual that there were rumors that Apple had some problems with the development of there next gen iPod.
Anyway,
The real question today should address how Microsoft “Plays for Sure” partners feel about the Zune. I’m sure Creative is pretty happy.
And then we have this rumor…
http://www.engadget.com/2006/07/22/apple-to-do-ebooks/
Hmmm…
So if they’re based on Windows Mobile, will these devices have PocketPC-like battery lives?
Will Zune be the wireless 30gb external hard drive that I need for my Q1?
Oliver: My Pocket PC can play music all day and still have juice to spare on the standard battery. Of course, that’s with flash memory, but even with its hard drive, the Zune should still run about the same and it will probably have a larger battery.
That said, the software is the key to the Zune’s success. People seem to forget that the iPod was born as an extension of iTunes, a way to carry iTunes with you. Apple expanded the iPod to PC users by creating a version of iTunes for Windows. Bottom line: if iTunes sucked, no one would want an iPod. So all hype aside, we really need to see the software side of the Zune before any realistic “iPod-killer” talk can begin.
On a related note, wifi on the device is a good idea, but if it works like it does on Windows Mobile, this will be a geek-only feature. My wife and mother-in-law can both use iTunes with their iPods (after I got them set up, of course), but they would never get how to use wifi on my Pocket PC. The wifi operation on the Zune needs to be as easy as, well, using an iPod or this won’t fly.