Yesterday, Microsoft confirmed Zune, their mobile entertainment device which will compete with the iPod. While many details about the Zune are still unknown, Engadget has put together a nice list of information that it’s mostly sure of, and unsure of.
Because of the still low-amount of knowledge about the Zune, it is unsure exactly what affect it will have on Apple and the iPod. I know that many people will deny the fact that any digital media player could ever even make the slightest dent in the iPod’s market share, but I have a feeling that the Zune isn’t like another iPod-killer before it. I think that it is possible that Micorsoft could actually create a player that’s good enough to have at least a moderate affect on Apple. But hey, right now the Zune is like a little storm in West Africa during the summer: it may start out as a little nothing storm, and stay like that, or it could slowly enter the Atlantic, make it’s way from Tropical Depression to Tropical Storm to finally a Category 1 or 2 hurricane, and before you know it you’ve got another Katrina on your hands. All I’m saying is that don’t let your devotion to Apple blind you from the fact that Microsoft very well could come close to hurting, though not killing, the iPod.
If they keep the project name "Zune" I'm totally just gonna buy one so I can make fun of it on my blog... XD HAHA!
I think that Apple still has a hold over the Mac-using population, as 1) most are loyal to Apple and 2) MS probably won't make this thing Mac-compatible. That's not a problem for MS, considering there 90%+ hold on OS use.
At this point I think Apple is too far ahead of MS in terms of brand recognition, design, and loyalty. If MS wants to make Zune the next big MP3 player, they need to have significant advantages over the current leading product (iPod), then continue to keep their product that way. It was easy for apple to do that when the current leading product was not well defined and most MP3 players had about 32MB of internal space, were made of plastic, and had doodoo software (while USB was running at 12Mbps for PCs and Apple had FireWire running at 400Mbps). Now that Apple has such a huge advantage, MS needs to beat Apple out in almost every area to be a real "iPod Killer" INCLUDING DESIGN! No one wants an ugly MP3 Player!! Some will sacrafice features for looks. Keep that in mind MS.
At this point, Zune won't become an iPod Killer for a few years if MS really strategizes this right.
If it were any other company, we would argument about its ability to produce a competitive player and to set up a suitable download service for it, but being it M$, I believe that any fear for the iPod stems from the company's perverse power to sell the most awful piece of crap by the millions.
Very nice analogy, comparing Microsoft to a hurricane... very nice.