I don?t doubt that many or even most Zune owners are satisfied with what they have. Here?s my thing: Apple dove into the MP3 market when that market was already well on its way to maturity. The iPod quickly made a big splash, and iTunes has played no small part in helping the iPod acquire a 70% market share. Apple did not engage in illegal, monopolistic business practices in order to achieve that level of prominence; nor did Steve Jobs hypnotize buyers, steering them towards the iPod.
When the iPod was released in October of 2001, it succeeded during a recession caused by the terrorist attacks of 9/11. If the current economic climate adversely affected the Zune and other consumer products, then it stands to reason that it also adversely affected iPod sales. Yet, Apple reported a growth in iPod sales for the most recent quarter, versus a 54% drop in Zune revenues. How much better would the iPod have faired this quarter without the deepening recession?
I believe that Microsoft and its investors need to re-evaluate the Zune with regard to how it affects other products, and how it affects shareholder interests. If I?m a Microsoft competitor ? and I don?t believe that Apple and Microsoft compete in the sense that they appeal to very different groups of customers ? then I truly hope that Microsoft continues to throw money and other resources at the Zune. Let them and their investors learn the hard way. Again.
When Apple entered the market with the iPod, it was far from being mature. It was just beginning. Now, the market is mature.
I never lift my primary finger to right-click with a Mighty Mouse and I never have a problem.
You don't have to. It's just a simple matter of applying more pressure to that side. I asked my daughter about that, as I only used it for a little while to try it. She agrees that it's also how she does it.
I use trackballs, and I've always found all mice to be annoying. So we all differ on this.
Well, not everyone can afford one, others care more about sound quality so opt for a sony (and yes the sony do have better SQ) , and some are loyal to other brands such as creative etc.
They would have even a bigger share if it was not for itunes, i know many people that just hate it, and, a lot of them liked itunes when it first came out, but it has just become so bloated.
The sad thing about ipods is that they are so much about image, the product itself is really nice but the headphone are crap, you can get such a big improvement with aftermarkert headphones but then people will not know you own a headphone. While apple might have the share of the MP3 market, why on earth they do not include decent headphones is beyond me, their headphones are among the worst on offer of the leading manufactures.
The zune itself is a good product. Ipod is the Cool product.
Can you post some reviews that says that Sony's product has better sound quality? The only place where the iPod falls down in sound quality is in the crappy earphones. Otherwise, the sound quality is as good as any other.
As far as the Zune goes, it really isn't so great. It's not so bad either. But some of the features are a waste of time, and the store sucks. there's really no point to buying a Zune because of this, other than to show you aren't buying the most popular and highly rated device on the market.
And, for all of you Zune lovers, I find it to be very interesting that for all the $100 million that MS said they spent on promoting this stuff, they are a far third in the marketplace, after SanDisk, who almost does no advertising at all.
Interesting that Sandisk sold between 8 and 9.5% of music players without all of the MS hype about the "Social" and such, while MS sold between 2.5 and 3.4%. And that was the quarter before. This quarter MS is down 54%, which puts their sales at maybe 1.75 to 2.2%. That could put them forth, or even fifth, as Samsung sells about 2% as do one or two others. Sony resides at about 1 to 2% as well.
Interesting that Sandisk sold between 8 and 9.5% of music players without all of the MS hype...
In MS' defense, SanDisk sells mostly smaller, simpler devices at a much lower pricepoint.[/quote]
Solipism,
Sorry, I screwed up and added to your post by mistake instead of doing my own. I guess that's what happens when you're away for so long. I'll put mine below.
In MS' defense, SanDisk sells mostly smaller, simpler devices at a much lower pricepoint.
If that's the case, then doesn't MS still deserve the blame for not figuring that out, and offering a small, simple device? Particularly when SD is clobbering them not just in unit sales, but in dollars as well.
In MS' defense, SanDisk sells mostly smaller, simpler devices at a much lower pricepoint.
Some of their products are at lower price points, but then, so is the Shuffle.
It doesn't really matter though, because the manufacturer decides on their lineup. If one is doing well, and the other isn't, what does that tell us? It tells that the one that is doing well is doing the proper thing, and that the one that is not, is not doing the proper thing.
With MS and its products, after complaining about Apple's methods, decided to copy them. After all this time, it has been a failure. Sandisk decided to compete, but to also fill in the holes that exist. They have been pretty successful at this, esp. given that they don't compete with a music, video store and such.
When a product line fails to gain in sales over time, the company must evaluate that and change course in some way. The only thing they did was to copy Apple's use of optical glass.
The other point is that there is no real reason to buy MS's product. Yes, some will like the FM tuner. But that's a very small number. A few might actually think that the "Social" might be useful, until they find out that it isn't. I know several examples of that happening.
People also sometimes buy a Zune to be the "un-Apple" person in their crowd. How often does this happen? Likely more than one might think.
I know of some people who bought other players because they complained that their iPods broke too easily. But then they found that their Creatives, Sandisks, and Zunes broke even more easily. They are now back using iPods.
No matter how it's looked at, Apple has the most music, the most movies, and the most Tv shows and videos for their players. Also now, games.
The iPod line also has, by far, the most third party accessories, from the cheapest, to the most expensive, in all categories.
Despite MS paying some manufacturers to adapt some of their products for the Zune, it hasn't taken off because there are simply too few people buying Zunes in the first place, and few places carries these Zune accessories.
Buying an iPod is simply a no brainer, esp now for those who complained about DRM, and the lack of 246Kbs encoding on most music.
Does MS offer all DRM-free music? Do they offer any? Other than a few here and there as a promotion.
If that's the case, then doesn't MS still deserve the blame for not figuring that out, and offering a small, simple device? Particularly when SD is clobbering them not just in unit sales, but in dollars as well.
If you all you care about is unit sales of the overall market then even Apple's Mac sales are crappy.
People also sometimes buy a Zune to be the "un-Apple" person in their crowd. How often does this happen? Likely more than one might think.
The 3 people I know with Zunes all bought them because they were purposely trying to avoid Apple products. I'm not sure of the exact reasons but at least of them was trying to be different for the sake of being different.
Quote:
Does MS offer all DRM-free music? Do they offer any? Other than a few here and there as a promotion.
Not that I'm aware of.
This was posted on AI a couple days ago, though I forget by whom. It reads like it's an Onion spoof.
If you all you care about is unit sales of the overall market then even Apple's Mac sales are crappy.
Not really, because profit enters into it.
About 18 months ago, Ballmer was interviewed. He was asked when MS would put the Zune into international markets.
His answer was very revealing, though I don't think he realized it at the time.
He said that if they did "we would just lose more money".
I found the "more" part to be very interesting.
MS has ALWAYS lost money on the Zune. Apple has NEVER lost money on the Mac.
Also, when Apple was basically just a computer manufacturer, the Mac was the mainstay of their business. They couldn't drop it and stay in business, they had to improve it, which they did.
Sales and marketshare have been rising for years. The same can't be said about the Zune product line. And now, it's dropped by more than half during the holiday quarter, when sales should be highest.
Where do sales go from there? Will sales be half this current quarter as well? If so, then MS might sell no more that 500,000 pieces this year, likely less.
Meanwhile total industry music player sales are still on the rise, though slowly, as evidenced by iPod sales, and Sandisk sales. That makes it even worse for MS, as their products are trending quickly in the opposite direction, and they are well below break even.
The 3 people I know with Zunes all bought them because they were purposely trying to avoid Apple products. I'm not sure of the exact reasons but at least of them was trying to be different for the sake of being different.
This was posted on AI a couple days ago, though I forget by whom. It reads like it's an Onion spoof.
I would hardley say the ipod is innovative anymore. Maybe in 2003 or 2004. It is 2009 though the ipod is still just an ipod. There are hundreds of music players that do the exact same thing and or more. Sales don't reflect quality. We all know that already. Sales reflect popularity. And now that itunes is DRM free. Well..
Well I guess you have never used the iPod Touch. Can you really say that the iPod is no longer innovative with a straight face when such a device exists with the iPod name? Wow.
Some of their products are at lower price points, but then, so is the Shuffle.
Not entirely a fair comparison. For less than the cost of a shuffle, I can get a Sandisk Click. It's roughly the same size, has 2gb of memory, and (unlike the Shuffle) has a display and supports subscription music services. I have one. It's a slick little device.
What it lacks (and what has me still preferring my iPod) is iTunes. I find using a music player as a mass storage device to be just enough less convenient. Is it hard to drag and drop files instead of tracks? No, not really, but it does making the creation of playlists and general organisation to be a bigger deal.
Quote:
The other point is that there is no real reason to buy MS's product. Yes, some will like the FM tuner. But that's a very small number. A few might actually think that the "Social" might be useful, until they find out that it isn't. I know several examples of that happening.
I have a friend who works on the Zune project team, and he's tried to sell me on how much better it is than the iPod. I admit that it has some very slick features. For example, the radio's built-in RDS integrates with the store. If you hear something you like on the radio (which with my taste is pretty much never, but I digress), you simply tag it for later. You can then purchase (or subscribe) to the track in the marketplace. The trackpad-like control is actually not bad at all. It has a nice screen for watching movies and viewing photos (nothing compared to the touch/iPhone, of course).
After he finished showing off his Zune, I whipped out my iPhone. He drooled and marveled at how cool it was. Still, just as I would never buy a Zune, he would never buy an iPod, but I suspect that's mostly out of loyalty to his product.
Quote:
People also sometimes buy a Zune to be the "un-Apple" person in their crowd. How often does this happen? Likely more than one might think.
Not entirely a fair comparison. For less than the cost of a shuffle, I can get a Sandisk Click. It's roughly the same size, has 2gb of memory, and (unlike the Shuffle) has a display and supports subscription music services. I have one. It's a slick little device.
Well, they are products for different people. The Shuffle is far more elegant, and attractive, while the Sandisk looks and feels cheap, but has more features.
Subscription sites are not a feature so much. Very few people, as a percentage of those using mobile music, use them.
Quote:
What it lacks (and what has me still preferring my iPod) is iTunes. I find using a music player as a mass storage device to be just enough less convenient. Is it hard to drag and drop files instead of tracks? No, not really, but it does making the creation of playlists and general organisation to be a bigger deal.
While there are some who rail about how much they hate iTunes, there are now over, according to Apple's numbers, and estimates from those in the industry, 350 million people using iTunes to manage their music and videos, even if there are only slightly over 75 million actually having an account, and buying.
Quote:
I have a friend who works on the Zune project team, and he's tried to sell me on how much better it is than the iPod. I admit that it has some very slick features. For example, the radio's built-in RDS integrates with the store. If you hear something you like on the radio (which with my taste is pretty much never, but I digress), you simply tag it for later. You can then purchase (or subscribe) to the track in the marketplace. The trackpad-like control is actually not bad at all. It has a nice screen for watching movies and viewing photos (nothing compared to the touch/iPhone, of course).
Well, I hope he's not going to one of those who MS will be firing shortly.
The belief out there right now is that MS has no logical choice other than to discontinue the Zune and store altogether.
While they lost billions on the Xbox over the years, at least they saw a decent amount of increasing sales. This isn't the case for the Zune. I've seen estimates that say that MS must sell at least 2 million a year to break even.
Quote:
After he finished showing off his Zune, I whipped out my iPhone. He drooled and marveled at how cool it was. Still, just as I would never buy a Zune, he would never buy an iPod, but I suspect that's mostly out of loyalty to his product.
Yeah. I just loved it when shortly after MS came out with the first Zune, Ballmer said that his kid wanted an iPod, but couldn't have one.
The belief out there right now is that MS has no logical choice other than to discontinue the Zune and store altogether.
I think this would be disastrous for MS.
Apple is killing MS by stitching together peripherals like iPods, iPhones, MM and the Mac together. If MS abandon Zune they only re-enforce the growing opinion that Windows and MS is only relevant for 'work' (x-box notwithstanding). They're beginning to get marginalized.
Apple is killing MS by stitching together peripherals like iPods, iPhones, MM and the Mac together. If MS abandon Zune they only re-enforce the growing opinion that Windows and MS is only relevant for 'work' (x-box notwithstanding). They're beginning to get marginalized.
So what's their alternative?
How would they get into the music/video player market, particularly when they get bad press like this that feeds the public perception that the product is dying?
How would they get into the music/video player market, particularly when they get bad press like this that feeds the public perception that the product is dying?
They suffered losses with the x-box for years, why not stick out the Zune a little longer?
They need to take the DRM out of the Zune marketplace. That is simply unacceptable now that the iTunes store and Amazon no longer have it.
I MS should devote energy into making the Zune software better than iTunes, at least on the windows platform. Maybe it already is. iTunes on Windows supposedly isn't very good. This is an opening MS should exploit. There is a huge Windows install base that they should be able to tap into.
If they abandon Zune they only make it harder to re-enter that market later. They've already abandoned Plays for Sure. Can they afford to do it again?
How would they get into the music/video player market, particularly when they get bad press like this that feeds the public perception that the product is dying?
Kill the Zune brand and build on the successful XBOX brand.
Comments
Well thats all a matter of opinion, not fact. I happen to love the mighty mouse.
I'll agree here, I also love my mighty mouse.
. . .
I don?t doubt that many or even most Zune owners are satisfied with what they have. Here?s my thing: Apple dove into the MP3 market when that market was already well on its way to maturity. The iPod quickly made a big splash, and iTunes has played no small part in helping the iPod acquire a 70% market share. Apple did not engage in illegal, monopolistic business practices in order to achieve that level of prominence; nor did Steve Jobs hypnotize buyers, steering them towards the iPod.
When the iPod was released in October of 2001, it succeeded during a recession caused by the terrorist attacks of 9/11. If the current economic climate adversely affected the Zune and other consumer products, then it stands to reason that it also adversely affected iPod sales. Yet, Apple reported a growth in iPod sales for the most recent quarter, versus a 54% drop in Zune revenues. How much better would the iPod have faired this quarter without the deepening recession?
I believe that Microsoft and its investors need to re-evaluate the Zune with regard to how it affects other products, and how it affects shareholder interests. If I?m a Microsoft competitor ? and I don?t believe that Apple and Microsoft compete in the sense that they appeal to very different groups of customers ? then I truly hope that Microsoft continues to throw money and other resources at the Zune. Let them and their investors learn the hard way. Again.
When Apple entered the market with the iPod, it was far from being mature. It was just beginning. Now, the market is mature.
It's a silly distinction because it's the same program on nearly identical hardware.
Oh, I agree with that. But as it was brought up, I thought I'd mention the distinction that Apple themselves gave them.
I never lift my primary finger to right-click with a Mighty Mouse and I never have a problem.
You don't have to. It's just a simple matter of applying more pressure to that side. I asked my daughter about that, as I only used it for a little while to try it. She agrees that it's also how she does it.
I use trackballs, and I've always found all mice to be annoying. So we all differ on this.
Well, not everyone can afford one, others care more about sound quality so opt for a sony (and yes the sony do have better SQ) , and some are loyal to other brands such as creative etc.
They would have even a bigger share if it was not for itunes, i know many people that just hate it, and, a lot of them liked itunes when it first came out, but it has just become so bloated.
The sad thing about ipods is that they are so much about image, the product itself is really nice but the headphone are crap, you can get such a big improvement with aftermarkert headphones but then people will not know you own a headphone. While apple might have the share of the MP3 market, why on earth they do not include decent headphones is beyond me, their headphones are among the worst on offer of the leading manufactures.
The zune itself is a good product. Ipod is the Cool product.
Can you post some reviews that says that Sony's product has better sound quality? The only place where the iPod falls down in sound quality is in the crappy earphones. Otherwise, the sound quality is as good as any other.
As far as the Zune goes, it really isn't so great. It's not so bad either. But some of the features are a waste of time, and the store sucks. there's really no point to buying a Zune because of this, other than to show you aren't buying the most popular and highly rated device on the market.
And, for all of you Zune lovers, I find it to be very interesting that for all the $100 million that MS said they spent on promoting this stuff, they are a far third in the marketplace, after SanDisk, who almost does no advertising at all.
Interesting that Sandisk sold between 8 and 9.5% of music players without all of the MS hype about the "Social" and such, while MS sold between 2.5 and 3.4%. And that was the quarter before. This quarter MS is down 54%, which puts their sales at maybe 1.75 to 2.2%. That could put them forth, or even fifth, as Samsung sells about 2% as do one or two others. Sony resides at about 1 to 2% as well.
Interesting that Sandisk sold between 8 and 9.5% of music players without all of the MS hype...
In MS' defense, SanDisk sells mostly smaller, simpler devices at a much lower pricepoint.[/quote]
Solipism,
Sorry, I screwed up and added to your post by mistake instead of doing my own. I guess that's what happens when you're away for so long. I'll put mine below.
Mel
In MS' defense, SanDisk sells mostly smaller, simpler devices at a much lower pricepoint.
If that's the case, then doesn't MS still deserve the blame for not figuring that out, and offering a small, simple device? Particularly when SD is clobbering them not just in unit sales, but in dollars as well.
In MS' defense, SanDisk sells mostly smaller, simpler devices at a much lower pricepoint.
Some of their products are at lower price points, but then, so is the Shuffle.
It doesn't really matter though, because the manufacturer decides on their lineup. If one is doing well, and the other isn't, what does that tell us? It tells that the one that is doing well is doing the proper thing, and that the one that is not, is not doing the proper thing.
With MS and its products, after complaining about Apple's methods, decided to copy them. After all this time, it has been a failure. Sandisk decided to compete, but to also fill in the holes that exist. They have been pretty successful at this, esp. given that they don't compete with a music, video store and such.
When a product line fails to gain in sales over time, the company must evaluate that and change course in some way. The only thing they did was to copy Apple's use of optical glass.
The other point is that there is no real reason to buy MS's product. Yes, some will like the FM tuner. But that's a very small number. A few might actually think that the "Social" might be useful, until they find out that it isn't. I know several examples of that happening.
People also sometimes buy a Zune to be the "un-Apple" person in their crowd. How often does this happen? Likely more than one might think.
I know of some people who bought other players because they complained that their iPods broke too easily. But then they found that their Creatives, Sandisks, and Zunes broke even more easily. They are now back using iPods.
No matter how it's looked at, Apple has the most music, the most movies, and the most Tv shows and videos for their players. Also now, games.
The iPod line also has, by far, the most third party accessories, from the cheapest, to the most expensive, in all categories.
Despite MS paying some manufacturers to adapt some of their products for the Zune, it hasn't taken off because there are simply too few people buying Zunes in the first place, and few places carries these Zune accessories.
Buying an iPod is simply a no brainer, esp now for those who complained about DRM, and the lack of 246Kbs encoding on most music.
Does MS offer all DRM-free music? Do they offer any? Other than a few here and there as a promotion.
Not that I'm aware of.
If that's the case, then doesn't MS still deserve the blame for not figuring that out, and offering a small, simple device? Particularly when SD is clobbering them not just in unit sales, but in dollars as well.
If you all you care about is unit sales of the overall market then even Apple's Mac sales are crappy.
People also sometimes buy a Zune to be the "un-Apple" person in their crowd. How often does this happen? Likely more than one might think.
The 3 people I know with Zunes all bought them because they were purposely trying to avoid Apple products. I'm not sure of the exact reasons but at least of them was trying to be different for the sake of being different.
Does MS offer all DRM-free music? Do they offer any? Other than a few here and there as a promotion.
Not that I'm aware of.
This was posted on AI a couple days ago, though I forget by whom. It reads like it's an Onion spoof.Damn it Soly, I did it again!
Mel
If you all you care about is unit sales of the overall market then even Apple's Mac sales are crappy.
Not really, because profit enters into it.
About 18 months ago, Ballmer was interviewed. He was asked when MS would put the Zune into international markets.
His answer was very revealing, though I don't think he realized it at the time.
He said that if they did "we would just lose more money".
I found the "more" part to be very interesting.
MS has ALWAYS lost money on the Zune. Apple has NEVER lost money on the Mac.
Also, when Apple was basically just a computer manufacturer, the Mac was the mainstay of their business. They couldn't drop it and stay in business, they had to improve it, which they did.
Sales and marketshare have been rising for years. The same can't be said about the Zune product line. And now, it's dropped by more than half during the holiday quarter, when sales should be highest.
Where do sales go from there? Will sales be half this current quarter as well? If so, then MS might sell no more that 500,000 pieces this year, likely less.
Meanwhile total industry music player sales are still on the rise, though slowly, as evidenced by iPod sales, and Sandisk sales. That makes it even worse for MS, as their products are trending quickly in the opposite direction, and they are well below break even.
The 3 people I know with Zunes all bought them because they were purposely trying to avoid Apple products. I'm not sure of the exact reasons but at least of them was trying to be different for the sake of being different.
This was posted on AI a couple days ago, though I forget by whom. It reads like it's an Onion spoof.
Yes, but it's not.
I didn't mention it because it's not a Zune market product.
But it does show where MS's head is at.
I would hardley say the ipod is innovative anymore. Maybe in 2003 or 2004. It is 2009 though the ipod is still just an ipod. There are hundreds of music players that do the exact same thing and or more. Sales don't reflect quality. We all know that already. Sales reflect popularity. And now that itunes is DRM free. Well..
Well I guess you have never used the iPod Touch. Can you really say that the iPod is no longer innovative with a straight face when such a device exists with the iPod name? Wow.
Some of their products are at lower price points, but then, so is the Shuffle.
Not entirely a fair comparison. For less than the cost of a shuffle, I can get a Sandisk Click. It's roughly the same size, has 2gb of memory, and (unlike the Shuffle) has a display and supports subscription music services. I have one. It's a slick little device.
What it lacks (and what has me still preferring my iPod) is iTunes. I find using a music player as a mass storage device to be just enough less convenient. Is it hard to drag and drop files instead of tracks? No, not really, but it does making the creation of playlists and general organisation to be a bigger deal.
The other point is that there is no real reason to buy MS's product. Yes, some will like the FM tuner. But that's a very small number. A few might actually think that the "Social" might be useful, until they find out that it isn't. I know several examples of that happening.
I have a friend who works on the Zune project team, and he's tried to sell me on how much better it is than the iPod. I admit that it has some very slick features. For example, the radio's built-in RDS integrates with the store. If you hear something you like on the radio (which with my taste is pretty much never, but I digress), you simply tag it for later. You can then purchase (or subscribe) to the track in the marketplace. The trackpad-like control is actually not bad at all. It has a nice screen for watching movies and viewing photos (nothing compared to the touch/iPhone, of course).
After he finished showing off his Zune, I whipped out my iPhone. He drooled and marveled at how cool it was. Still, just as I would never buy a Zune, he would never buy an iPod, but I suspect that's mostly out of loyalty to his product.
People also sometimes buy a Zune to be the "un-Apple" person in their crowd. How often does this happen? Likely more than one might think.
Hence the success of the anything but iPod site.
If you all you care about is unit sales of the overall market then even Apple's Mac sales are crappy.
I didn't say I cared about unit sales. I said that SD is clobbering MS either way you look at it.
Not entirely a fair comparison. For less than the cost of a shuffle, I can get a Sandisk Click. It's roughly the same size, has 2gb of memory, and (unlike the Shuffle) has a display and supports subscription music services. I have one. It's a slick little device.
Well, they are products for different people. The Shuffle is far more elegant, and attractive, while the Sandisk looks and feels cheap, but has more features.
Subscription sites are not a feature so much. Very few people, as a percentage of those using mobile music, use them.
What it lacks (and what has me still preferring my iPod) is iTunes. I find using a music player as a mass storage device to be just enough less convenient. Is it hard to drag and drop files instead of tracks? No, not really, but it does making the creation of playlists and general organisation to be a bigger deal.
While there are some who rail about how much they hate iTunes, there are now over, according to Apple's numbers, and estimates from those in the industry, 350 million people using iTunes to manage their music and videos, even if there are only slightly over 75 million actually having an account, and buying.
I have a friend who works on the Zune project team, and he's tried to sell me on how much better it is than the iPod. I admit that it has some very slick features. For example, the radio's built-in RDS integrates with the store. If you hear something you like on the radio (which with my taste is pretty much never, but I digress), you simply tag it for later. You can then purchase (or subscribe) to the track in the marketplace. The trackpad-like control is actually not bad at all. It has a nice screen for watching movies and viewing photos (nothing compared to the touch/iPhone, of course).
Well, I hope he's not going to one of those who MS will be firing shortly.
The belief out there right now is that MS has no logical choice other than to discontinue the Zune and store altogether.
While they lost billions on the Xbox over the years, at least they saw a decent amount of increasing sales. This isn't the case for the Zune. I've seen estimates that say that MS must sell at least 2 million a year to break even.
After he finished showing off his Zune, I whipped out my iPhone. He drooled and marveled at how cool it was. Still, just as I would never buy a Zune, he would never buy an iPod, but I suspect that's mostly out of loyalty to his product.
Yeah. I just loved it when shortly after MS came out with the first Zune, Ballmer said that his kid wanted an iPod, but couldn't have one.
Hence the success of the anything but iPod site.
Silly, right?
....
The belief out there right now is that MS has no logical choice other than to discontinue the Zune and store altogether.
I think this would be disastrous for MS.
Apple is killing MS by stitching together peripherals like iPods, iPhones, MM and the Mac together. If MS abandon Zune they only re-enforce the growing opinion that Windows and MS is only relevant for 'work' (x-box notwithstanding). They're beginning to get marginalized.
I think this would be disastrous for MS.
Apple is killing MS by stitching together peripherals like iPods, iPhones, MM and the Mac together. If MS abandon Zune they only re-enforce the growing opinion that Windows and MS is only relevant for 'work' (x-box notwithstanding). They're beginning to get marginalized.
So what's their alternative?
How would they get into the music/video player market, particularly when they get bad press like this that feeds the public perception that the product is dying?
So what's their alternative?
How would they get into the music/video player market, particularly when they get bad press like this that feeds the public perception that the product is dying?
They suffered losses with the x-box for years, why not stick out the Zune a little longer?
They need to take the DRM out of the Zune marketplace. That is simply unacceptable now that the iTunes store and Amazon no longer have it.
I MS should devote energy into making the Zune software better than iTunes, at least on the windows platform. Maybe it already is. iTunes on Windows supposedly isn't very good. This is an opening MS should exploit. There is a huge Windows install base that they should be able to tap into.
If they abandon Zune they only make it harder to re-enter that market later. They've already abandoned Plays for Sure. Can they afford to do it again?
So what's their alternative?
How would they get into the music/video player market, particularly when they get bad press like this that feeds the public perception that the product is dying?
Kill the Zune brand and build on the successful XBOX brand.