July 25, 2006 - Zoom a zune
It appears that the man animals over at Microsoft are still fighting the last battle, and have prepared their ultimate iPod killer, which they're calling the Zune.
You may remember a few years back they tried a similar strategy. But rather than producing the product on their own, they sold a DRM codec to partners, created a music store, and called the whole ball of wax "PlaysForSure". Basically they were relying on Samsung, Archos and Korean Company #3 to create a device more compelling than the iPod.
Giggle.
No seriously. Giggle.
So this new Zune, it's microsoft designed. Which means it's going to look similar to the iPod, act similar to the iPod, have it's own music store (which is not compatible with the old MSFT music store, at least that's what they're saying). This will, no doubt, piss off the various third tier producers that signed onto the PlayForsureNow program. The Zune will probably also be much better than the iPod.
No, seriously. It will.
The problem here is Microsoft is fighting the last battle. Much like the French with the Maginot line, the Zune will be the perfect iPod killer for the iPod of 2002. It may not stand a chance against the next iPod.
And neither stands a chance against the next mobile wave.
Software like Mobilcast lets you stream podcasts over your phone (provided you have an EDGE or greater phone). And sure, you can listen to a podcast on your iPod... or Zune. But you have to download it with the PC and sync it. With the right software on the phone, you can literally listen to it on the go. And any phone worth it's salt these days plays MP3s. And most of the better ones have memory expansion. So why carry around a iPod anymore?
Rumor has it that Apple is creating an iPhone. Supposedly the latest nano firmware had some phone related cruft in it that Apple forgot to remove in their build process. I wouldn't doubt that this is the case. Apple's too smart to not see this wave coming. Microsoft is still staring so hard at Apple that they're not looking at that big wave coming up behind the cupertino folks.