Microsoft’s sturdy Zune foot soldiers will march out in an improbable mission to topple Apple’s world champion iPod MP3 player.
Experts feel Microsoft’s new MP3 player will find it tough to compete with the popular iPod
SAN FRANCISCO: Microsoft’s sturdy Zune foot soldiers will march out in an improbable mission to topple Apple’s world champion iPod MP3 player.
Zunes echoing iPod’s design but steeped in Microsoft functionality instead of Apple panache will debut in stores on Tuesday.
“Zune is either going to take off like a rocket or it is not going to go anyplace,” analyst Rob Enderle of Enderle Group said.
“There is no middle ground. It is different enough that it could surprise Apple.”
Each Zune has a 30-gigabyte media player and is priced at 250 dollars, on par with an iPod with an equal amount of memory space.
Music for the devices will be sold on the Internet at Zune Marketplace in a manner similar to the exclusive mating of iPod and Apple’s online iTunes shop.
Zune players feature wireless technology; built-in FM tuners and three-inch screens.
Microsoft was trying to set Zune apart from other MP3 players by promoting the ability of the devices to connect wirelessly with each other so users could share music or play “DJ.” “They’ve got a single product with a single differentiating feature - sharing,” said analyst Michael McGuire of Gartner Research.
A drawback is that shared songs are erased from borrowers’ Zunes after three days or being played three times, even if only snippets of tunes are listened to. Borrowers of songs aren’t able to instantly buy sampled music with mobile links to the Net.
While iPods are “sleek and svelte,” Zunes have rubbery shock resistant casings and oversized screens tailored for video viewing even though only music will be available.
“Apple has a Porsche design reference” Enderle said. “It appears Zune used a Scion for a reference.” Zunes were made in black, white or brown as compared to the array of bright iPod colours.
Microsoft has courted musicians and recording studios, going so far as to promise Universal a portion of Zune sales revenues.
Apple has focused on consumers in a strategy that made iPods a “cultural fetish” and the most popular MP3 player on the planet.
“It is an effort by Microsoft to turn the labels and artists into a sales engine for the Zune,” Enderle said. “Apple has been pretty arrogant with those two constituents.”
Zune is not only taking on iPod, it will compete with MP3 players from Samsung, Creative and other companies that allied with Microsoft in an attempt to dethrone the iPod once before with PlaysForSure music service.
The lone Zune model will be competing with Apple offerings ranging from a matchbook-size iPod shuffle to a movie-playing iPod with 80 GB of memory.
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