Years ago, my first MP3 player was from Creative. It was small and light and had a radio but the software was crappy which made adding songs a pain.

Then I bought an iPod. The iTunes platform was far easier to use, especially for managing songs and podcasts plus the iPod had room for all my songs, not just 40 or so. It has been a few years now and Im still quite happy with the iPod/iTunes system. I have even started to use the iTunes store for music shopping as it makes listening to songs very easy (although I still purchase physical CD's from Amazon).

Recently Zune has been released by Microsoft and Real Networks has released their own player. I dont think I will be switching platforms anytime soon.

Switching platforms involves a pretty big cost. You need new hardware and new software and most of all, you have to learn how to use it all. A company needs to offer a really compelling reason to motivate people to switch platforms, espeically if they are satisfied with their current solutions.

I just dont see a compelling reason at the moment.

• A built-in radio would be nice for my iPod but I can live without it thanks to podcasts.
• Brown? Brown is the "new black", at least it was last year but who really cares about that? Its not that nice of a shade anyway; I would much rather have that sexy new red.
• Wireless? Have you ever tried to configure a secure wireless wi-fi connection? Without a keyboard?
• The screen is large and the literature says it can do landscape but it cannot show video or play games, so what's the big screen for? Album covers?
• "Hipsters"? Microsoft fans are generally nerds not hipsters so that's a big hill to climb for Zune.

the logo

The marketing materials I have seen for Zune have been really top-notch but what's up with that logo? I was looking at it and decided that it was a cool wireframe letter "z", which would make sense. And would look great if they rotated it a bit.

What I dont understand is the extra line they put in there that makes it NOT be a wireframe Z. Is that the line of "synergy" or some other marketing-speak thing or just an accident?

zune expectations

Up until now, all of the reports I have heard or read about Zune have been negative. The questions have been like, "Why would Microsoft build this thing?", "Who would want to buy it?", etc. In contrast to those reviews, this interview with Robbie Bach shows some realistic expectations. They have some reasoning behind the device which sounds solid.

The funny/ironic moment here is seeing Microsoft, feared Monopoly of Operating Systems and proud owner of the Deathstar/Borg Cube in Redmond, arguing that the market wants two major players not just one. This is probably true for retailers but Im not sure it is something that will motivate consumer purchases.

The iPod is not reviled by consumers for being a monopoly; it is praised for being cool and easy to use. You just dont hear many Darth Vader comparisons to Steve Jobs. At the moment, the iPod appears to be more of a benevolent dictator than an evil Monopoly. On the other hand, there will always be people who want to be different (sometimes at any costs of convenience or money) but that doesn't necessarily justify a new product.

The second irony here is that Apple could use the platform argument against Microsoft, who pioneered it to defend its own positioning of Windows. Making the iPod platform the single standard MP3 platform actually makes MP3 players easier for consumers to use (they only need to learn one system) and easier for suppliers to support (they only have to support one vendor and one system).

Whatever I think, in the end the market will decide. Like the next-gen video game wars, this one will be entertaining to watch. Whoever wins, competition is generally better for the consumer than not.

Q&A | Microsoft's Bach confident Zune will grow into big hit

By Brier Dudley

Seattle Times senior technology reporter

November 14, 2006

read it here

updated: 11-18-06