Microsoft on new iPods: What, me worry?
"It is another good day for Microsoft."
Microsoft spokesman Mark Murray famously used that line seven years ago, briefing reporters at the company's landmark antitrust trial, right after the software giant took a beating in court.
The Zune folks didn't use that specific wording, but they did try to shrug off the latest crop of iPods.
"This may come as a shock to folks, but today's Apple Computer announcement doesn't actually change any of our plans," Zune unit blogger Cesar Menendez said in a blog posting on Wednesday. "Of course we watched with some degree of interest but our plans have been in motion for some time now."
It's not entirely clear what those plans are, however. The software maker came out with the original 30GB Zune last November. The company is widely expected to come out with follow-up devices for this holiday season, with the consensus expectations calling for a flash player and an update to its existing hard drive-based product.
Microsoft offered no new details Wednesday, with Menendez saying simply, "No announcements to make other than the fact that the Zune team remains committed to building a solid experience for users."
One thing is for sure. It's going to take a lot more than a $50 price cut or this for Microsoft to catch up to Apple.
Apple significantly raised the bar yesterday. While Microsoft already had Wi-Fi in its device, the usefulness of that has been severely limited. The only thing the technology could be used for was to send songs to a nearby Zune, an intriguing idea, but far less powerful than what Steve Jobs showed off on Wednesday.
Microsoft has been careful all along to say it expected a long, expensive, uphill climb in this market. The thing that makes it so tough for competitors is that Apple has shown itself willing and capable of taking its market-leading products, turning them on their head, and making them even better.
The company did so a couple years back when it introduced the iPod Nano to replace the iPod Mini, its best-selling product at the time. And it appears to have done so again, replacing the Nano with a video version and the video iPod with the iPod Touch.
That said, students of Microsoft history know it's a bad idea to count Redmond out. Once it enters a market, the software giant rarely retreats. It tries and tries again.
During her years at CNET News, Ina Fried has changed beats several times, changed genders once, and covered both of the Pirates of Silicon Valley. These days, most of her attention is focused on Microsoft. E-mail Ina. 
Apple right now has something for everyone in the lineup, except maybe those who only want a small music player with a screen (like the just-replaced nano). That's a niche that MS could fill if they came out with a tiny player like the old nano - the "nano fat" is clearly Apple's weakest product right now. Otherwise, though, how is MS going to compete with 160GB in a player the iPod Classic's size, and at that price? How are they going to compete with the huge touch-screen on the Touch? *Maybe* they could undercut the shuffle, really replace the old nano and grab some of the extreme low end, but the high end and everything in between is all Apple's and will be for years to come.
Seriously, instead of enjoying the iPod you turn to MS and go 'ha ha' for having a product that is one year old...
the real question is about the OTHER MP3 and portable multi-media players like ARCHOS.
You do know that the Zune is in the market of the iPod Classic, only, right? :)
I'm surprised that Microsoft didn't use its cheesy tactics like giving the Zune when you buy Vista Ultimate or Office 2007. That way they force Vista and Zune on people at the same time.
Now that is truly offensive ;-) In addition to reporting the parent
blog as offensive, I should report your post for piling on. :-)
There is no question that Microsoft is far behind Apple in this space. And it's not surprising that Microsoft's "me too" product doesn't measure up to the IPod. But the article brings up the valid point that Microsoft is a rabid competitor and will keep trying. If you don't already know this, then you don't know much about the computer industry.
I personally doubt that Microsoft will "catch up" anytime soon unless they start innovating in this space rather than just copying. The WiFi-enabled music player was a good idea, but the execution was very poor. Being able to get your tunes through WiFi connnections should have been standard for the Zune. The fact that Apple has now claimed this space for its own shows that they're not sitting on their laurels and should be the king of this space for the next few years.
But Sony was the king of the home game console market until Microsoft decided to join the party, so Apple, as I'm sure they well know, will have to keep on their toes. All it means is more competition and better/cheaper products for us.
> If you can't see that, then your reading comprehension skills
must be quite poor.
I believe that everyone sees quite clearly how pathetic Microsoft
has become, not only with Zune, but also with Vista.
> I personally doubt that Microsoft will "catch up" anytime soon
exactly
> unless they start innovating in this space rather than just
copying
their recent history does not inspire confidence
> All it means is more competition and better/cheaper products
for us.
Amen to that!
by the $200 price drop on the iPhone at:
www.stonethemba.com
Tell me this guy isn't a masterful marketer.
www.stonethembas.com
If Microsoft wanted to do some aggressive work here however, why don't they just buy Creative? Their players are better than both technically and with the MS do$h behind it, Apple might finally have a real challenge.
That said, the iPod touch is very smart and far more sensible an application of the interface than the phone IMHO.
Zune ain't it, but good to see they're not giving up (as if they would!)
Its owned by Toshiba including the WIFI CONnectivity. Microsoft
is not a HARDWARE company like most of you have been fooled
to think and its obvious they can't compete for atleast the next
TWO YEARS or more, until they atleast bring out something
completely genuine from their R&D labs (which is obviously a
complete joke).
The only thing thats "ZUNE" about the device is the software and
even Apple has leap frogged them there by a light years with the
new UI on the click-wheel iPods and you can just FORGET about
MS competing against the iPod Touch thats a NO CONTEST.
But until then, I guess TOSHIBA will be innovating the hardware
device you know as the "ZUNE" and who knows if they even have
anything that matches Apple's offering. My guess is "NO" since a
lot of manufacturers are still stuck in creating generic devices
with a generic OS with a generic user experience.
Like Windows Vista, the ZUNE and Microsoft's supposedly great
future in dominating digital media can't be further from the
truth, now. Its even further out of reach then before.
VAPORWARE is the best word to describe whats coming out of
Redmond these days which sadly is becoming a testament to a
company that has definitely fallen behind the times.
However if they were hoping to lure buyers away from the iPod, IMO, they are severely deluded.
Maybe it's not your perspective, but that's how it see it.
operating systems. This is practically new territory with which
you are making your comparisons with, and you disregarded the
fact that theirs a whole set of different players, plus these
companies are just a totally different dynamic altogether.
Microsoft is clearly on the low ground when it comes to
innovation. Its a proven fact. Apple fans know this more than
most of Microsoft's fans are willing to admit (and this population
of users usually consists of PC hobbyist, gamers who happen to
be in the IT field). But aside from that, even the average
Windows PC user (which probably consists of half their users)
who really can't pick a side in the ongoing Mac vs. PC debate
even know that Microsoft doesn't come out with first gen
products unless they've seen them perform well by other
companies which by then they have already come up with a
competing prototype. Case in point Windows, XBOX, Internet
Search and now the Zune.
But your clearly thinking this is the Apple that let Microsoft take
the OS market. But you couldn't be more wrong.
This is Steve Job's Apple and not John Sculley's or Gil Amelio's
Apple. All the while during these former CEO's tenure Steve Jobs
was looking on the outside in with his observations of the
company he left behind, and of course didn't like what he saw.
Apple as a whole has learned their lesson from Microsoft's
propensity to takeover markets that they create. Case in point
the neverending Apple patents, the fact that the company is no
longer an open book when discussing new technologies or
breakthroughs the list goes on and on.
You can say the Zune might have a chance but I also believe
thats just absurd, more so than Apple's chances of trying to
catch MS in the OS race. Why? Its all based on the iPod device
economy. If Apple in a blue moon somehow manages to let MS
concede this market most of the success they've built so far with
the Halo effect will vanish.
Plus you failed to remember that Apple is not only a software
company but it creates its own hardware and they do both very
well. More so than Microsoft. Case in point VISTA, ZUNE and
XBOX.
So to me its just ridiculous on how you view it from that
perspecitve. These are totally two different companies again with
Microsoft being on low end from wavering at a high altitude.
From Apple shooting up like rocket.
Just my observation.
KEYBOARD, nor that I know of, does any other music player have a
keyboard.
The iPod Touch has a virtual keyboard, so what are you talking
about?
Zune brand has to be a Sandisk Killer before it can dream of being a future iPod Killer.
Zune 1.0 was an obvious rush job. I suspect that Zune 2.0 will be much better.
Six years ago Xbox floundered in competition with PlayStation, but Microsoft learned from its experiences, kept plugging away at it and knocked it out of the park with Xbox 360 (hardware woes aside.) And today, it's PlayStation 3 scrambling to catch up to Xbox 360, not the other way around.
The Zune guys may be struggling right now, and it remains to be seen if they will ever pose a threat to Apple's hegemony, but to count out the Zune would be foolish at this stage.
currently wiping the floor with both the Xbox 360 and the
Playstation 3.
The NPD Group said Nintendo shipped 425,000 Wiis in July, while
Microsoft shipped 170,000 Xbox 360s, and Sony 159,000 PS 3
wiping the floor with both the XBOX 360 and the PS3.
I picked up a Zune at best buy the other day and it felt like a
cheap piece of plastic. I just bought my fourth iPod since
October 2001 and it's like Apple's Porsche compared to
Microsoft's Ford Pinto. (Someone had to bring in a car analogy!)
The Best Buy salesman tried to make the excuse that it's easier
to move files onto a Zune than an iPod, which I had to bite my
tongue so I wouldn't laugh in his face. And then he said
something about squirting (Ballmer's word) songs between
Zunes, and I had to point out the limitations there.
Let's face it, Microsoft has no idea how to do decent industrial
design when it comes to hardware. Period. They simply don't
understand what makes the iPod so good. It's not the hardware
at all. It's the software! It's treating customers with some
respect. And giving them a well thought-out user experience.
Can anyone imagine Apple "squirting" songs between iPods that
last three days and then self-destruct? Oppressive DRM is not
their cup of tea. They want DRM-free software. Microsoft pushes
DRM as a way to maintain their hegemony!
You can count Microsoft out on the Zune, like you can their WiFi
hardware, their WebTV, clippy, Bob, and the list goes on and on.
matured and developers started embracing it. True they didn't
sell as many units as Sony did of the PS2, but then again, if
memory serves me right, the PS2 is outselling the PS3 and was
outselling the Xbox 360 for a while.
Microsoft made a great console the first time around, so all they
needed to do was improve on a good product. With the Zune,
they started poorly, and now have to try and dig themselves out
of their hole. Not to say it is impossible, but it will take a major
overhaul and a load of innovation to match Apple at this stage,
and if that is the case, the product should probably not even be
called the Zune.
than a few things about it ... in video ... and a single picture can
be more expressive than 1000 words so here are :
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TyuDAzzKnz8
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6ZXiLY4bo80
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=buKaqRG2SFA
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=V5ENLm0JsQw
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WRLRjKCGHek
And last but not least ..
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nRKIDdIaFyE&NR=1
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zPFu9ezddyk
Well does this tell it all ?
The "Zen Patent": Creative sues Apple over media player interface
http://arstechnica.com/news.ars/post/20060515-6838.html
Microsoft suing Apple stealing patent in ipod
http://www.macworld.com/news/2005/08/16/ipodpatent/index.php
Apple accused of patent infringement of another company
http://www.reghardware.co.uk/2006/04/18/burst_com_sues_apple/
Don't believe it, read here. Funny how people think Apple actually came up with all this on their own.
product over the Zune and the iPod market share dwarfs the Zune.
All these suits were designed to do, is to try and slow down iPod
sales while they try and catch up.
BTW look at dates, they are old, and if you read a little deeper you
will see that one of the companies that was sueing Apple, sued
Microsoft first over the same patents.
- iPod Connect=Dell Axim from 4 years ago
- by Kwasiowusu September 7, 2007 5:33 PM PDT
- Apple has done it again. They have simply taken features that have been available in other media players for ages, repackged it, and announced another "life-changing", product.
- Like this Reply to this comment
-
Showing 1 of 2 pages (46 Comments)As usual, the lazy media are lapping it up.