Comments on: Not much Zune in Microsoft exec's speech

At Microsoft's annual meeting for financial analysts today, Entertainment and Devices President Robbie Bach spent a lot of time talking about mobile phones and mentioned all of the other businesses he oversees, save one.

[john55440]

The time to talk about Zune is the Christmas Shopping season, so it's lack of mention is no surprise.

Financially, Zune is spare change that's not worth mentioning to financial analysts.

[ibeetle]

Spare change that's not worth mentioning to financial analysts?
Tell that to Apple, Sony, Creative, and SanDisk as well as the dozen or so companies that make their hard drives and other components. They have made millions from their digital music players.

[kelmon]

Sorry? Do you mean that the Zune's performance during the previous holiday season is not important? The suspicious would read into this that the Zune did poorly last Christmas and that Microsoft therefore didn't want to discuss the product. As a financial analyst, I want to know what sort of return Microsoft is making on its investments into new products so I can see whether I want to trust them with my client's money.

[john55440]

The time to talk about Zune is the Christmas Shopping season, so it's lack of mention is no surprise.

Financially, Zune is spare change that's not worth mentioning to financial analysts.

[chabig83]

No. Christmas is supposed to be a time of joy and happiness.

[Seaspray0]

If you look at the zune compared to all other mp3 players excluding the ipod, it's done pretty well. Is it going to replace ipod? Naaaa.... not anytime soon in the next decade and most likely never in my opinion. Ipod has a monopoly on the market right now. The only negative I've found on the ipod has been the price. I picked up a sansa mp3 player for half the cost.

[AndrewAmazed]

compared to all other mp3 players excluding the ipod? Your wrong. it IS better than the ipod if you compared them next to each other. many reviews including CNet have given the Zune a higher rating than the iPod.

But iPods are everywhere, the Zune's on its 2nd generation and it has barely started to get noticed lately, and this is the time for the Zune to start picking up some sales but Apple will still reign for quite a while.

[kelmon]

It might help if Microsoft sold the players outside of the US, like everyone else.

[bicparker]

The time to talk about Zune or anything that will a company wants to sell at Christmas is now. This is when retail buyers begin to make their budgets for the Christmas season and place their orders. If Zune isn't on the radar for the buyers now, it is too late for anything meaningful.

[ibeetle]

Exactly right.
I live in the NYC area. There are two major industry conventions. Toy Fair which is held in February. This is for the toy retail buyers to see what manufactures have so they can place their order for Christmas.
Then there is the Fall/Winter fashion week. Which is held in March. Not October.
What we as consumers see on our shelfs buyers saw at trade shows 6-10 months earlier.

[mreiher]

Budgets for Christmas??? This is when they place their stocking orders for Christmas!

The thing about the Zune is there is nothing unique about the device. It's another "me too" mp3 player and the Zune marketplace does not even come close to comparing to iTunes or some of the others out there. Again... MS was too little, too late with this device. No innovation here either so why bother? I think MS knows this now too.

[AndrewAmazed]

i really don't see how iTunes is so great.
have you ever tried using the Zune marketplace/software? its not that bad.

[kelmon]

"its not that bad."

I honestly can't speak about the software itself since I don't live in the US, but why does it sell tracks priced in Microsoft Points? Really? Points? What's wrong with real money? That's one of the dumbest things I've heard of. That iTunes will price media in local currency is a definite advantage over some bizarre points scheme.

[Dalkorian]

M$ is far to worried about the fista disaster to spend any energy worrying about the zune disaster. Besides, he was supposed to reassure the analysts that M$ isn't tanking hard despite the disasters. That's harder to do when you remind them of the disasters. I bet the slide was supposed to be pulled too!

[AndrewAmazed]

what Zune disaster? there is no disaster. the Zune is better than the iPod

[kelmon]

"the Zune is better than the iPod"

If consumers don't think so, does that even matter? There's been plenty of superior products over the years that have lost out to the competition. If Microsoft can't manage the product properly then it's even more of a disaster because it should have done better. So far the Zune has been a waste of money for Microsoft unless they can make a dent into the MP3 player market. Historically they seem to think that if they continue to throw money at a product that it will eventually succeed but I am certain that this will not always work, and in those circumstances you are just throwing money away.