iPod Killer: Microsoft Zune? ROTFLPMP!
OK - so Microsoft releases it’s ace-in-the-hole, the new iPod killer, handheld music device called the ZUNE. Now, I’ll pass on the fact that “Zoune”, in French, is slang for female genitalia. Right from the start we’ve got some bad marketing research…
The Motley Fool has a brief article about it that you can read HERE, called “Zune: The Good, the Bad, and the Ugly”
If you want to see some images of the Zune, just open this page.
Let me first say that I may not be the best judge of this technology: I was in row 10 of the Keynote where steve jobs first introduced the iPod, yet it took me a couple of years before surrendering to the idea that these would be a great commercial success – just about when I finally developed a serious addiction to the 5GB 1st gen and following devices…
But the Zune? Oh, heck – if this becomes a hit on the market I will lose any hope for mankind. Functionally, it isn’t bad at all, with some features that have been missing from every iPod such as FM radio. Though in all honesty I don’t see what us an FM radio would be, as if 10,000 and more songs and podcast would not be enough, except perhaps weather and news.
No – what really strikes me about the Zune it its look – bulky and cheap – and the color scheme that was adopted. I mean, seriously, what kind of color-blind focus groups did Microsoft run before deciding that vibrant black, white and BROWN were the new youth palette?
Brown? Brown reminds me of those beige boxes that were the only game in town until Apple changed the rules. Brown plastic gives me the same rich sense of luxury as a fake mahogany dashboard in a K-Car.
The black one at least look somewhat better. But can someone tell me why a black scroll wheel in mandatory across the board on all models?
Microsoft has a huge amount of wealth available for R & D. It’s not that the Zune is an awful product – I’ve seen worse – but to enter in such a competitive market as the portable music device with any hope of success, being competent is not enough – you MUST be better. Apple makes great products. Creative makes great products too, as a matter of fact – good ergonomic design that appeals to the eye.
I may be wrong here, once again, but my belief is that the Zune will be one of Microsoft’s most notorious mistake, and an abysmal failure an order of magnitude greater than Apple’s Cube, which at least had the merit of being a swell idea if overpriced. There are simply NO reason to spend money on mediocrity when good is available at the same price.