Microsoft yesterday launched the Zune, their answer to the iPod; an iPod killer if you may. I haven’t used it, and I’ve only skimmed the reviews, which are so-so. News reports are noting slow first-day sales figures, but that’s just horse-race stuff. The real reason the Zune will suck eggs is contained in an interview that Robbie Bach, the president of Microsoft’s Entertainment and Devices division, gave in the San Jose Mercury News yesterday. When asked why they built the Zune, Bach replied,
“When we looked at it, we said, ‘Hey…that’s a significant marketplace. It’s a high priority given the momentum that Apple has. And this is something that we need to get after right away.’”
I’d much rather use a device whose inspiration was, “Hey, we can do this really neat thing!” rather than “Someone who always seems to do things better than us is making a killing doing this; we’d better do something, too, and quick.”
I agree completely. It seems like the Zune is basically a Ipod with a radio and some WiFi. I’ve also read that the software that comes with it is difficult to operate. Combine that with the unit itself being bigger than an Ipod and this thing has bust written all over it.