Microsoft Zune - Will It Be Able to Compete with the iPod?

Tip! After selecting 'Zune WMV' as the output format, the right panel will show Zune WMV settings. By clicking certain setting(s), you may specify it.

Microsoft announced on July 21, 2006 that they will be releasing the Zune portable media player in the near future. This announcement confirmed months of rumours which had been circulating regarding Microsoft's possible entry into the portable media player maket. How will the Zune be unique? Will it be able to take away any of the iPod's market? What kind of features will make up the Zune?

Microsoft's answers to these questions were that yes the Zune will be unique in that it will attempt to aim more at providing community and sharing features with the Zune. The reason that the Zune will be able to provide "community" features is that it will be shipping with built-in WiFi capabilities. This means that Zune devices will be able to communicate with one another and with the internet if the user is close enough to a hot-spot. This feature alone makes the Zune distinct in the portable music player market. The iPod currently does not have WiFi capabilities, however there are rumours circulating that this is in the works for a future version of the iPod.

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The Zune is going to need more than just WiFi capabilities to set it apart from the iPod. Recently the feature set of the upcoming Zune were made public as Toshiba (the hardware manufacturer for the Zune) sent the device to the FCC for approval. The features revealed by this report were as follows:

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Colors: Black, White or Brown.

Storage: 30GB

Screen size: 3"

Wireless: 802.11b and 802.11g

Radio: Built-in FM tuner

According to these stats, what will make the Zune stand out? The 3" screen is quite a bit bigger than that of the iPod, the wireless capabilities (as previously mentioned), and the built-in FM tuner. These features do give the Zune a leg up on the iPod, however in order for the Zune to succeed it will have to have an extremely good user interface and provide new and unique features using the wireless capabilities.

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Microsoft has said that they plan on spending many millions of dollars on the Zune startup and that they expect it will take a couple of years to gain a sizable market share. The last time Microsoft attempted something of this sort was with the Xbox. Many thought that they would not be able to compete with the Playstation 2 which was at that time the number one gaming system. The Xbox now has sales which match those of the Playstation 2 and may soon overtake them. With such strong marketing power, the Zune has a very good chance of providing serious competition for the iPod.

The Zune is currently rumoured to be released in November 2006, however nothing has yet been officially announced by Microsoft. Only time will tell if the Zune will succeed.

Dan Kennedy is an IT professional and owner of Zunely.com a Zune forum and news source. Zunely provides up-to-date information and general discussion about the Zune in an easy to use forum.