Microsoft needs to take the opposite tack of Apple and make their products as open and compatible as possible.
With the Zune, they’ve basically admitted that Apple pegged the design of the MP3 player and there is nothing better that can be done. There are still features that can be added, but the Zune is a pretty heavy handed backslap to Microsoft’s partners for failing, collectively, to beat Apple. If 20+ companies together have 25% marketshare, clearly something is wrong.
For Microsoft to get a foothold though, they need to be everything that Apple isn’t, give consumers a compelling alternative with obvious differences. The problem is that the Zune is Microsoft’s attempt not to beat Apple but to simply BE Apple.
And we’re talking about a lot of different artists saying, “What can Zune be doing to change the medium for you in really exciting new ways?..”
doesn’t excite you?
Because i’m sure Beck, Brittney and Yo-Yo Ma were interviewed and told MS “if only MP3 players had wifi i feel like we could be actually getting somewhere in this crazy medium they call the music industry”.
