Zune Thoughts - Daily News, Views, Rants and Raves

"The Yahoo Music Blog announced the release of the Sandisk Sansa Connect, the Wifi enabled MP3 player that will free you from your USB cables, at least until you need to charge it. You can listen to personalized radio, share music over Yahoo Messenger, view photos from Flickr and download music. They are offering unlimited downloads from Yahoo Music Unlimited for only $12 dollars a month, but I see no mention if they are cutting a similar deal of DRM less MP3’s from EMI... I’m not buying any more MP3 players, with three different iPods, a Zune and various generic MP3 players, I don’t think that me or my kids needs another, but if someone wants to send me one for review, I’d sure like to try one out. Maybe someone should send one to Microsoft so they can see what their wireless should look like."

Well, Sansa's done it again, beating the competition at their own game. The way they've implemented their Wi-Fi is so superior to Microsoft's they shouldn't even be considered the same type of thing. The Sansa Connect's Wi-Fi is something I might actually use, whereas I've never once turned on the Wi-Fi receiver in my Zune. So what do you think? Is this the Wi-Fi implementation you were hoping for in the Zune, or another example of close but no cigar?

"Several companies are following in the footsteps of Microsoft's Zune, and coming out with their own versions of Wi-Fi equipped digital audio players. Among those jumping on the wi-fi bandwagon are Sandisk, iRiver, Archos, Polaroid, and AOL. Sandisk's $250 Sansa Connect device will work with a service called Zing to allow users to share music, stream internet radio, and download tracks."

Not only are a number of DAP manufacturers adding WiFi to upcoming devices, but many are trying to pick up where Microsoft dropped the ball by adding many of the features the Zune community has been asking for. Microsoft better be careful to not drag their feet too long on Zune improvements or future models, or their Social might just be surpassed.

"Microsoft's Zune music player has little or no chance of denting Apple's iPod juggernaut and contrary to all the digital ink spilled on product comparisons and reviews most of the reasons are strategic. Apple has built up quite a moat around its iPod business. Bottom line: Even if Microsoft's Zune is just a first volley it has a tough road ahead."

ZDNet blogger Larry Dignan offers up a pretty harsh opinion on Zune's chances of making a dent in the iPod juggernaut. He presents several arguments which basically all boil down to this: Apple has too big a market share and brand name. While this is a valid argument, there are plenty of examples that show this is far from bullet-proof, especially where Microsoft is involved. Need proof? Just ask Netscape, Palm, or Sony. Obviously these past examples don't mean that Zune is a shoo-in, but it does show that it's a bit naive to assume that iPod's dominance is so complete that there can be no true competition. However there is no mistaking that the Zune is going to have a long, hard road ahead, and Microsoft better not pull any punches.

What do you think Microsoft will need to do to pull market share?