Microsoft Zune

So my iPod Nano recently went haywire. Despite rarely using the device, when it was working, my wife complained that technically the iPod belonged to her yet I was the one using it. Personal opinions aside about to whom the device belonged, the iPod was a mixed bag for me. By mixed bag I mean mostly bad. Without going into too much excruciating detail, I found nearly everything about the Nano crappy. I used the MP3 player primarily during exercise, so form factor was my primary concern. Unfortunately, the Nano was the only player at the time fitting the bill. Needless to say, I was sorely disappointed with software, both on the player and with iTunes.

Turns out the Nano dying was probably a blessing in disguise. A quick look at Newegg revealed that a 4 GB Zune (refurbished) was only $47. I bought two. I knew most of what to expect as I had already read numerous reviews and had friends who also owned Zunes. Having owned the device roughly two weeks now, I am quite pleased with the software and find it vastly superior to Apple's offering. Still, the point of this article isn't to bash the iPod or extol the Zune. Rather, it's to point out that I think Microsoft will once again be a step behind Apple. The recent digital convergence that has taken place with cell phone affords Microsoft and others a unique opportunity to reset the playing field. It's only natural to expect that the cell phone market will absorb the digital portable player market. In fact, it's already happening. Data that even the iPod is not immune to sales loss from the digital convergence and other digital portable players show similar sales trend. It doesn't take half a brain, though, to realize that lower iPod sales are being more than offset with sales of the iPhone. See, if Microsoft were smart, they would forget the Zune entirely and port the relevant pieces to a phone. Apple isn't far enough that Microsoft cannot recover. However, delaying much longer will result in history repeating itself as it did with the Zune.

Cell phones are just starting to reach their potential as convergance devices. I see the cell phone market as it stands as much like the personal computer was when Apple was the main show in town. You can't make money off the hardware. The money is in the software. But the cell phone market is so fragmented that interoperability is nigh impossible. Apple has excelled by controlling the experience end to end. They control, to a large extend, the software, the network, the user experience, and even the hardware. Sure, BlackBerry and Microsoft have operating systems, but they don't control the whole experience end to end. Apple, through these controls, has managed to develop a user experience that's actually worth something on the cell phone - a previously impossible feat. To compete, Microsoft need not worry about the hardware. I don't think that's ever a tenable long term strategy with computing devices. Rather, they needs to develop an entire platform centered around digital convergence, much as Apple has already done. I think they have a good start with the Zune framework.