More models, good. More availability, better.
Microsoft has revealed that new Zune models are coming this year. The iPod rival hasn’t had an overwhelmingly impressive run in life and struggled especially over Xmas, but they’re solid, sensibly priced players. Microsoft obviously still hopes to turn the tide on Apple somehow, and a new model wouldn’t go amiss.
Details on what we can expect from the “next generation of Zune innovation” are still scarce. All we know is that Microsoft is planning hardware and software updates. That’s a pretty clear indication that a new model is on the cards, though whether it will be a radical departure from the current Zune design is still an unknown.
One idea being floated about is a Zune touchscreen. Apple’s touchy feely iPod Touch fits into a clever niche between its iPhone and more traditional iPod models, but for a personal media player it’s relatively weak in the storage department. A Zune Touch with decent amount of memory could just give Microsoft an edge.
On the software front, Zune’s marketplace has been well received by users, so we’d expect Microsoft to build on that. The player’s WiFi connection also begs to put to more interesting applications, and Microsoft’s already had a go with the Zune’s unique wireless music sharing function. A few more ideas like that wouldn’t hurt.
With some analysts calling for Microsoft to abandon the Zune project entirely, it’s nice to see that it’s not giving up that easily. But we’re still a little peeved that Microsoft hasn’t let the underrated device outside North America, and is showing no real indication of doing so in future. We heard that increasing market share becomes a lot easier when you actually sell products to people.
0 comments:
Post a Comment