Opinion: Why Microsoft's Zune scares Apple to the core
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The full power of the Microsoft brand will be behind the launch of the Zune media player Nov. 14, and Apple has reason to be afraid.
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Although Apple's combo of iTunes and iPod has proved popular, Microsoft is betting that people want to do more with their music and that they want to be able to move video and pictures around as well.
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Microsoft Corp. MSFT.O said on   Thursday the ability to share music through wireless   connectivity is a key element for its new "Zune" portable media   player to win over consumers from Apple's market-leading iPod.
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Are the devices in this picture interesting enough to make you buy a Zune instead of an iPod?
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Apple Computer Inc.&#39;s reign as king of the digital music business is about to meet its most serious challenge as software heavyweight Microsoft Corp.
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After years of trying to make it easier for peripheral devices to work smoothly with computers, Microsoft is building in some difficulty. The upcoming Longhorn OS should allow companies to keep gizmos like iPod from stealing data.
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For the Wall Street Journal, Tim Hanrahan and Jason Fry write, &#147;In Monday&#146;s column, we predicted that the combination of the iPod&#146;s popularity and the increasing worry over viruses, security holes and spyware in Windows PCs will lead to the second coming of Apple Computer as a home-computing power. To say that struck a chord would be putting it mildly. Boy, did we ever get mail &#151; including a significant number of people who said that the iPod, Windows security concerns or a combination of the two had made them switch to a Mac or plan to do so.&#148; [Paid WSJ subscription required.] [Dec 23]
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THAT MEEKshy and retiring Microsoft CEO, Steve Ballmer, has dared to suggest that Apple&#39;s reassuringly expensive and beautiful iPods might be packed full of pirated music.
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Zune, Zune, Zune As reporters and analysts run out of things to say about the Apple iPhone, they naturally need to keep the debate rolling, and have this week turned to the possibility of Microsoftâs involvement in MP3 phones, by inventing the Zune phone.â¦
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Microsoft Corp.  may have  an opening with its recently launched Zune digital music player  to gain market share against the iPod, as a Reuters survey  showed that among consumers expressing interest in the Zune 35  percent of them were upgrading from an existing player.
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n Sept. 2, Microsoft unveiled its iTunes Music Store. That sentence may sound a little strange, but that is, in fact, what happened.
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With Apple releasing threats of 'bricked' iPhones and Amazon debuting its new music download service, Don Reisinger can't help but wonder if Apple is heading down a slippery slope.
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By Benjamin J. Romano, The Seattle Times  Sep. 14--Microsoft this morning officially unveiled Zune, its entry in  the portable digital music and entertainment market dominated by Apple  Computer's iPod and iTunes.
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New licensing language would put Zune owners in violation of Creative Commons licenses if they distribute CC-licensed songs with the devices. In Listening Post.
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Microsoft appears to be looking for new ways to tie Windows Mobile phones and Zune media players together, although a Zune phone remains unlikely.Over the weekend, Microsoft developer &quot;Mel&quot; asked an open question on the Windows Mobile blog: &quot;What are some ways the Zune player and a Windows Mobile device can work better together?&quot;Since then,&#160;more than&#160;50 commenters have suggested ways that Microsoft might converge the two devices. The most common idea is to essentially replace the Windows Media Player on Windows Mobile devices with Zune software.&quot;I proposed that WMP should be fazed out in favor of a combined WMP/Zune player which will synch with both Windows Media AND Zune, instead of having to have two separate apps with two different libraries for each device,&quot; wrote one commenter using the name Colin Walker.Peter Henning, another commenter, also suggested making just one media player that works on both devices. &quot;Currently you are just making our lives much more difficult with this parallel development and incompatibilities,&quot; he wrote.A single media player would solve some of the problems that other users complained about in syncing music between a Windows Mobile phone and a Zune. Another commenter going by the name Charlie Quidnunc noted that he has to create new playlists once he transfers music from Zune to his phone because Windows Media Player can&#39;t read Zune playlists.Another complained that he can&#39;t transfer music that he downloaded under his Zune subscription plan to his Windows Mobile device because of DRM restrictions.Offering Zune software on Windows Mobile phones could be one simple way for Microsoft to converge the two, said Michael Gartenberg, a research director with Jupiter Research. &quot;There are any number of ways that Microsoft could go about Zune integration. We might see a Zune application for Windows Mobile devices.&quot;But what we most likely won&#39;t see is a Zune phone, despite many Zune phone rumors. &quot;On one hand, the Zune is a closed proprietary system not built around a partner ecosystem,&quot; Gartenberg noted. &quot;On the other hand, the phone business is built on a partner ecosystem.&quot; Microsoft develops the Windows Mobile software, but hardware makers build the phones. By contrast, Microsoft develops the hardware and software for the Zune.If Microsoft started making a Zune phone, it would compete with its phone hardware partners. &quot;It&#39;s the same reason we don&#39;t see a Microsoft-branded PC,&quot; he said.On the Windows Mobile blog, &quot;Mel&quot; emphasized that wasn&#39;t looking for more suggestions of a Zune phone. &quot;I&#39;m not referring to an imaginary &#39;Zune phone,&#39; and I&#39;m certainly not hinting or speculating about a converged device,&quot; he wrote.Building a better music playing experience into Windows Mobile will be important for Microsoft, which is increasingly trying to make Windows Mobile phones appeal to consumers and not just business users. &quot;For the most part, Windows Mobile has ignored consumers,&quot; Gartenberg said.Microsoft recently announced plans to buy Danger, the developer of mobile phone software that runs the youth-oriented Sidekick device from T-Mobile. Microsoft has also made some executive changes in the Windows Mobile group designed to better focus on consumers.
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Microsoft Corp.'s Zune music player looks a lot like an iPod, acts a lot like an iPod and will cost about the same as an iPod. The software giant said Thursday that it will charge $249.99 for the device, signaling that it isn't planning to spark a major price war to gain market share.
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Microsoft's answer to the iPod, the Zune player, will cost $249.99 and is slated to ship Nov. 14.