“Microsoft’s Zune portable music player will let people share and sample tracks via wi-fi, reports suggest,” BBC News reports. “Although details of the gadgets are sketchy, Microsoft said it will use a hard drive, wi-fi and owners will be able to buy tracks that are downloaded direct to the device. The first Zune player will appear in late 2006 with more to follow in 2007.”
“Zune is the umbrella term for the hardware player, the software on it and the download service it will be tied into. Music tracks, movies and other content will be available via this service,” The Beeb reports. “Microsoft said that, at first, only music will be available via Zune with other content to follow later.”
“Incompatible copy protection systems will make it unlikely that music can be moved seamlessly from iTunes – used predominately by iPod owners – to Zune or vice versa,” The Beeb reports. “It is not clear whether Zune will be a closed system or if it will work with the other music, media and movie systems Microsoft is a partner in. Microsoft has yet to say how, or if, Zune will work with its existing MSN Music service or how it will affect its alliance with MTV on a download service. There is also no word on whether Zune will impact the Plays For Sure initiative which helps people work out what gadgets will play their music collection.”
“Respected analyst Rob Enderle from the Enderle Group said the Zune project was less about Microsoft making its own iPod and more about changing the entire music download market,” The Beeb reports. “‘It is a flanking move,’ Mr Enderle said. ‘Microsoft is trying to encompass Apple and turn them into a bit player.’ He added: ‘The strategy is brilliant, but the question is can they execute?’ Mr Enderle said Zune was likely to be pitched at those creating music, movies and other content. The service would also use download statistics to generate lists of the most popular tracks and compile recommendations of artists that others might like.”
“By contrast, said Mr Enderle, Apple was aimed more squarely at consumers,” The Beeb reports. “By courting artists and recording studios Microsoft could end up with a very large portfolio of fresh content on Zune, said Mr Enderle. ‘If you get the artists excited collectively, they will be more powerful than a Steve Jobs can be,’ he said.”
Full article here.
Respected analyst Rob Enderle? Bwahahahahahahahahaha! The Beeb wrote “respected…” Bwahaha! For “analyst” Rob Enderle! Bwahahahahahahahahaha! Is this from the “Humour” section?
Phew! Of course, everything Enderle says is wrong or idiotic gibberish. The strategy is brilliant? Does Enderle mean the strategy where Microsoft eats its own partners or the one where no one outside Microsoft fully knows the features and specs of the new device(s) and/or service(s) or the one where, if Microsoft ever gets even a hint of traction, Steve Jobs licenses FairPlay DRM to selected partners (Ahem, Sony) and/or everyone else thereby rendering Zune a complete and total loss?
If Rob Enderle thinks Microsoft’s Zune is “brilliant strategy,” you know it’s DOA. There’s no more effective ‘killer’ than an Enderle kiss of death.
Is Microsoft really trying to turn Apple into a “bit player” or are they trying to grab a minority share that Apple’s “competitors” currently occupy? We strongly suspect the latter.
Zune will use “statistics to generate lists of the most popular tracks and compile recommendations of artists that others might like” as part of its “brilliant strategy.” You know, just like iTunes does already. Supposedly, this means that Zune is aimed squarely at artists. So, Apple can have those hundreds of millions of consumers, Microsoft will take the 50-100 “artists” that will sell out to Redmond. Brilliant.
Rob “Microsoft Wrote the First Mac OS” Enderle is an idiot and so are the idiots at the BBC who decided to get his quotes and attempt to pass him off as “respected.”
Still, thanks for the early Monday morning laugh, Beeb!
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“more about changing the entire music download market…
and suck it also into the sh*thole called Micro$oft windblows.
“zune” is a stupid name. it doesn’t roll off the tongue or sound cool like “ipod”. it’s forgetable, and so will the player and service. nothing that mdn quoted enderle on makes any sense, or give good reason why it’s a “brilliant strategy. what a tool.
How brilliant is it to sell a 30GB player for the same price as an existing 60GB player? Still I suppose it is innovative………
Now this is just scary.
http://comingzune.com
Is that supposed to be Bullmer letting you pat his wittle wabbit.
Good way to start MS. Cannot wait to see what’s next, maybe boiled lollies to get the kiddies interested.
“closed system”? count on it.
however M$ can throw a fuhtillion dollars at the project and sheeple like bEnderle will buy it up. this is the same company that could shell out 357 mil to the EU just to preserve their crappy business practices. make no mistake, this could potentially threaten the iPod’s dominance.
Actually he may have a point. If M$ can develop an Media Player OS that runs on 3rd party players. Then develop a music app like iTunes, and license both as a package to all the 3rd party vendors… its possible that they could gain some traction.
I think Apple will ultimately have to move in this direction… licensing its technology, otherwise its risks becoming a “bit player” in portable media – dejavu – GUI-Based OS.
Its important to play well with others…
Puzzled, ya’ beat me to it. The video’s really strange. Maybe they’re hoping for the bunny to multiply if you keep rubbing it? Or a djinni comes out and smites the iPod?
Enderle is just trying to piss us off again so that he gets picked up by blogs
Why, oh why, do they insist on calling Rob Enderle an analyst. He is a PR flack masquerading as an anlyst so he can charge his clients more. His strategy only works when he is called an analyst, which he clearly is not. But lazy news people just go to him when they need a quote. I don’t know why? They can go to real analysts like Forrester or Jupiter, or even IDC. I used to work at one of those tech news sites, and I have to tell you, most of what you read there is complete PR nonsense. The usual story comes in off the web, they give it to some J-school graduate making 30,000 a year, if she is lucky, and tell her to have it by the end of the day. She basically copies the press release and then calls up an analyst to get a quote. Slap the quote into the article and its done. Collect meager paycheck and go home by 5. Their mistake is actually thinking that these analysts know what they are talking about, or that people don’t take these things seriously.
OK, hasn”t this April fools joke gone long enough? They cant really be thinking about taking on the iPod can they? If they do, I am dumping every share of M$ stock I own the day it is announced before it turns to junk.
“He added: ‘The strategy is brilliant, but the question is can they execute?”
What strategie ? or do you mean cheap immitation perhaps?
The BBC has fallen so far down it can never get up. The U.K. government has pulled its fangs and replaced anyone with a sense of ethics and professionalism with a Rupert Murdock-like crowd of Blair-ass-kissing toadies who exist only for their five-figure bonuses contingent upon the number of employees they fire in any given month.
”
Enderle: Microsoft’s ‘iPod killer’ Zune is ‘brilliant strategy’
Monday, July 24, 2006 – 09:16 AM EDT
“Microsoft’s Zune portable music player will let people share and sample tracks via wi-fi, reports suggest,” BBC News reports. “Although details of the gadgets are sketchy, Microsoft said it will use a hard drive, wi-fi and owners will be able to buy tracks that are downloaded direct to the device. The first Zune player will appear in late 2006 with more to follow in 2007.”
“Zune is the umbrella term for the hardware player, the software on it and the download service it will be tied into. Music tracks, movies and other content will be available via this service,” The Beeb reports. “Microsoft said that, at first, only music will be available via Zune with other content to follow later.”
“Incompatible copy protection systems will make it unlikely that music can be moved seamlessly from iTunes – used predominately by iPod owners – to Zune or vice versa,” The Beeb reports. “It is not clear whether Zune will be a closed system or if it will work with the other music, media and movie systems Microsoft is a partner in. Microsoft has yet to say how, or if, Zune will work with its existing MSN Music service or how it will affect its alliance with MTV on a download service. There is also no word on whether Zune will impact the Plays For Sure initiative which helps people work out what gadgets will play their music collection.”
“Respected analyst Rob Enderle” is an example of the amateurish level of journalism to which the BBC has plunged, not only because the sentiment is patently false but because using an adjective such as “respected” is editorializing in what purports to be a news story and is superfluous, even stupid.
It’s the same as using the term “famous” when discussing someone who is. It suggests the person isn’t, and it makes the writer look like an idiot. “The famous president of the United States, George W. Bush, . . .” shows how silly the construcion is. Enderle is respected or he is not respeted. It’s not up to the fucking BBC to point it out. This is Journalism 101.
How the mighty have fallen.
It’s
No idea what happened. I think a copy-paste screwed up. Could MDM kill my first post?
With apologies, I’ll try again:
The BBC has fallen so far down it can never get up. The U.K. government has pulled its fangs and replaced anyone with a sense of ethics and professionalism with a Rupert Murdock-like crowd of Blair-ass-kissing toadies who exist only for their five-figure bonuses contingent upon the number of employees they fire in any given month.
“Respected analyst Rob Enderle” is an example of the amateurish level of journalism to which the BBC has plunged, not only because the sentiment is patently false but because using an adjective such as “respected” is editorializing in what purports to be a news story and is superfluous, even stupid.
It’s the same as using the term “famous” when discussing someone who is. It suggests the person isn’t, and it makes the writer look like an idiot. “The famous president of the United States, George W. Bush, . . .” shows how silly the construcion is. Enderle is respected or he is not respected. It’s not up to the fucking BBC to point it out. This is Journalism 101.
How the mighty have fallen.
Well, Enderle is known for being an absolute imbecil.
Mmmmmm … wabbits. Much fluffier than fluorescent silhouettes!
So, after five years of witnessing iPod-iTunes success the brilliant minds at Microsoft finally concluded that people like their music stored as digital files on portable devices. If brilliance is stating the obvious then Microsoft is brimming with geniuses. I suppose we will soon know how well Microsoft can translate their vision of digital music technology into a viable commercial service.
I wonder if Zune will dial home every time it boots to let M$ know of piracy…
Umm, next time you come up with an analogy, at least get it correct. The Beeb is the British equivalent of CBS with Dan Rather and his lackies creating news stories to fit their libbie agenda. At least get your story straight before babbling on like a fool next time.
zune zune zuuuune
I’ve ranted before about people in general not wanting to change from Doze to OS X because of a strong “status quo”, it’s good enough mentality. That seems to be the only thing Doze has going for it in the overall market. If people don’t switch to OS X in larger numbers because of inertia, why all of a sudden are thousands, millions, going to switch to the latest and greatest non-iPod?(or buy something else to begin with?) Doesn’t inertia work FOR Apple and the iPod here?
Are the “masses” clammering for something “better” than iPod, or more to the point the iPod/iTunes market model? I seriously doubt that too many normal consumers are wondering when somebody, anybody, will market a totally open system.
I suppose the French, Creative and M$ are, but that’s about it. This may be the normal competitive behavior for businesses, but after all of the failed attempts the last few years, it strikes me as desperation.
Oh boy! I can’t wait for Zunecasting.
Does anyone else think Zune is a dumb name, or is it just me?
Anyone want to predict how long it will take for the first Zune virus to rear it’s ugly head? I smell a colossal failure in the works folks. I went over to zunenation.com to see what’s what – there’s a whole 21 people (including me) online. The other 20 are probably M$ employees. As far as all these gee-whiz features go, just remember what they said Vista would do…
The BBC is the anal sphincter of the world press. Its rabid lib, and they got bitch slapped when they openly lied about Blair. It was so, so funny … the head of the BBC got his ass kicked out, the head of the news division got his ass kicked out, the lying ass dog journalist got his ass kicked out, etc. etc.
Lying ass dog libs, and forever discredited like that ass Dan Rather. Never, ever, have I had so much fun watching yellow belly libs get their lying asses kicked
Most creative artists don’t trust Microsoft, having said that..most creative artist’s love Apple and what they have done for them. Apple has done more than just sell iPods, or computer’s, Apple has enriched lives. Something MS falls short. It’s been that way since the beginning of time.
Are you a creative artist? Do you trust MS? What about Apple?