Research Analyst Michael Comeau has made his 2007 predictions for RealMoney, including:
Microsoft will kill the first Zune media player by midyear, and I will write a column headlined “Goodbye to the Social,” outlining Microsoft’s obvious strategic errors in developing the device, specifically the decision to not design a new player from the ground up. However, Microsoft will have some modest success with a new media player designed 100% from the ground up, which will be out in time for the 2007 holiday shopping season.
Dell will continue to lose market share, and CEO Kevin Rollins will step aside by year-end, with Michael Dell once again taking the reins as CEO.
Full article with more predictions here.
[Thanks to MacDailyNews Reader “LinuxGuy and Mac Prodigal Son” for the heads up.]
Oh, goody. We get to look forward to another flood of misinformed “Microsoft iPod Killer” articles next year, too.
Related articles:
Opinion: More blood on Apple iPod’s Click Wheel: Microsoft pulls plug on Zune – July 25, 2006
Desperation time? Microsoft Zune already being discounted by retailers – December 13, 2006
Microsoft Zune plummets to 5th place in U.S. digital media player market share with 2.1 percent – December 04, 2006
Analysts: Microsoft needs to ‘rethink’ as interest in Zune fades fast – December 01, 2006
Amazon’s bestselling MP3 players list chronicles Microsoft Zune dud – November 20, 2006
The only reason Mike’s coming back is to shut the place down and give the shareholders their money back.
Good one Joe…..
Jobs is the real iPod killer!
Michael Comeau has the best crystal ball.
This research analyst is worth his weight in Zunes, even if he’s overweight.
This is a brilliant insightful moment of genius. Microsoft Will Kill the Zune !
Genius!
Even though the Zune is a wild success in Redmond and will sell 1 mm units by 1H07;
Microsoft will kill it to bring an even better and more successful Zune 2.0
Who could have thought that, but that great analyst Michael Comeau.
His insight puts it all together. Now the future fall sinto place.
It all makes sense. Finally. What a crystal ball. What a genius.
I really admire Michael Comeau and hope he gets paid a lot of money and a big Christmas bonus this year.
Thank you MDN for letting suck in the wisdom and learn from all these brilliant analysts.
Comeau does not exactly predict the death of Zune, only a mutation. So, rather than Microsoft suffering the shame of another year of Zune, Microsoft gets to endure the embarrassment of introducing yet another multimedia product predestined to grab the market in mediocre technology.
Well I totally agree that Microsoft will not continue this first iteration of Zune. Let’s face it, it’s a total failure and is dropping off the sales charts like a falling meteor.
If Microsoft designs an MP3 player from the ground up it will certainly be worse than Zune.
The Zune is a Zune killer?
Nope.
“Obvious strategic errors?”
Wrong again.
The Zune is out of the Gates like a rocket fueled by stunning consumer demand. I don’t know what Comeau is analyzing but I suggest he picks up lunch and heads to Best Buy or Circuit City. He can have a picnic on empty shelves where Zunes once were. From there this loser can watch the iPod lemmings try to figure out Apple’s mangled interface and battle Apple’s typically shoddy design. Just wait until they have to configure iTunes to work with those things on Christmas morning. You can’t! Too bad the Zunes are gone.
Another day, another analyst who doesn’t get it.
Welcome to the Social.
Well, duh, obviously the current Zune model doesn’t have a long shelf life, even a retard could see that. The question is does Microsoft keep blowing billions of shareholders’ dollars on the Zune line by releasing the Zune “Video”, the Zune “Nano”, the Zune “Shuffle”, and the Zune “Phone” OR do they let common sense take over and kill the line altogether?
This research analyst is worth his weight in Zunes, even if he’s overweight.
Since the Zune is worthless, even if this guy had the same mass as the enire Universe, he’s still worthless : 0 times infinity still equals 0!
So you are absolutely correct about this anal-yst.
I asked the local Costco check out clerk what is selling more: Ipods or Zunes.
She actually said: ” Oh, by far Ipods. What is a Zune?”
I think they Ipods are good sellers for Costco, Target, Best Buy etc. But I don’t think they make very much on them. I think they make their money on the secondary market of extra speakers cases, and connectivity stuff to your car or home stereo system. Even Bedrooms Bathrooms and Beyond is selling IPOd clock radios, and Ipod Speakers for crying out loud. Not many “made or Zune’ clock radios .
Why doesn’t MS either:
1. Give up on iPod-wannabe’s completely, or:
2. Join the crowd and sell iPods?
This is the EXACT same analysis BS that filled the internet when XBOX launched. “Why don’t they give up and just sell PS2 games”
Here we are 5 years later and the 360 is kicking butt, the PS3 is a no show in 2006.
Dont stress over the first 2 weeks of sales for the Zune, it sold 7x more than the first iPod did at launch.
bilbobaggins, you are on crack
You know it Bilbo.
MS has the money to sacrifice on Zune for years. They will not kill it, never. They are in the game and will not pull the plug. They WILL copy the Apple product strategy. Zune “shuffle” and Zune “Nano” will be out in ’07.
They will release a shuffle with a screen
Introducing the Zune Jumble.
They will have a Zune Nano, flash based of course
but NO wifi.
Introducing the Baby Zune (like the Baby taylor guitar)
The brown Zune shot through Gates with explosive energy … he’s still recovering.
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(thanks to ZT for the inspiration!)
or perhaps for the English teachers:
The quick brown zune jumped over that crafty Gates.
Don’t despair! The “new, improved” Microsoft music player should be out by the time your kids are ready for college,
P.S. This “welcome to the social” crap is so blatantly phoney—so utterly made-up and meaningless—that Microsoft should hide their heads in shame (and fire their ad agency).
The iPod doesn’t need stupid, catchy slogans. The excellence of the design speaks for itself.
M$ should continue to try and sell Zunes.
First it will fragment the alternatives to iPod and confuse the hell out of consumers.
Second, it will waste M$ cash and make them less viable in the future.
Third, competition is good for Apple – it will drive them to stay ahead of the competition.
Then when Apple come out with the iPhone and iTV, M$ will have to copy that and pour yet more money down the drain.
2007 will be a great year for Apple and a terrible one for M$. Can’t wait to see how it all unfolds.
MW: “little” – funny in my last post the MW was big!
The Zune name is already permanently tainted. Micro$oft will need to come up with a new crack-a-lackin’ name in the future. I enjoy seeing the Zune displays sitting idle, not even powered up, in my local stores that carry the Zune. No consumer interest in the Zune at retail whatsoever! Only a misguided company like Micro$oft can waste vast amounts of money on such a colossal scale!
The only way Microsoft will sell a million Zunes by mid-year next year is for them to sell 900,000 of them to a landfill. They can even put the pile next to the Lisa’s that Apple buried.
Last night I called a friend after finding out that he bought a pair of Zunes for his parents. The idiots and liars at Best buy told him it blew away the iPod. After telling him that the Zune is a laughing stock on the Internet, I explained the three plays/three days — whichever comes first — destruction of squirted content. He is taking them back to the store and buying 30G iPods.
Friends don’t let friends buy Zunes.
MW: choice, as in — Make the right choice.
“dropping off the sales charts like a falling meteor.”
Actually it’s held pretty steady as the 3rd most popular brand of HDD MP3 player. If we accept Microsoft didn’t reasonably expect to be #1, and expects to need at least 3 years (which implies at least another couple of generations of devices) to make big inroads into Apple, that’s not a terrible showing.
“The question is does Microsoft keep blowing billions of shareholders’ dollars on the Zune line by releasing the Zune “Video”, the Zune “Nano”, the Zune “Shuffle”, and the Zune “Phone” OR do they let common sense take over and kill the line altogether?”
The answer is they learn, as they always do, and produce a unit which is smaller and lighter than any competing iPod of similar storage, yet also includes extra features. And one day you’ll wake up and find iTunes doesnt work with the latest MS Windows “Security” patch.
Sad fact of life, they’ve got the money and the desire to roll over Apple, and as with any other competitor they’ve ever decide to take head on, they will eventually.
The Zune like totally plays fer shure – and it’s cubular!
I think I’m pretty safe in predicting that Apple will also kill the current iPods some time next year. And replace them with newer models.