Was iPod killed by Zune?

Zune was launched in November 2006 By Microsoft who claimed that their portable media device is a real iPod killer. The Zune is a digital media player made for Microsoft by Toshiba. Video and podcast stores as well as online music will be provided by the new software which includes the Zune Marketplace.

Zune has a few features that they thought would help them overtake iPod in the market but and although the features are good they did not reckon with the faithful followers of iPod. Zune has the ability to share songs with other Zune’s wirelessly, also with other Windows PC,s and has a built in FM radio. You can rip audio CDs, buy TV shows and video music and songs and manage files using Zunes software on Windows XP and Vista.

Zune Advantages

The first Zune was released with a 30GB memory. This latest MP3 player has a screen half an inch bigger than the iPod, the screen is brightly coloured but the iPod is smaller in size and lighter.

The FM tuner should give it a big advantage over the Apple iPod, and the Zune supports unprotected AAC files which is better than using the default settings for ripping CD’s with the iPod.

The Zune Wi-Fi connectivity put portable media players on new territory. Users will be able to socialize with there music universe with the Wi-Fi feature. The portability is attractive to younger people who want to exchange songs with there friends.

The integrated Zune Marketplace is subscription based and enables users to access an online database of new music without having to download it first to your computer. Another very good aspect is the ability to download as many songs as you want for a flat fee.

The interface combines horizontal and vertical scrolling, with many top-level menus displaying horizontally across the top of the screen, while lists of tracks or track information run vertically which is another great advantage. The Zune interface runs almost instantaneously through playlist tracks and during shuffle play and are generally much faster than the iPod. Zunes touch sensitive circular main control has four-position directional control with a central select button.

Zune has good sound quality, crisp and clear video and the larger display screen makes a big difference over the course of extended viewing. Synchronizing nicely with windows media centre it has tons of cool features. One cool feature is Zune’s ability to work with Xbox 360 which is fun to use.

The disadvantages of Zune.

The first disadvantage is as we have already said it is larger and heavier than an iPod.

Firmware updates where needed from the start as Zune had a lot of problems. Microsofts Digital Rights Management policy saw quite a few with reservations.

The Electronic Frontier Foundation, in opposition to the Zune’s DRM, wrote:

“ Microsoft’s Zune will not play protected Windows Media Audio and Video purchased or ‘rented’ from Napster 2.0, Rhapsody, Yahoo! Unlimited, Movielink, Cinemanow, iTunes, or any other online media service. The Zune will not even play content previously purchased from Microsoft’s own MSN Music service. …The media that Microsoft promised would Play For Sure doesn’t even play on Microsoft’s own device.”

Upgrades the following year saw Microsoft become less strict in there use of DRM and dropped it for around 1/3 of its tracks.

From September 2008, Zunes like its rival iPod are designed only to be compatible only with the Zune software provided by Microsoft.

Other disadvantages include the fact that after you are only allowed to listen to a song three times before it expires after receiving it from a friend. Third party use is not allowed and you cannot resend it to another friend.

iTunes is a much simpler option to use that the Zune Marketplace. iTunes is simple and very elegant to use and is very intuitive. Just a click lets you pay your 99 cents with iTunes for a song using your credit card. To buy from Zune Marketplace you have to purchase blocks of points so that you have to buy at the very least $5 of points. So if you only need one 99cent song Microsoft are holding onto your other $4.1 until you want to purchase another song. The system is based on points and is not easy. One song will cost you 79 points which you may think is cents while the actual 79 points costs 99cents. The process of buying Microsoft’s music has bee complicated and is not an easy option to use?

So can iPod be overtaken by Zune?

At the moment can iPod be overtaken by Zune. Apple’s share of the portable media player market among high school students increased to 84 percent, it was 80 percent a year ago according to Piper Jaffray’s bi-annual teen survey. 78% said that if they where going to buy a MP3 player then it would be an iPod. Last year Zune commanded 2% of the market which has increased to 3% this year. Now 15% of the teen’s surveyed plan to buy a Zune if they purchase within the next year. last year the figure was 13%.

So it looks like the Zune is progressing in the MP3 player market but not at a rate that will cause the Apple iPod and problems in the near future. Zune does is not supported on Mac computers and a lot of youngsters are using them so creating another problem for Zune.