News

Microsoft Zune Hits Shelves on Nov 14

Thursday, September 28th, 2006 at 9:40 AM - by

Microsoft announced on Thursday that its Zune media player and Zune Marketplace music download service will launch on November 14. The 30GB Zune player, which Microsoft hopes will hold its own against Apple's iPod, will be priced at US$249.99.

The lower than expected price puts the Zune player in line with Apple's 30GB video capable iPod. Both devices feature a 30GB hard drive, play music and videos, and display pictures. Microsoft is betting that the Zune's FM radio receiver and limited ability to share music with other Zune players will give it an advantage over Apple.

Also like the iPod, the Zune will rely on its own music download service that isn't compatible with competitor's portable music players. Users can purchase a monthly subscription for US$14.99, or individual songs for 79 "Microsoft Points" each. 80 points will cost you $1, so individual song track pricing is in line with the iTunes Store.

In an effort to sweeten the pot a little more, Microsoft is pre-loading the Zune player with nine songs, 12 music videos, and three short films.

Apple's market dominance will be difficult for Microsoft to overcome, and the most likely victims in this round of MP3 player battles will be the companies that Microsoft partnered with for its PlaysForSure technology. Companies like Creative, SanDisk, and Samsung that are using Microsoft technologies in their players have not been able to make a dent in the iPod's marketshare, and will likely see some market erosion to Microsoft once the Zune player hits store shelves.

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mrmgraphics said:

member since 05 Sep 2003 with 824 posts, unranked, send him a message or view his profile

Thu Sep 28, 2006 10:25 am

+

Whaaat the.....

OK, so rather than just pay $0.99 per song via iTS, I'd first have to buy Microsoft Points and then use those to buy a song? Are you freakin' kidding me? First M$ creates Plays for Sure, then Plays for Sure won't play (for sure) on a Zune, but Zunes can beam songs to other Zune members, but those receiving Zune members can only listen to the song 3 times before having to purchase, and for that they need to first buy M$ Points for $00.125 per point and cash in 79 of said points to buy the song your friend beamed to you the other day that just quit playing....

And note I'm not even tossing the whole subscription thing into the above.

Wow....M$ just doesn't get that whole "simplicity" thing, do they?????

But, hey, it comes in brown....

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nealg said:

member since 22 Mar 2006 with 121 posts, unranked, send him a message or view his profile

Thu Sep 28, 2006 10:28 am

Interesting that Apple has margins of at least 20% on their music players and Zune can't make a profit. You have to wonder how much they are being charged for each player.

The timing of the Zune's entrance to the market is good. It will give people a chance to play with the player and maybe the music service in order to see how they like it. MSFT will have to have the retailers setup something so people can check out the Zune's sharing capabilities if this is one of the points of differentiation from the iPod as well as some way for people to check out the Zune marketplace as well as how it syncs to a computer.

I think a big issue for MSFT may be that they don't have a lower priced player in the market this holiday buying season. No matter how good the Zune and its marketplace may be, the best sellling mp3 player will be the new shuffle which will mean that more people will be more committed to Apple and iTunes than before. I think a shuffle type player and one that is non-hard drive based is going to be important for Zune.

Neal

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Bosco said:

member since 03 Jun 2002 with 999 posts, unranked, send him a message or view his profile

Thu Sep 28, 2006 10:31 am

It looks like it will hit the shelves Zune enough for Christmas, but probably not Zune enough for anyone to figure the whole thing out. Analysts Shaw Wu and Gene Munster issue report raising their price target on AAPL to $125 and $134 respectively.

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Tiger said:

member since 17 Jun 2003 with 962 posts, unranked, send him a message or view his profile

Thu Sep 28, 2006 10:48 am

Will the the shelves just in time to be ignored for Christmas.

Woo hoo.

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Dreadnought said:

member since 01 Jan 2005 with 160 posts, unranked, send him a message or view his profile

Thu Sep 28, 2006 11:11 am

Quote:
Users can purchase a monthly subscription for US$14.99, or individual songs for 79 "Microsoft Points" each. 80 points will cost you $1, so individual song track pricing is in line with the iTunes Store.

It seems that Microsoft still hasn't heard of the KISS principle.

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MarcelV said:

member since 30 Oct 2004 with 19 posts, unranked, send him a message or view his profile

Thu Sep 28, 2006 11:37 am

And wouldn't it be funny if Apple would make their 6G (fullscreen) iPod available the same day...?

Just wishful thinking, but I think it would be very funny.

See, people only spent once the money for the Christmas purchases.

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A guest said: (hide)

Thu Sep 28, 2006 12:01 pm

Dreadnought wrote:
Quote:
Users can purchase a monthly subscription for US$14.99, or individual songs for 79 "Microsoft Points" each. 80 points will cost you $1, so individual song track pricing is in line with the iTunes Store.

It seems that Microsoft still hasn't heard of the KISS principle.

Yes, but you get every 80th song free...

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A guest said: (hide)

Thu Sep 28, 2006 12:43 pm

Shouldn't they rename Zune and the iZune Store (oops, I mean Zune Marketplace)the 'iPod/iTunes Imitation Machine'? :p

But hey, there is a big point of differentiation between the two, and it ain't wireless: Microsoft doesn't understand or care about good design, simplicity, or user-friendlieness, so it won't be as good. But as others have said, hey, at least it comes in brown, lol.

Apple should charge MS for R&Ding everything MS does before they jump in. Microsoft has become a joke, and I say that as someone whose first OS was Win 3.1.

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A guest said: (hide)

Thu Sep 28, 2006 12:51 pm

From what I have seen and heard I think I shall call it Zucks.

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A guest said: (hide)

Thu Sep 28, 2006 1:28 pm

Dreadnought wrote:
Quote:
Users can purchase a monthly subscription for US$14.99, or individual songs for 79 "Microsoft Points" each. 80 points will cost you $1, so individual song track pricing is in line with the iTunes Store.

It seems that Microsoft still hasn't heard of the KISS principle.

It's not an issue of simplicity; this is clear manipulation on Microsoft's part. They want people to look at the prices and think, "Oh, 79 cents! That's cheaper than iTunes!" Presumably, though, the illusion will last exactly as long as it takes the link to the "Microsoft Points" store to come up after a user clicks "buy". Ridiculous.

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wallyfoo said:

member since 21 Oct 2003 with 19 posts, unranked, send him a message or view his profile

Thu Sep 28, 2006 1:31 pm

My guess it that they're trying to do the Xbox live marketplace thing with the points. This product is under the direction of the J Allard team after all. I expect tie-ins real soon.

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DrD said:

member since 28 Apr 2003 with 41 posts, unranked, send him a message or view his profile

Thu Sep 28, 2006 2:28 pm

I know it's doom mongering - but...

.. for months now I've been wondering about the wireless connectivity in Zune, how long till some enterprising person works out how to use this to either hack into your playlist, or move a virus to your player. A virus would broadcast itself to any other Zune players - and by extrapolation this could be a route to your desktop machine next time it's connected. I'd also be very worried about carrying files on a Zune, we've already come across recent wireless hacks and the Zune could isn't going to have a wireless card and protection of the same complexity as a desktop. I'll bet to anyone willing to take me on that there will either be a wireless virus or wireless hack into your files before a year after release.

Now this really isn't just MS specific - I'd be equally , if not more worried by wireless on an ipod given the increased ease of spread through greater population density.

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Rainy Day said:

member since 07 Jun 2005 with 607 posts, unranked, send him a message or view his profile

Thu Sep 28, 2006 8:14 pm

iPods will by flying off shelves this Christmas season, whereas iTurds will be flying onto them!

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A guest said: (hide)

Fri Sep 29, 2006 11:33 am

How long until Zune takes a swandive through the floor?

Since it looks almost identical to an iPod, I give it two weeks.

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