Microsoft Employee Says I Don’t “Get” Zune
A Microsoft employee, Marc Dencker, has joined in the conversation about Zune on my blog. Marc says,
Maybe it is because you can get it cheaper at Dell or Costco (and probably others)
eitherway read this and you might get it.
And then, points to an article in Business Week.
First, thanks for posting Marc; it’s good to see Microsoft people joining in with conversations on blogs. However, I’m genuinely struggling to see where “I don’t get it”. Zune is cheaper at Dell, you say? . It looks like it’s priced at $250 on Dell.com, and at $241.99 on Amazon.com. So, it actually seems cheaper at Amazon. Sure, you can buy Zune for a few dollars less at various outlets, but the truth is - there’s just not a big enough price difference to make consumers buy from outlets they don’t know.
It really looks to me that Zune is failing in the market place. The latest chart positions for the Zune players on Amazon are: Black Zune at #81; Brown Zune (the MS favourite as a cool colour) at #390; and White Zune #432. So, it doesn’t look the trend is even going in the right direction. If anyone has any accurate sales figures for Zune, please let me know - I’m more than happy to be proved wrong. I’m just interested in the facts.
So, from the evidence we have so far, I would assert that it’s Microsoft that doesn’t “get it”. Not me. I published a short analysis of why Zune would fail before it went on sale.
As you can see from that, I don’t agree with J Allard that “three plays for three days” is a USP for Zune. J is quoted in the Business Week as saying,
My customer becomes your street team
The problem is, from the customer perspective, “three plays for three days” is truly laughable beyond belief. That people in the music industry and at Microsoft thought it was a good idea, speaks volumes. I mean, I don’t usually swear on this blog, but FUCK - how clueless can you get?!
And neither do I agree with the Zune design team that making the player clunky and bulky will be acceptable to customers. Customers want small, sleek MP3 players. If the bulkiness is due to Wi-Fi, then Microsoft has really messed up - that was totally unnecessary.
By the way, I should say that the above doesn’t mean that I think wireless sharing can’t be a great feature on portable devices. Wireless sharing is a fabulous feature… if done right. And done right, includes, not making the device bulky and not being restrictive in how sharing works.
However, Zune is not really innovating here (at least, not yet - clearly, this is a software thing, and Zune’s software can be updated). Why? Because tens of millions of people already share content on their (sleek) portable, connected devices -their Bluetooth mobile phones. This is what children in play grounds of many countries in the world are doing everyday.
If anyone wants to explain how I’m wrong, and how Zune is actually a massive success in the market, I’m listening…
Gene wrote:
The issue isn’t whether Zune “is” already a massive success - it’s only been out there for 11 days now -, but whether is “will be” genuinely successful. It’s curious to see how people many people insist on comparing the first generation Zune with the zillionth generation iPod - solely because they despise MSFT, while simultaneously worship at the Jobs altar.
I’d like you (or anyone, for that matter) to explain how iPod is still “cool”, even though there are 60 or 70 million of them out there?
By definition, if something is ubiquitous, it can’t, simultaneously, be so “cool” that it only belongs in the world of Soho’ers and hipsters: the demographic that normally laughs at the mainstream, and does everything in their power to shun the products that they’ve adopted. It’s funny how, for some strange reason, iPod seems to be the exception to this general rule.
Zune is an excellent first step for Microsoft. And if there weren’t so many members of the AAPL religion who were also bloggers and mainstream journalists, consumers would clearly be more amenable to making Zune a “massive success in the marketplace” — even at this earliest of stages.
By next Christmas, Zune will be taking a serious bite out of apple’s cake; if for no other reason, that the fact that Bill and Steve won’t settle for anything less, and will spend whatever it takes to ensure Zune’s own ubiquitousness.
Gene from ZuneChannel.com
Posted 25 Nov 2006 at 7:57 pm ¶
simon wrote:
Gene,
Ah, the old, “it’s not about how Zune is doing now, it’s how it will do in the future” line. Does that mean we agree at least agree that it looks like Zune is failing in the market place *right now* then?
I actually think you make a fair point about Zune only being on the market for only 11 days. Let’s see how it does during the next couple of months, over the holiday season.
I can’t agree with you that “Zune is an excellent first step” for Microsoft. It seems to me that bad decisions abound when it comes to Zune: terrible design (clunky, bulky, fake scroll wheel, brown); poorly implemented software (have you seen all the reports about the problems people have been having with the software?); no unique selling points. Such poor execution was totally unnecessary - this is hardly cutting-edge stuff.
As for iPods being cool… well, I’m not sure they are, particularly. iPods are, however, stylish and well-designed; and people like to buy things that are stylish and well-designed.
Posted 25 Nov 2006 at 10:30 pm ¶
Zunemule wrote:
@Gene:
The obvious reason to compare the first generation Zune to the “zillionth generation iPod” is because they’re in the same market.
According to your logic concerning “cool”, I’ll expect that if the Zune is taking noticeable marketshare away from the iPod by next Christmas, and Bill and Steve have spent “whatever it takes” to make the Zune ubiquitious, then it will no longer be cool either, and you will have moved onto something else. Right?
Posted 26 Nov 2006 at 2:30 am ¶
Al wrote:
Gene,
While I’m no marketing expert, your argument for the Zune doesn’t make any sense to me (or anyone else) what so ever. Is it equivelant to say, “Buy this Yugo. Sure it costs the same as the that Cadillac convertible over there, but this Yugo has a rear defroster on the back winshield to keep your hands warm when you push it. Plus the Yugo is cool because it doesn’t sell. And we hate Cadillac and want their business.” And we’re supposed to buy that? And then all the super hype Microsoft sponsored at the Zune’s launch meant that they really didn’t want to sell any Zunes yet? Plus, I read that Business Week article. It’s odd that this Allard ass uses a G5. I wonder what MP3 he uses, since it can’t be a Zune since it doesn’t operate on Macs.
I can’t wait to hear in the next few months how revolutionary the Microsoft Vista is. And wow, it’s got a cool calendar application and gadgets. Where do they ever think this stuff up? Might have some connection to that place that makes that massively successful MP3 player that sold one too many to be cool.
Posted 27 Nov 2006 at 5:17 am ¶