Competition looks set to hot up in the digital MP3 player market as Microsoft and Apple
go head to head.The iPod has been unrivalled in recent years as far as portable music
and video is concerned. It will be interesting to see the marketing campaigns this Xmas.
Apple famed for its innovation and creativity whislt Microsoft famed for its..corporate
clout and stickability. One surprising thing though is it seems while Apple aim for both
Windows and Apple consumers, Microsft is not planningto make the Zune cross platform.
This though is probably a one finger salute to Apple and its unmovable staunch supporters.
If Microsoft let rip a money no object campaign there will only be one winner. The iPod will
survive but will have a tiny market share supported by its faithful followers who would rather
have nothing thanbe seen carrying a Microsoft product. |
Either way the consumer wins -
expect adrop in price from Apple and a more competitive download service. Whilst Apple
likes to keep things in house - Microsft lends its name to best of breed and uses technology
from many a source, the Zune as you may or may not know is built by Toshiba.
In the comming months the most obvious route for the Zune to take is to incorporate some
kind of gaming device - something that is not on Apple's radar yet. The Zune is supposed to
ship with a FM radio as standard, the iPod doesnt. Could it be thatthe Zune will be the VHS
and the iPod will be the Betamax.
Oh...one last thing
Apparently Microsoft is making it easier for iPod users to make the switch to the Zune by
allowing users to re-download their already purchased songs and converts Apple proprietory
extention to the more familiar .wmv extension.
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