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Hi, I am the author of the post. Your opinion might differ, but the Zune v2 had a number of features that the iPod lacked: Wireless Sync, built-in radio, and So

by jhatax 14y ago

Hi, I am the author of the post. Your opinion might differ, but the Zune v2 had a number of features that the iPod lacked: Wireless Sync, built-in radio, and Social/sharing are three that immediately come to mind. From a services standpoint, the Zune pass was a great music discovery service, and the Zune web service, circa 2008, was a cool way to share music with your friends (and way better than Ping). The public perception might not have been the same, but I am speaking on the basis of pure technical merit. The marketing team strongly believed that these features would push customers towards the technologically better product, and did not think that providing a financial incentive was necessary. We all know how that played out - they had to eat humble pie and drop the price before finally dropping the product. Tablets are a niche product, but the category, as it stands today, has been entirely defined by the iPad. This is not very different from how the iPod defined the music player market. AFAIK, application developers continue to target iPad first, and Android next; developing for Windows devices is not even in the rear-view mirror of developers. Microsoft is hoping that developers will re-prioritize once the Surface launches, but what if the device is a dud? My research into user behavior does not reveal a hesitation on the part of users to live a Mac/PC dual lifestyle. In fact, Windows users that own iPads do not believe the iPad to be a part of the Mac ecosystem. iPad apps stand on their own, and most of them do not have Windows or Mac counterparts. This said, please send analysis that indicates the duopoly is confusing my way. I wrote a post last year about Microsoft releasing Office for the iPad. If it continues to overlook the iPad in an effort to drive sales of the Surface, it will be the biggest loser, IMO. Office is Microsoft's cash cow; sales of the suite exceeded Windows last year, and show no signs of abating. In my non-scientific interviews of iPad users, I am yet to meet a user - business users and college students in particular - who will think twice before paying between 5 and 10 dollars for a la carte Office apps. Other than Office, I cannot conjure up a long enough list of applications that are Windows only. Remember that the entry-level surface is Windows RT only, and will not run traditional x86 applications.

TheHegemon 14y ago
I got to say, I have a 30GB Zune and a 120GB Zune and I still use the 120GB daily. The 30GB one fell out of my car three times and had so much abuse that I'm really surprised and amazed of the quality and durability of it. As you probably don't hear this enough whoever was on the Zune team are geniuses and I love it. It's going to be a sad day when my 120GB dies and especially considering it's almost impossible to find a new Zune under $300 nowadays. Once again thanks for all the work you guys did on it, and I'm extremely sorry that it did not get as much traction as it should have.
greedo 14y ago
Tablets aren't a niche anymore; Apple sold 17 million iPads last quarter, greater than the number of computers that #2 PC vendor HP sold.
icefox 14y ago
"I am yet to meet a user - business users and college students in particular - who will think twice before paying between 5 and 10 dollars for a la carte Office apps" Hi! Nice to meet you. I don't feel like I need office apps in my life and wouldn't pay 5-10 dollars for them. Between the web and ios apps I realized I don't need them like I did in the 90's.
- barista 14y ago
  You probably are in the minority, but I feel frustrated that there are no decent office like apps available on the tablets. There is a reason why, apple wants iPad to primarily be a consumption device. Office apps are not on top of their list. Microsoft looks at tablets as a productivity device so they are bundling the office apps in.
  - glhaynes 14y ago
    The iWork apps are well-reviewed and have been heavily pushed by Apple so I don't really understand much of your post. :)
    - barista 14y ago
      Did you forget that they are not bundled and you actually have to pay for it? Office is built in for free with Surface.
      - glhaynes 14y ago
        I was referring to the statement that "there are no decent office like apps available on the tablets" and the inference that "apple wants iPad to primarily be a consumption device". When did we start talking about bundling? EDIT: Oh, I see. When you said "no decent office like apps available on the tablets", I interpreted that as meaning that they weren't available at all, but you were saying you were frustrated with them not being bundled. Apologies for having misunderstood. It's still impossible for me to see that Apple "wants" the iPad to primarily be a consumption device — why would they? (They want to sell iPads! They don't care too much what you do with them.) And, if they did care, why would they make iWork? The iPad introduction keynote spent a lot of time showing each of the iWork apps off, very much casting the device as a productivity device (among other things, of course).

by jhatax 14y ago

TheHegemon 14y ago

I got to say, I have a 30GB Zune and a 120GB Zune and I still use the 120GB daily. The 30GB one fell out of my car three times and had so much abuse that I'm really surprised and amazed of the quality and durability of it. As you probably don't hear this enough whoever was on the Zune team are geniuses and I love it. It's going to be a sad day when my 120GB dies and especially considering it's almost impossible to find a new Zune under $300 nowadays. Once again thanks for all the work you guys did on it, and I'm extremely sorry that it did not get as much traction as it should have.

greedo 14y ago

Tablets aren't a niche anymore; Apple sold 17 million iPads last quarter, greater than the number of computers that #2 PC vendor HP sold.

icefox 14y ago

"I am yet to meet a user - business users and college students in particular - who will think twice before paying between 5 and 10 dollars for a la carte Office apps" Hi! Nice to meet you. I don't feel like I need office apps in my life and wouldn't pay 5-10 dollars for them. Between the web and ios apps I realized I don't need them like I did in the 90's.

barista 14y ago
You probably are in the minority, but I feel frustrated that there are no decent office like apps available on the tablets. There is a reason why, apple wants iPad to primarily be a consumption device. Office apps are not on top of their list. Microsoft looks at tablets as a productivity device so they are bundling the office apps in.
- glhaynes 14y ago
  The iWork apps are well-reviewed and have been heavily pushed by Apple so I don't really understand much of your post. :)
  - barista 14y ago
    Did you forget that they are not bundled and you actually have to pay for it? Office is built in for free with Surface.
    - glhaynes 14y ago
      I was referring to the statement that "there are no decent office like apps available on the tablets" and the inference that "apple wants iPad to primarily be a consumption device". When did we start talking about bundling? EDIT: Oh, I see. When you said "no decent office like apps available on the tablets", I interpreted that as meaning that they weren't available at all, but you were saying you were frustrated with them not being bundled. Apologies for having misunderstood. It's still impossible for me to see that Apple "wants" the iPad to primarily be a consumption device — why would they? (They want to sell iPads! They don't care too much what you do with them.) And, if they did care, why would they make iWork? The iPad introduction keynote spent a lot of time showing each of the iWork apps off, very much casting the device as a productivity device (among other things, of course).