The Ultimate Showdown
It seems as if Microsoft is trying to put Apple out of their misery, once again…
Introducing the Microsoft Zune! This is the newest mp3 player from Microsoft aimed at stealing some of the 70% market share that iPod currently has in the business of mp3 players. Despite 
the Zune having several technologies that Apple’s iPod lacks, such as FM Radio and WiFi based song sharing, it seems that for now, people are staying true to the iPod. Many are saying that the Zune is too big and that downloading mp3 songs off of the “Zune Marketplace” is too big of a hassle. Further complicating the sales of Zunes, the Zune Marketplace is rather tricky. Microsoft uses Microsoft Points rather than cents to calculate the price of every song downloaded. For example, 79 Microsoft Points is equivalent to 99 cents. This can be confusing for some people who are unfamiliar with the system.
Continuing the discussion in class about monopolies, is Microsoft trying to dominate the market share for mp3 players as they have done with computers and operating systems? Or, on the other end, is Apple acting in a monopolistic way by controling 70% of the total market share for mp3 players?
It will be interesting to see what happens with the Zune in the future. Will the iPod hold up, or fade away like Apple computers... What do you think?
2 comments:
I feel the the new Microsoft Zune can never catch up to the Ipod craze that is currently sweeping the nation. Not only are Ipod sales continuing to increase but also many other types of apple products are increasing in sales due to the quality of the product. Although Microsoft already has created a huge name for themselves in the computer industry, the Zune some people feel is not the answer to the mp3 market when trying the top the Ipod. Even though the new Zune can even use the web to transport music through P2P the Ipod is still the best in most other catagories. Even though the new Zune and the Ipod both have great caracteristics, Apple has already built such a market and a revolution, if you will in the world and mp3 players which is the reason no one will see a decrease in Ipod sales anytime soon, and especially not around christmas.
I think that Microsoft is trying to dominate the market, like they have with computers. It seems like they can't stand for another corporation to get a step ahead of them. I think people will stick with the iPods just because they are familiar with them. The Zune system seems very confusing. Besides, many people already have an iPod, so why would they go out and buy another item that will play the same music. Who knows though, maybe the Zune will be successful, since it is from Microsoft.
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