Zune's Real Competition: Media Player

Well how could that make any sense? Here's how.

Why did Microsoft spend the time concurrently developing Windows Media Player 11 and the Zune software at the same time. Both turned out to be pieces of shit. Okay, maybe that was a little harsh. I actually kind of like WMP11, but it is not where it should be. There are a lot of little issues that irk me, none of them quite a deal breaker for a pc user, but irksome nonetheless. When you're trying to dethrone the king of all portable media, you have got to be nearly flawless. This is (obviously) the 11th iteration of Microsoft's music management software. They should have gotten it right by now. The Zune media player should have been something to work perfectly within the operating system, and WMP11 I might add. Instead the Zune software is full of bugs. The Zune doesn't play well with Vista or MCE proprietary recording formats. Seems to me things are out of whack.

Zune's about the music with the new fangled MTV Urge stuff. WMP is about all media as the name implies. Why not try to bundle all of the features into WMP11. Oh, and by the way, please tell me where the podcast support is. I have a Creative Zen that syncs with WMP, but I have to use iTunes to gather podcasts (don't get me started on Creative software).

Let's examine how Apple conquered the world of portable music to gain some clarity. They were first to market which obviously no one can repeat. Initially they were plagued with bugs in syncing, but they worked it out. A luxury they had because they were first. At this point the iPod only worked with Macs. Here is where the history was written...iTunes. Apple opened up the software to PC users. If a PC user wanted to own an iPod they could do so as long as they had the software. If they didn't want an iPod, hey no problem, they could still try out iTunes. Guess what. Many people tried the software first and later migrated to iPods.

Why is Microsoft alienating Windows users with their Zune software? Let's examine my own personal journey. I was in the market for an mp3 player right around the time the Zune came out. My personal choices were as such: iPod, Zune, or Zen Vision:M. I ultimately chose the Zen Vision:M over the Zune on ergonomics and price. But what if I were able to use the Zune software with my player. Or, better yet, what if it's features were bundled into WMP11. I might have fallen in love with the software. You may ask: How does that benefit microsoft if you continue to use their free software with someone else's player? Here's how. The Vision:M's software is not very good. It's good enough, but not great. Next time I'm in the market for an mp3 player, I would likely go for the Zune instead of something else just because of the software.

Instead, things are complicated. If I were someone not so tech savvy, someone with no desire to do market research, someone who just wanted to buy a player and get on with life...what would I do? iPod. Why bother with anything else.