Too Zune to Choose?
Microsoft's new music player aims to steal the spotlight from Apple's iPod. But is the Zune ready for prime time?
All the hype surrounding the battle between Microsoft's recently introduced Zune portable music player and Apple's iPod makes it sound as if we're in store for the high-tech equivalent of Tickle Me Elmo versus Furby, where two must-haves get shoppers to line up outside stores. But the reality is that Apple already controls the online music business. In the past year, the company sold nearly 39 million of its petite music players-that's one every couple of seconds-and the iTunes store has sold 1.5 billion songs at 99 cents a pop since it launched five years ago. According to Apple, the iTunes store is responsible for 83 percent of the music sold on the Web. And the shiny little players are so popular that the company estimates there are 3,000 different iPod accessories now available. The only question at this point is, can Microsoft's player garner that kind of success?
The Zune ($249) does offer a few technological advances that exceed the capabilities of Apple's current iPod devices. However, the Zune is tethered to a clunky online music store that isn't likely to win many converts.
Tuned in. In a head-to-head comparison with Apple's iPod, the Zune does well enough. It has as much memory (30 GB), its sound quality is as good if not better, and it sports a larger color screen (3 inches measured diagonally versus the iPod's 2.5-inch screen). The latter feature makes the Zune better for viewing short video clips, although Microsoft doesn't yet have any available for download. Furthermore, the Zune includes a very able FM radio-I could get stations in my office that a desktop radio couldn't pull in-a feature many iPod owners have long desired.
The Zune also has the ability to wirelessly connect to other devices via Wi-Fi. But this feature can be used only to lend another nearby Zune owner songs for three days (or three plays, whichever comes first). It's a social-networking feature the company hopes will lure members of the MySpace and YouTube generation. But the copyright limitations end up handicapping this sharing feature: You can't connect a Zune to a home wireless network or to a Wi-Fi hot spot to download songs.
Of course, the choice Microsoft really is trying to force on people is not just between the Zune and the iPod but between Apple's iTunes and Microsoft's Zune Marketplace. Microsoft's store, with about 2 million songs (iTunes has 3.5 million), offers something iTunes doesn't: a monthly $15 all-you-can-listen-to subscription service. Some music lovers might like the subscription model, but remember that once you stop paying, those leased tunes on your Zune stop playing.
Both stores attempt to create a music monopoly: Songs purchased on iTunes play only on iPods, and songs from the Zune Marketplace will play only on-you guessed it-a Zune. Songs from Microsoft's new store won't even play on other MP3 players the company previously has supported. It's as if you purchased a CD in a store and then found out it would play only on the store's brand of CD players.
The Zune Marketplace frustrates in other ways, too. Enrollment is convoluted, and shoppers are forced to buy credits in advance in $5 blocks. So even if you want just one song-for 79 credits, which basically equals 99 cents-you have to put a $5 charge on your card. Apple's iTunes lets you simply add 99-cent charges to your card with a single click.
With all of the enormous anticipation and Internet speculation, the Zune was bound to come up short. But it doesn't have any of the amenities techies hoped for, such as games, an alarm clock, an equalizer, a calendar, or an address book. And surprisingly, it can't be used simply as an external hard drive for storing other digital files. Holiday shoppers may find other music players strike the right chord. The Apple iPod Shuffle can hold up to 240 songs and costs just $79. Now that's something worth lining up for.
This story appears in the November 27, 2006 print edition of U.S. News & World Report.
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