I’ve played with Microsoft's Zune and it’s nothing special - yet

Alex Zaharov-Reutt
Monday, 27 November 2006 18:04

Your IT - Entertainment

So, if the iPod doesn’t actually come with something more than has been predicted for months now, people may even be disappointed that Apple didn’t pull out a killer feature to blow all other killer features away.

Of course, I don’t know what Apple has planned for Macworld. But I’m certainly expecting something amazing in the traditional Apple style, and you probably are too, iPhones or no. The killer of iPod killers awaits!

Now that Microsoft has entered this market, and has publicly committed to a long term multi-year effort to create a digital media player, I’m sure they will learn quickly, or at least, I hope they will.
Their competitors are not standing still, and understand that Microsoft is a major threat to their businesses – both Apple and Microsoft’s existing partners who now more fully compete with Microsoft as well.

I’m looking forward to seeing the next version of the Zune that Microsoft will probably release in time for next year’s Christmas season.

I hope there are some really big advances, especially after the ‘new’ Apple iPods and whatever else the competition comes up with, whether from the mp3 player world or the mobile phone world will seek to outdo the Zune and more as they are launched over the next 12 months. I’m sure we’ll be hearing about plenty of rumours in the meantime.

The race to be the ‘Walkman’ of the 21st century currently belongs to the iPod. But the race for the crown is still on. The Zune might need to fly to the Moon to beat the iPod, with other competitors having to do at least as much to just catch up to where Apple is today.

But still, it’s great to see a great technological battle being played out on a global scale between Apple and Microsoft. It’s just like to good ol’ days of the early Mac vs PC wars... it’s as though they never left, and some will say they never did!