Microsoft's Zune Selling out?

[Game_boy]

ProfDallas said:
I'm actually surprised that the Zune hasn't been selling more. Doesn't it have more interactive features than the other mp3 players?

 All portable media players are basically the same. Yes, Zune has "social" features, but they don't amount to much compared to:

a) branding

and b) genericised trademarks 

a) The iPod's image is the best of any product out there, ever, period. Apple's adverts, promotions, the "iEverything" trens and product design have imprinted the iPod on everyone's mind. The iTunes store is the choice for buying online music, and thanks to the lock-in of AAC and the store, people are stuck using it once they've bought it. My parents are technically sound and intelligent, but my dad said the packaging was amazing and totally worth buying. Microsoft, on the other hand, has no branding whatsoever. I have never met anyone who has heard of a Zune, even though a fair number use Hotmail and MSN Messenger, own an Xbox, use Windows and Office and search on msn.com. The association isn't there.

b) This means that people associate media players with iPods to the degree where iPods are the only choice. My teacher says on a Friday afternoon, "Get out your iPods". Not "portable media players". Not even "MP3 players. "iPods". "I want to buy a media player. Therefore I buy an iPod." There is a thriving market in just iPod accessories.

So even if Zune is technically better, it can't compete with the ingrained brand. The iPhone is a rip-off, costing several thousand dollars with four hundred upfront on the cheapest plan, with very few minutes and texts. Therefore, the iPod brand is the only thing making it sell.

As an enlighened consumer, I can't buy a Zune even to show my defiance of brand marketing because:

a) I don't like music with words in.

b) I wish Microsoft's Windows and Office divisions were razed to the ground.

and c) I'm getting a Google phone because it's open-source.