HappySqurriel said:
"http://www.wired.com/gadgets/mac/commentary/cultofmac/2006/10/71896 Microsoft's soon-to-be-released Zune MP3 player is a sure-fire iPod killer -- if you believe what you been reading in the press recently. There's nothing the press likes more than a good fight, and the Zune looks like a worthy contender for the iPod's heavyweight crown. The tech press loves the Zune because of its specs. They tally up the features and conclude the Zune is better because there's more stuffed inside. When it launches next month, the Zune will cost $250 for 30 GB -- just like the equivalent iPod. But the Zune also has Wi-Fi for wirelessly trading songs; a larger, 3-inch screen (good for widescreen movies); and will connect to Microsoft's Zune Marketplace music service, which will sell songs at 99 cents each and offer a $15 a month subscription plan. The Zune will definitely have an impact. That's guaranteed by Microsoft's clout, and is why music labels, movie studios and accessory makers are jumping on the Zune bandwagon. But although the Zune looks good on paper, it's not going to kill the iPod because of three things"
While I doubt that Natal will be as poorly received as Zune was, but there are a few parallels between the two; which should not be too surprising being that they are both Microsoft's reaction to a dominant player in a market they did not anticipate being so important. |
Perfidious "en passant" dig, but 100% true, although Zune was heavily crippled by unforgivable flaws like:
- f*ng ugly
- not original, actually the first Zune was a rebranded Toshiba Gigabeat with added features
- crippled sharing
- friggin' buggy at release
- crippled subscription, if ended, the user lost what he downloaded
As these flaws aren't appliable to a control system, except n°4 (n°1 didn't happen, Natal device isn't ugly, it must be admitted), Natal should be just a little bit safer than Zune... 
Although MS is still in time to cripple it in different ways. 
