Could the Zune HD save Microsoft's music player ambitions...

The fledgling Zune is like the underdog nobody wants to win. Its parent, the big mean bully Microsoft, has had a regretable past when marketing the device to consumers, but could its next rumored iteration, the Zune HD, actually out do Apple's upcoming iPod touch? Daniel Begun, a HotHardware contributor, thinks Microsoft will have to throw everything they've got at the device, and David Chartier, contributor to MacWorld, thinks they might have a shot with their all-you-can-eat subscription model, if they couple that with a DRM-free music store that's easily accessed. Personally, I think the Zune will have to be Microsoft's first shot at revolutionizing the aging Windows Mobile platform, offering an easy way to develop mobile applications which could then be rolled out to phones in tandem.

Speaking of phones, AT&T is rumored to have locked down the iPhone till 2011, according to the Wall Street Journal. AT&T's motives are obvious, being the exclusive carrier of one of the most sought after devices is sure to bring in profits, but is it the best deal for Apple? Surely, if the phone was available on more carriers, we'd have a nation of i-toting enthusiasts on all carriers, rather than on the orange and blue of AT&T. Of course, as David points out, AT&T's biggest strong point is also it's weak point: iPhones use more data than most other phones, which has been known to undersatisfy consumers in iPhone dense areas. Whether or not it's good for everyone, AT&T will do it's damndest to keep the iPhone exclusive for as long as possible, which makes me think competitors like Google's Android will have to step it up if we ever want to loosen AT&T's grasp.

Category:

Science & Technology

Tags:

• zune
• company
• microsoft
• hd
• ipod
• touch
• apple
• iphone
• at
• exclusivity
• cell
• phones
• media
• players

[RyuVids]

everything they said the zune needed the zune has. and alot more so yea....point and case.

[orgasmictalk]

"There is no zune marketplace" wtf are you saying there is a zune marketplace

[andrestnt]

@WideSplit microsoft has Xbox360 which apple has nothing to compete with. now build the Zune HD around Xbox excellent online gaming service and you have millions of users on tap.

[mogul1265]

The mother fucking software is complete shit, i cant get it to DL podcast, update when i put a new folder in my music folder, ,,,fucking trashy shit, and no apple fanboys i tunes is just as shit. Can someone make a front end for zune ill fucking give you head.

[WideSplit]

Two words: market share! Noboby will make games for the zune it has 3% of the market. And if they want more than 3% they need apps. But they don't plan to release any dev kit for developpers to make apps... So they're fucked... Again

[acid3x]

Two words: nVidia Tegra.

There will be plenty of game support because this is the most advanced mobile GPU of it's size.

[sgtblackhawk503]

avp715 if zune does have full online web search then all the things like youtube browser will not be need

[avp715]

i meant zune marketplace as in the one you get with the zune software, not the stripped down crap one on the device

the itunes store for the iphone/ ipod touch isn't stripped bare- you can download videos, podcasts, everything right from the device

[dragonmon445]

obviously you dont have a zune then

[dragonmon445]

and the iphone didnt have all of that to begin with either

[paulmpanga2009]

jesus christ, it is going to be released in september. They are obviously not yet done with it.