Wednesday, November 1, 2006
New York Times: To Boldly Go Where the iPod Has Gone Before
Posted by Jason Dunn in "Zune Talk" @ 09:30 AM
"Iman Hayward is an 18-year-old college student and self-confessed contrarian. She likes to mix Cyberdog T-shirts with platform boots. She prefers vintage horror movies to modern remakes. And she does not like the Apple iPod. “I was kind of anti-iPod because everybody had it,” said Ms. Hayward, who lives in the Bronx. That is not to say she dislikes portable music players. In fact, on Nov. 14 she will wait in line, if needed, to be among the first to own Microsoft’s iPod alternative, the Zune — in the fudge-brown case, no less. “I’m going to be waving it in front of my friends’ faces,” she said. “They all have iPods.” The people at Microsoft are hoping that people like Ms. Hayward will give them reason to gloat this holiday season, too. They are not the only ones. Other makers of portable media players have also introduced new products, hoping to grab a big piece of the market that the iPod dominates."
This article covers the ramp up to the holiday season, and who the players are - among them the Zune. Are there very many people out there like Hayward, who don't own iPods because everyone else does? Not many, but perhaps enough to make a market - or at least the start of one. The reporter is a bit confused about the WiFi functionality though - he mentions being able to transfer videos over WiFi, which of course you can't do...yet. A great article about the challenges that the Zune faces in the market and worth reading.
This article covers the ramp up to the holiday season, and who the players are - among them the Zune. Are there very many people out there like Hayward, who don't own iPods because everyone else does? Not many, but perhaps enough to make a market - or at least the start of one. The reporter is a bit confused about the WiFi functionality though - he mentions being able to transfer videos over WiFi, which of course you can't do...yet. A great article about the challenges that the Zune faces in the market and worth reading.
