Zune Thoughts: No Zune Left Behind

“Apple's official reason was that the iPhone 3G doesn't have enough power to run those two features. Really? They're saying that on-the-fly voice control (albeit one that doesn't just match what you say to a pre-recorded sample on your voice) can't be done on the iPhone 3G? You mean the same feature that's been available for Windows Mobile FIVE phones for about half a decade now? This can't be done with the iPhone 3G's processor?”

Microsoft has taken a lot of heat over the years on the Zune but the one thing that they simply can’t be faulted on is their long term support of their hardware. The first three generations of Zune didn’t change much in terms of hardware. The firmware, however, has changed significantly.

Every major update has brought the Zune significant new features. And Microsoft has not left any device behind. This is the type of opportunity that Microsoft has to take advantage of. When you’re the underdog, which Microsoft is actually quite skilled at being, you jump on every stumble that your competition gives you and take market share inch by inch. With the economy in the state that it is, consumers shouldn’t be expected to buy a new device for updates that can come from software.

With the Zune, that hasn’t been an issue and hopefully Microsoft keeps this attitude going forward.