Microsoft is planning to go head-to-head with Apple, the current king of the MP3 player, in a battle not only over the hardware but the service that sells online music. The first bit of info to trickle onto the web was a story by the New York Times (and Seattle Times); it told of a meeting where entertainment industry execs were briefed on plans for Microsoft to release a digital media player by Christmas this year. It's believed this was an effort by Microsoft to leverage media sales through the devices. If Microsoft is planning to jump into the media player market, that also means securing the same kind of TV episode downloads that iTunes currently offers. Take a look at some early Zune interface shots.
The project is codenamed Zune, and is being developed by the same team that developed Xbox, lead by J. Allard co-founder of Team Xbox. So far we’re pretty sure the device will include Wi-Fi capabilities, letting users download music and other content directly from the Internet without the need of a PC. Details on Zune can be read daily on the Zune Insider Blog.
Zune’s service is likely to serve the online needs of the new device is going to be Microsoft's collaboration with MTV called The URGE. Rumors state that Zune’s screen would be "advanced" which probably means a larger widescreen display than the iPod video. It might have a touch screen and maybe even some gaming capabilities. The latest rumors say that it's possible Zune won't be PlaysForSure compatible, which might be an effort to protect competition from the other companies that signed for Microsoft's license. They say it'll be a 30Gig MP3 player and will be available in three colors. It should be compatible with Microsoft's Live Anywhere, a bridge to MSN messenger and Xbox Live community.
One of the whopper rumors out of Seattle is the report that, to promote its product as an alternative to Apple's iTunes, Microsoft is prepared to take a huge loss buying music for former iTunes customers. Apparently Zune’s desktop software will scan for iTunes-purchased music and will automatically populate your library with the same songs from Zune’s online service (URGE?) for free - but it'll be replaced with a higher bit version of the WMA. How's that for a slap across the Apple? This saves people from having to re-buy music if they decide to switch over from the iPod and iTunes.
If it's all true and Microsoft dives into media playing hardware, it might concern some of Apple's existing competitors who have signed on for WMA and DRM 10 (PlaysForSure) compatibility. It essentially means that Microsoft is saying, "Move over fellas! We know you signed up to license our software for your players. But all your Creative, iRiver, Rio media players are a bunch of iPod clones that just aren't cutting it. It's time to let the big kid steal away Apple's market share with some real alt.iPod features - like Wi-Fi and free music!"
Boy, it'll be an interesting 2007 if Microsoft is goes at Apple with both guns blazing. Just like old times.
