The Microsoft Zune is in over its head.  It’s openly challenging a market held, if not completely gripped by, Apple’s iPod.  And yet, this thing just might work out.  Why?  Not necessarily because the Zune offers Wi-Fi capabilities (three day transfers won’t quite split the DRM atom), but instead reliability.  Microsoft has shown, to some degree, that it stands behind the products it makes.  That’s something many of Apple’s competitors simply haven’t done.

Maybe I’m just a little ticked.  Yesterday, my Sony Jellybean Walkman 1 GB MP3 player, which I bought almost exclusively for running, died.  It lasted a whole eight months (or was it seven?).  That’s not exceptionally long, and although it served its purpose, my relationship with Sony’s player was a love/hate one.  The “slider” it used to prevent tracks from skipping while on a long jog often flew right off its tracks.  That meant impromptu mid-run repair sessions, which is neither a good cardio nor strength exercise.

So, what happened to my Jellybean?  Yesterday, it simply decided it would skip tracks over, and over, and over.  No music, just constantly skipping tracks.  It seems ironic considering the custom design Sony gave it to prevent just that. 

So, why would the Zune be any different?  Well, Microsoft might just stand behind it.  They sure are with the Xbox 360, after the recent announcement that Microsoft has extended their warranty for the product to one year, not just 90 days.  There’s no guaranteeing that they’ll offer the same kind of support for the Zune, but there’s hope.  More hope than there is for my Jellybean this (green) Christmas Eve.