It's no secret that Microsoft has wanted to develop an iPod killer for quite some time. The big mystery was when and what. Recently, those questions were answered. Many know it as Argo, but its final title is Zune.

With Microsoft dipping into the iPod's near monopoly in hand held digital music providers, the scales may tip against Apple. The new "Zune" has been the talk of the Internets for quite some time now, and it looks sharp to boot. A large screen, comfortable button positioning, three colors, Xbox Live Anywhere connectivity and a new WiFi file sharing functionality might give it the edge, but the price point (30GB Zune for the price of a 60GB iPod) might hurt their chances of taking the lead over Apple's leviathan.

The other problem Microsoft has when coming in this late in the game is the level of advancement Apple has already achieved with the iPod: moving from Firewire to the Faster USB 2.0, a large variety of disk sizes available, several different models for different budgets and needs, and most importantly, the name they have established in portable mp3 players. An iPod can only become obsolete when Apple releases the next version. That's a huge accomplishment.

Microsoft legally owns the original patents to the iPod, and have a large market share in the company. Releasing a similar product this late in the game doesn't make much sense, but if it brings more features to the table, it's certainly welcome.

This entry was posted on Thursday, July 13, 2006 at 12:29 PM.