Microsoft released the "Zune," their best stab at an MP3 player seven or eight years ago. It was thick, angular, black plastic device: Microsoft's "antiPod." The famous iPod wheel was a "squirkle," the Zune had a few more buttons, and the display was much darker. The screws were prominant and the angles were sharp. Much to everyone's surprise, the Zune never took off.
Consumers continued buying iPods and Zune sales continued to lag until Zune introduced the Zune HD, desiged to compete with the iPod Touch.
The HD was a complete failure and it marked the end of the Zune, as Microsoft discontinued their famous flop a few years ago.
Why did it fail? Did it suck that bad?
I owned two Zunes. A first gen one like this:
And a second gen one like this:
I also owned two iPod Touches. One was stolen and I sold the other. The Zunes were ok. I felt so edgy being the only kid without an iPod. Neither Zune outclassed the iPod. My first Zune refused to turn on for some bizzarre reason, so I upgraded. The new Zune worked for a few months and died as well.
The Zune paled in comparison to the iPod and is a classic example of the Apple takeover. Sales never accounted for more than eight or nine percent of the total market for portable music players. I wouldn't be surprised if some walkmans outsold the Zune. The only reason to ever own a Zune is to take a sale away from Apple and appear edgy to your friends.
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