THE FUTURE OF ZUNE CAMPUZANO, Sandra CASTAÑEDA, Lucia MARTIN, Pablo THAPA, Sanjaya

Introduction Microsoft Corp. Name of the company : Microsoft corporation Founded on : 1968 Head quarter : Redmond, Washington No of stores : unknown Product in music industry : Zune, Zune marketplace, Zune Car Pack, Travel Pack, Zune Home A/V Pack

Introduction: Apple Inc. Name of the company : Apple Inc. Founded on : 1976 Head quarter : Cupertino, California No of stores :197 retail stores in the United States, Canada, Japan, the United Kingdom, and Italy Product in music industry :iPod, portable digital music players and its accessories; itunes stores like third-party. Music, books, music videos, short films, television shows, movies, pod casts and iPod games.

Comparison between ZUNE and iPOD iPod touch 8GB iPod classic 80GB Zune 80GB Feature $299.00$249.00$249.99Price 4.3 x 2.4 x x 2.4 x x 2.4 x 0.51 Size (inches) Weight (ounces) Display (inches) Touch-sensitive LCD LCD (LED backlight) LCD Display Type 480 x x x 240 (expected) Resolution Multi-touch Click Wheel Zune Pad Navigation b/gNo Yes (802.11b/g expected) WiFi NoNoYes Wireless Sync NoNoYes Wireless Share AAC, protected AAC, MP3, MP3 VBR, Audible, Apple lossless, WAV, and AIFF WMA, protected WMA, WMA Lossless, MP3, MP3 VBR, AAC (expected) Audio Support H.264, MPEG-4 WMV, H.264, MPEG-4 Video Support NoNoYes FM Tuner

Comparison according to the course Both technologies are market pull. iPod has the advantage of being the first just as Zune is a late follower. Zune may get advantage being a follower as the technology benchmarking is available. The technology of Zune and iPod are very similar, but Zunes additional features can be a competitive advantage and shape the competitive environment in the future.

Comparing the life cycle: Zune is in introduction phase while iPod is in growth Microsoft and Apple as a competitor are investing heavily on R&D for product differentiation iPod is successful in creating a dominant design Microsoft is more focused on bundling more technology with its design to compete with the market dominator I-pod Comparison according to the course

Why Can Zune Succeed? Factors other than Technology Reputation of Microsoft in the Market. Aggressive marketing. Sustainable financial resources. History of late entry and successfully taking over. Availability of bench marking. Better performance that iPod. Can discount the Zune as a loss leader to gain market share and subscription income. They have a growing market share.

Advantage Over iPod Counts with WMA support (Microsoft's proprietary code) Ability to share media between devices Features pre-loaded media Connects to the XBox via USB Offers additional color choices Offers a.5" (diagonally) larger screen Recharges batteries faster Customization of the product

What Are You Looking For? More storage with a larger music library Bigger screen Movie and TV storeNovelty Touch-sensitive scroll wheelWant something different Slim music playerAccess to Wi-Fi Want something “cool”Scratch resistant screen Additional features (contacts, calendar, stopwatch, notes & games) Customized background Built-in FM tuner

Conclusion Zune has a quality product with new characteristics that may attract new customers and will reduce iPod’s market share. Zune needs to be aware of the strength iPod has over the market, customers are reluctant to buy something different. iPod took the risk of being the first in the market and it has paid with the customers loyalty.

At the end of the day it is a constant battle of new technologies which will never end. New followers can arise. Microsoft needs to take advantage of his software control. Microsoft must increase the marketing budget for Zune, because in many countries the product is starting to get recognized. Conclusion (cont.)

Recommendations Include an AC adapter Make it compatible with PlaysForSure Create new model like iPod 80 Gb or iPod Nano Include recorder so that music can be recorded from FM Try to solve the DRM complaints of consumers Make it compatible with other Microsoft applications Explore new markets.

Sources Ricker, T. (2007, October 3). Zune vs. iPod specification smackdown. Retrieved December 3, 2007 from smackdown/ smackdown/ Portable Media,. (2007, November ). Zune vs iPod. Retrieved December 3, 2007 from final-word-on-who-should-get-your-money phphttp://gizmodo.com/gadgets/portable-media/zune-vs-ipod-the- final-word-on-who-should-get-your-money php Roughly Drafted,. (2007, November 30). iPod vs Zune. Retrieved December 3, 2007 from DBCED6F95B0A.html

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