In my two previous posts I had explained that the commoditization of Software via:
- The Ad revenue model of Google and Yahoo! and
- The Open Source Software Movement
is at the core of Microsoft's current worries. Both Google and Yahoo! offer free desktop software, content, and web services in order to attract visitors to earn advertising revenue. This could eventually lead to Windows either becoming a non-entity or giving way to a "Webtop" that pervades various devices.
Zune is Microsoft's attempt to integrate hardware and software *and* to become the channel for (music) content -- thus creating an integrated play far-different from its Window's OS business model where Microsoft mainly provides OS & important application software while hardware and content for users is provided by other companies.
Although Zune is trying to emulate the success of Apple Computer Inc.'s iPods -- if successful it could end up defining new businesses for Microsoft. Success with Zune could lead Microsoft to offer other integrated hand held devices with wider software and content offerings.
Continued...Microsoft's challenges with Zune
The zune project is not unlike xbox. They may even subsidize the hardware as they have done with xbox.
Posted by: zune | September 10, 2006 6:35 PM | Permalink to Comment