Can TV gambit help Microsoft bite into Apple?
Province
Microsoft’s new Zune music player — shown here — is either ‘going to take off like a rocket or it is not going to go anyplace,’ Silicon Valley analyst Rob Enderle says. ‘There is no middle ground. It is different enough that it could surprise Apple.’ Photograph by : Getty Images
Microsoft’s Zune digital music players will be available in Canadian stores beginning June 13, the tech giant said yesterday.
Canadians can already visit www.zune.ca to download free Zune software.
“Zune is more than just a music player for Canadians, it’s a shared, social experience,” said Craig Tullett, group manager at Zune Canada, in a statement. “We’re excited to offer people an innovative way to discover, share and enjoy their music wherever they go.”
Zune players will be available in 80-gigabyte, eight-gigabyte and four-gigabyte models in black, red or pink.
Prices range from $249.99 to $139.99.
In a further push in its battle against Apple Inc.’s iPod, Microsoft announced that it would offer NBC Universal Inc. TV shows on its devices, winning the programming contract lost by Apple’s iTunes last year.
Zune users can download shows such as The Office, Heroes and 30 Rock for about $1.99 US an episode, the Redmond, Wash.-based company said yesterday in a statement. Microsoft, the world’s biggest software maker, also will offer shows from Nickelodeon, MTV, Comedy Central and VH1.
The programming is a victory for Microsoft’s music player, whose sales are one-20th of the Apple iPod’s. The company plans to use television shows to boost revenue in its entertainment unit, which includes the Xbox video-game console. Yesterday’s agreement will make 800 episodes available.
“The exchange will definitely help to stimulate more sales,” said Jason Reindorp, Zune’s director of product marketing. “On the tech side, we’re making it really easy to have the content flow across all the parts of our ecosystem.”
The NBC network, a unit of General Electric Co., cut ties with Apple in August, saying it wanted more pricing flexibility, piracy safeguards and the option of packaging more than one show in a single offering.
Apple’s iPod dominated the music player market in 2007, accounting for more than two-thirds of units, according to the NPD Group in Port Washington, N.Y.
Microsoft’s Zune tied for third, with about three per cent of the market. Creative Technology Ltd., which sells players under the Zen and MuVo brand names, also took three per cent. SanDisk Corp.’s Sansa ranked second, with 12 per cent of the market.
Microsoft also announced changes to Zune that make it easier to find friends and sample their music collections. Other new features let users sync music on multiple music players at once and provide gapless playback for dance and live albums.
© The Vancouver Province 2008
