Microsoft’s Zune aims to be social butterfly | CNET News.com

On November 14, 2006, Microsoft launched its highly anticipated alternative to Apple’s iPod: the Zune. The device, which has a 30GB hard drive, FM tuner, 3-inch screen and USB 2.0, was the “talk of the web” as technology enthusiasts anxiously awaited an announcement of its official release date during the months before the actual release. Among all of its features, the one contributing most to its hype was its wi-fi capability. It allows Zune owners to share their music with other Zuners within a 30-foot radius.

In its first week of sales, the Zune accounted for 9% of the portable digital music player market share, landing in second place, behind Apple. It dropped to fifth place in its second week.

The opportunity to enjoy all the music your neighbor listens to via communicating portable music players is appealing; it adds another dimension to social networking. Music is a great conversation starter, in both internet and face-to-face social situations. Previously, internet services have allowed individuals to share lists of their favorite songs. Never before, however, have users had the opportunity to have instant access to someone’s music play list at one moment, and then walk over and start a conversation with them the next. This is a great way to meet new people at parties, etc.

Technology spreads quickly on college campuses. However, on a college campus with 20,000 students, I have yet to see a single Zune. This is not to say that no one owns one; but the Zune clearly has not saturated the student population, and shows no signs of doing so. In Zune television advertisements, groups of people were pictured in a social scene, “beaming” music to one another. While such social networking was Microsoft’s intent, it has not yet played out as planned. Most Zune owners do not activate the wi-fi feature, because it uses too much battery power and doesn’t actually transmit a lot of the songs people own, due to DRM protection. As a result, the Zune’s social networking effectiveness is dissipated.

Despite these initial results, it seems Microsoft is dedicated to its digital music player venture. According to the CNET News article, Microsoft “said it expects the Zune effort to take years and cost hundreds of millions of dollars.” Right now, however, the Zune’s potential for offering a new phase to social networking has been reduced by its design flaws, and the already-existing social entity flag-shipped by Apple’s iPod.