Desperately Seeking Zune

Let me be clear: I'm not hating on Microsoft's Zune. But it's struck me pretty much from the outset that if the folks at Redmond really want to put a dent in Apple's market share -- even if they're going the Xbox "we can afford to hemorrhage money for a few years" route -- then they've got to have something that really differentiates them from the iPod. (In a good way, that is.)

They seemed to have it when they announced the Zune's Wi-Fi capabilities, though I and many others were disappointed when it was revealed that there would be no wireless syncing (I would have picked one up in a heartbeat if it meant one less cable to worry about). Emphasizing the music-sharing feature is a great idea, but it kind of falls apart when there's no one around to do that sharing with. A couple of bloggers and columnists have tried wandering around to see if they could connect with some other Zune owners, and all that I'm aware of came up empty. CNET's Ina Fried not only has the best narrative I've read, she actually managed to find one other Zune owner. Hardly "the social" Microsoft's been promoting.

I'm not ready to write off the Zune yet -- hey, I learned my lesson with the Xbox -- but for all the money that Microsoft spent on the Zune launch, slipping in sales and market share in less than a month must be more than a little dispiriting. I'd like to see the iPod get some real competition, but it looks like I'll have to keep my eyes on SanDisk, Samsung and Creative for a while yet.