Bill Gates on the iPod/Zune
11.16.06 - 02:29pm
The Zune may not yet be overtaking the iPod market, but no one should count out Bill Gates or his vision on what the future may hold for the Zune. After all, when the X-box first came on the market it wasn’t expected to have such an enormous impact and people scoffed at the internet cable. Yet once X-box live became applicable, the scoffing ceased.
So where is he going with the Zune and it’s WiFi capacities. Bill Gates being interviewed by Charlie Rose in a TechNet Summit meeting discussed his philanthropic efforts. He avoided getting into much detail, claiming that the competition is fun for both companies.
He did however have a few things to say regarding Apple and Zune. “The iPod is phenomenal, unbelievable, fantastic,†Gates said. Rose asked what makes the iPod so great. “It’s a disk with music on it,†Gates replied. “There are things that happen in these markets, get enough things together–like Windows, Word and Excel. You get something good enough and the market latches onto it and you get momentum within a category. Apple did enough things right to create an incredible phenomenon in a category.†As far as the Zune is concerned he said the initial goal is more modest than being better than the iPod. He has allowed that while the WiFi capabilites are a unique feature for the Zune, Apple will likely soon copy the features. He stated that “It’s a growing market and Apple has done very well. We can get some of the new users, people switching, we can get quite a mixture of those. We have to excite people about the concept.”
Microsoft of the past has used a method of spending lots of money, chipping away at the competitors share, and almost always coming out on top. Who will be the winner in the land of iPod’s? It’s a question that may take years to answer. This much we do know, that while the Zune currently may not have the accessories or seem to be as styled out as the iPod, Bill Gates and Microsoft are not to be underestimated. His vision probably goes a lot farther than just the first initiation of the Zune. Like the magician pulling the rabbit out of his sleeve, the Zune may as yet surprise us all.
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