Zune, Microsoft's challenge to Apple's iPod is currently available at more outlets than any other Microsoft product.It is being sold by more than 30,000 US retailers.Zune has some features which the iPod lacks.For instance it allows users to use its wireless features to download and share music files, a feature that the iPod lacks.In an interview Microsoft CEO Steve Ballmer confirmed that video sharing would soon be added to Zune, and that a model incorporating a phone would 'eventually' be available. Ballmer however has not offered any timetable for either feature.The video sharing feature would probably be used to transfer content created by Zune customers.
The Zune phone could be the result of consumers wanting a single portable and convenient device to play music,take pictures and make phone calls.In fact like the Apple iPhone earlier it is quite likely that it will incorporate so many features that it will be called a device which you also use for making phone calls.
So far Microsoft's relationship with the mobile phone business is to provide Windows Mobile software to handset manufacturers.This business is amongst Microsoft's fastest growing businesses and is expected to sell 20 million copies this year.Little wonder then that Microsoft is thinking of entering the cellphone business.If it manages to attract a part of the customers who use the Windows Mobile Software then it may go down as one of Microsoft's brightest business ideas.
So far Microsoft has not offered any details regarding the concept of a Zune mobile phone.It is likely to be based on Microsoft's Windows Mobile Software platform,and it could possibly be a branded version of an existing music enabled smart phone, such as HTC's Amadeus or StrTrk.
In fact most of the popular Windows Mobile smart phones and PDA phones are built by Taiwan's High Tech Computer Corporation(HTC), based on a set of HTC-designed reference platforms. HTC recently acquired the popular Asian phone brand, Dopod.
Dopod International manufactures the 'StrTrk' smart phone which it claims to be the world's slimmest and lightest deluxe clamshell smart phone. For music lovers the StrTrk S-300 has external keys for controlling music playback without opening the phone. It also has a 3D animated interface and a grid arrangement of icons that offers one click access to commonly used functions.
So why are smart phones becoming so popular? Experts say that smart phones will supersede various devices such as music players, games consoles, messaging terminals and digital cameras. All this functionality will be held together and enhanced by the low-cost, high performance core computing intelligence at the heart of a smart phone. This convergence will allow wonderful new products and do away with the overlaps of keeping separate devices.
The battle between the Zune cellphone and the iPhone will be an interesting one and also a win-win situation for the consumer.