Zune: IPod Killer? or yet Another Victim?

The Pros and Cons of Microsoft's Upcoming Zune Media Player

Let's face it: Microsoft's Zune has to be brilliant to compete with Apple's iPod series. Apple has managed over the years to get a huge customer base for their iPod portable media players, and even though there are other alternatives they really don't seem to be making a dent in Apple's stronghold. Will the Zune change that? Depends on just how good it is.

The Pros

- WiFi: This is a big one, something I think Apple should have put into its newest models. Sure, it's not that hard to put in a USB cable, but why would you want to if you don't need it? It also keeps you from having to carry a cable around if you want to sync up with your laptop; one less thing to keep in your pockets.

- XM Radio: The WiFi antenna also will help Microsoft to support XM radio on the Zune, something they've been looking into. If Zune is to kill the iPod, they need something big that the iPod doesn't have; this may or may not be it, but they'll need all the firepower they can get. With the iPod lacking even an FM radio, this could be a big advantage.

- Windows Media Player: If you're on a Windows PC, you probably have Windows Media Player, and your iPod doesn't work with it. Zune (being made by Microsoft) is designed specifically for WMP; in fact, it won't work in iTunes at all (depending on your player preference this could actually be a problem for you). The Zune will also be tailored to work with WMP's new URGE music and video download service, co-created by MTV.

- Optimized for video content: It's pretty clear when I look at my iPod that it's designed to be used primarily for audio, not video. Which is fine for my purposes, but portable video is getting more popular, and Zune is brand new, meaning it's built from the ground up to excel at video playback. The bigger screen should help immensely. Hopefully the battery life in video playback won't be as disappointing as iPod's two hours.

The Cons

- It's not the iPod: Sadly enough, a lot of people buy an iPod just because it's an iPod, and all their friends have one. Personally I bought mine because, after doing my research, I found it best suited my needs, but a lot of others don't. Even if Zune turns out better than iPod, there will still be the "fanboys" that stick with their iPod.- Price, price, price! One of the biggest complaints against the iPod is that it's too expensive for what you get out of it. But the 30GB Zune will be $399 at launch, which is $100 more than the 30GB iPod. If Microsoft wants to sell a lot of these, they'll want to make the price more competitive. Even if the extra features are worth the price, $400 or $500 won't be in as many consumers' price ranges.

The bottom line? Not too much is known about the Zune yet, f anyone's going to bring down the iPod, I think Microsoft has a good shot at it. But they better not blow it. The more features they can pack into the Zune the better, because when push comes to shove Microsoft will need everything they've got to win a spot in this market.