Is Microsoft going to release an iPod killer?
Not exactly – but the signs are unmistakable that it will launch a handheld “media” player a bit like Sony’s PlayStation Portable (PSP) this autumn. It is codenamed “Zune”. Simply offering an MP3 player would tread heavily on the toes of rivals to Apple’s iPod, who are having a hard enough time already. But the evidence suggests that Microsoft will take a sideways approach to reaching the iPod generation – by emphasising video playback and “social” uses through a Wi-Fi link. Certainly the buzz is now too loud to ignore. Michael Gartenberg, an analyst at Jupiter Research, blogged at the beginning of this month about having attended a meeting in which he’d heard for the first time “what I think is a compelling strategy that could serve as a competitive differentiator from the iPod/iTunes combo for holiday 06”. The Zune is expected to emerge from the Xbox division of Microsoft, under the command of J. Allard, the vice-president for Xbox, and Robbie Bach, who leads the team producing the X
