Zune HD is out, but do teens really care?

by Zach Flauaus on 18th September, 2009

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Microsoft’s… I guess we must say “competitor” to the iPod touch has been released after having details out about it for months. The Zune HD is their new pride and joy (as it’s the only Zune device featured on the main page) and they look to have a winner. It has a clean interface, 16×9 screen resolution, WiFi, and biggest of all: HD playback in the forms of HD content and HD Radio. Unfortunately, it has one downside: the “Zune” name.

Tech geeks both young and old and even the general teen population are magnetically drawn to the much more successful iPod. Why? It’s simple, cheap, and it’s cool. Again, why is it cool? Because it’s Apple: it has sex appeal and sex appeal is what 95% of teens care about.

When teens think of a Zune, they instantly think of failure. They remember back to the first Zune where it was available in white, black, and a green/brown hue that was bulky and ugly as a Pontiac Aztek. Nobody bought it. In fact, I know of three people throughout the past three years and 1000 people who have a Zune. It’s not cool and it sure isn’t pretty.

Now Microsoft is trying their hardest to be hipper (which apparently involves them making a NSFW OMGIGP IE8 Commercial) and has made the Zune HD much sleeker and cooler looking from the design of the case which looks slick with the brushed metal casing and exposed screws on the back to the interface. And it’s not really a clone of Apple’s UI which is all too common these days. They took their existing UI and made it more finger friendly. The gorgeous looking Zune 4.0 software for your computer is a step up from iTunes and this statement from Microsoft sums it up best:

If you’re tired of online music buying feeling more like a bank statement than a record store, you’re in the right place.

The Zune HD could definitely be a great product with teens if they promoted it with as awesome of commercials that Apple does with the iPod. Having the “Microsoft” name tagged with it does kill a bit of the coolness but if they touted how easy it is to integrate with the PC, XBox 360 (in the future), and other Microsoft devices, they could successfully appeal to the teen culture. Will it happen? Nobody is really sure, but Microsoft definitely has a lot of work on their hands if they want to reverse the negative images. I, for one, am hoping they can get this image turned around and get competition going against Apple.

  • The drawbacks of the Zune subscriptions against the single track purchase on Apple's iTunes separates these two music devices on a much wider level then Zach eludes to. I certainly know most teens wouldn't be interested in paying $14 a month for music (http://bit.ly/zQnRC) , even if it's unlimited!

    I mean, teens are only just weening themselves off illegal P2P services in favour of streaming music services such as Spotify and Last.fm, so it's unlikely the Zune HD will ever be a huge hit with teenagers in it's current form.
  • You can buy individual songs off of Zune Marketplace for 99 points (equivalent of about $1.24). Granted, you do have to buy at least $5 of credits compared to just using a credit/debit card or PayPal, but many times an iTunes account is filled with the iTunes Store cards (starting at $10).
  • Sam Mitchell
    I wouldn't call any of this article stupid. Zach has made valid points that the Apple MP3 players are 'the in' product. It's true that for Microsoft to get ahead they have a long battle.

    In my honest opinion I believe the Zune is ahead of iTunes product-wise. Now that the Zune HD is out I think it will fly ahead if the market takes notice. The only reason that iTunes has reason to stay ahead is because it has a bigger marketplace and app store. When it comes to software and the handheld device itself I do believe the Zune overcomes the iPod Touch.

    The Zune software alone, as stated is absolutely gorgeous. I use it as my primary music player for my PC and have done since I first purchased the first generation Zune. My only problem with Microsoft is that they only sell it in the US and Canada. It's a product that if they want to do well... Needs to be distributed globally.

    I myself have an iPhone, but I'm still going to buy a Zune HD. That's how much I like this product and market.
  • Name
    you are stupid, I know plenty of teens with the original zune and even more with the 2nd generation zune, many more teens than those who instantly think of "failure" when they hear "zune".
  • I am simply referring to my experiences. It varies by towns but the common factor I've seen is that iPods dominate while Zunes are rarely seen.
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