What the Zune does well, it doesn't do differently and what it does differently, it doesn't do well

Michael Gartenberg | January 03, 2007, 11:35 AM

Working on a new report on the portable media space and one of the issues is how to advise folks on how to differentiate their products from the iPod. One of the products I've been looking closely at is Zune and one of the reasons I think it isn't going to do well against the iPod is because it doesn't differentiate well.

In short, what the Zune does well, it doesn't do very differently from the iPod (and therefore isn't a sales driver) and what it does differently, it doesn't do very well. The key with competing with Apple is differentiation in a meaningful way. It can be done, it just hasn't been done yet.