Is the Zune catching on?

[Lemur866]

Of course there will still be room for dedicated desktops and servers and laptops.

But how many people will really need one? What do people really use their desktops for?

Games, email, websurfing, media player.

But consider something like storage, for your photo collection, say.

You can have a desktop computer with a fast processor, a big hard drive, a big monitor, a full sized keyboard. But the desktop case that ties the whole system together is the anachronism. Of course if you want a high end system, then buying a processor in a large box where size doesn’t matter will get you more bang for your buck.

But for most people, the fast processor is irrelevant. They just need an appliance that lets them read email and stream media. And that’s your “phone”. And the device can talk to whatever size monitor you have around you, it can talk to an external hard drive, it can talk to an external keyboard.

I know people have been predicting the death of the desktop for a long time. I’m not so much predicting the death of the desktop as that the desktop is going to continue a long slow decline into a specialized gadget, for people with particular needs.

Or to put it another way, 5 years ago nobody had a smart phone. And for decades, all sorts of products had been produced in this space (PDAs, etc, etc), and every one of them had failed. And now we finally have several successful products of this type, even though Apple is the biggest player by far. And so now that there is a proven successful business model for these things, and people are buying them, they are filling a need that was previously only able to be met by having a desktop computer.

So for lots of people, the need to have a desktop will become smaller and smaller, as smartphones get more and more capable. And for the times when a desktop might make sense, those people can just get a peripheral for their smartphone rather than a whole desktop system.

The threat to Microsoft is obvious. Who needs a Windows desktop system when you’ve got a phone that can do 98% of what you want? And if it does 98%, people will figure they don’t need that 2% and get used to not having it anymore.

[Martini_Enfield]

@Lemur866

The iPod/iPhone is default device, because Apple got there first with a device that really worked well. But now that the market is proven, are they really going to keep their dominance over the next 5 years or 10 years?

Assuming they don’t fuck up spectacularly somehow, then yes, I think they are.

But the paradigm of having a computer on your desk at home, a computer on your desk at the office, and a phone in your pocket will be busted. You’ll have a core device (of whatever form factor you prefer) that you carry around all the time, and various peripherals that can enhance the value of that device that you can use when you want to.

I just don’t see that happening, to be honest. Laptops and Desktop PCs aren’t going anywhere anytime soon- laptops now aren’t significantly different from five years ago (except in capabilities) and a desktop PC has been much the same for about 15 years now (again, with differences in capabilities and hardware inside).

I’m seeing a lot more “All In One” type systems, though- where the computer and the monitor are all part of the same unit. I think they’ll be around for quite some time too.

[AnalogSignal]

Here is an analogy for you:

Zune : iPod = Zima : Coors Lite
This is coming from a reasonably satisfied owner of an original 40 GB Zune who does not think the brand is taking off.

[Cubsfan]

I’ve had multiple iPods in the last 5 years but have used a Zune as my primary mp3 player since the first one came out 5 years ago. I’ve had every model of Zune and am now using the hd as my primary player. The Zune software destroys iTunes in every concievable way. The interface on the hd is fantastic and is very intuitive. Also very pretty. The subscription plan is actually a great value for me as you get to download as much music as you like and keep any 10 tracks for only $15 mo. The sound quality is great as well. Noticably better than iPod. The oled screen is fucking terrible in any light. It’s nearly invisible during daylight hours in the car and I hate that aspect of the hd. It looks great in the dark though. So far every app they make for it is free though they don’t make many. The battery life is really good too. Internet is fucking terrible on it as well. Nearly unusable compared to the itouch. There is no better mp3 player out there though.

FYI we have 2 iPhone 4s one iPod touch 4th gen 2 nano 2nd gen and 2 shuffles one from each of the last 2 gens. Also have an iPad.