As the big day for Microsoft’s Zune player is coming up on November 14, Microsoft released a few more promotional strategies.
ComingZune.com now redirects you to Zune-Arts.net which contains some artwork. ComingZune.com used to have two commercials: one where two cartoon birds caught on fire and then started headbanging and then the other cartoon featured a man petting a rabbit. This unique indie-style of advertising is what makes the Zune and XBox so intriguing. Microsoft’s J. Allard oversees the Xbox and Zune operations.
On the Zune.Net page, you can browse photos of Zune, and can even start purchasing Zune accessories such as the Zune Travel Pack for $99.99. The device itself retails for $249.99, a price set to take on the sleek iPods.
the Zune.net page discusses other Zune features such as Zune-to-Zune wireless transfer, “Zune has a 3-inch LCD screen that brings your album art, pictures and video to life”, and even listen to FM stations using the tuner.
In 2003 at the Michigan State University career fair, I spent a good hour talking to a program manager in the .NET Framework division of Microsoft about the limitations of the iPod and how Microsoft could take on the iPod. One of the suggestions I made was that adding an FM tuner is essential since XM satellite’s popularity was on the rise and sometimes, you just don’t know what you want to listen to, so make someone else decide.
