Digital Home Thoughts: Regrets on the Life of Zune

"Bach insisted that music was a required component of the "three screen" experience, and that Microsoft had to be a leader rather than a mere technology provider in this space. If Microsoft hadn't built the Zune, it wouldn't have been able to create the Zune software and Marketplace, which have become pretty solid after a couple false starts. But he admitted that if the company were to enter the space again with perfect hindsight, it would do things differently."

Matt Rosoff, who wrote this blog entry for CNet believes that what Bach would have done differently was that Microsoft would have left the actual hardware up to manufacturers, instead creating the entire platform supporting it from the software, to the specifications, to the online store. I think this idea bears a significant resemblance to how Microsoft is handling their Windows Mobile segment historically, but with a central online service, like Xbox Live. I'm sure that if the Zune had been launched this way, it still would have to fight against the empire that is iPod but it would probably be easier on Microsoft as they've shown that they're not experts in hardware innovation. Leaving the hardware to manufacturers may not lead to revolutions in the Zune interface, but it would make changes to everything quicker and faster.