Computerworld had a quite interesting article about Microsofts upcoming MP3-player the Zune. Computerworld’s Mike Elgan believes that the Zune “scares Apple to the core.”. He offered five reasons: a consumer media “perfect storm” launched by Microsoft; Zune’s social and viral aspects; the ultimate availability of more programming than iTunes; a better screen for movies; and the “cool factor.”. Is he right?

Elgan, sees a key advantage for Zune in its ability to plug into the Xbox. “The Zune Marketplace will be integrated with, and promoted by, the Xbox Live Marketplace,” he wrote. “Apple faces the prospect of competing not with the Zune alone, but with a mighty Windows-Soapbox-Xbox-Zune industrial complex.”

“With the Zune, students will be free to share music, videos and photos right there in class. They’ll be able to pass notes to one another. The Zune isn’t just a solitary music player. Think of it as a portable, wireless, hardware version of MySpace.”

While Microsoft won’t be selling movies and TV shows until next year, he noted that the company has more movie studios lined up to offer content, compared to Apple’s single offering (Disney).

When it comes to watching that content, he said that “the Zune’s screen is just as good — and larger than the iPod’s. More importantly, it can be turned sideways for a wide-screen movie experience, which is vastly superior to watching movies on an iPod.”

“The Zune is unlike any product Microsoft has ever shipped. It’s actually very nicely designed, surprisingly minimalist and — dare I say it? — ‘cool.’ Zune marketing looks cool, too. The user interface is fluid and appealing — and, again, like MySpace — customizable. Users will be able to personalize the Zune interface with photos, ‘themes,’ ’skins’ and custom colors.”

Lots of hype wouldn’t you say?

Source: E-Commerce News