IPod Owners Considering Microsofts Zune MP3 Player

A new survey conducted by ABI Research has shown that many prospective MP3 player buyers - even owners of iPods - would be likely to choose Microsoft's Zune player. 1,725 teenage and adult US residents were asked whether they planned to buy an MP3 player in the next 12 months. Of those responding that they were likely to do so, 58% of those identifying themselves as existing iPod owners and 59% of those who owned other brands said they would be "somewhat likely" or "extremely likely" to choose a Microsoft Zune player over an iPod or another brand of MP3 player.

Of course, the big question for cellular-news readers would be how many of those potential iPod owners would switch to an MP3 player enabled mobile phone - or what impact the oft-rumoured Apple mobile phone would have on the report.

"Our conclusion," says principal analyst Steve Wilson, "is that iPod users don't display the same passionate loyalty to iPods that Macintosh users have historically shown for their Apple products." Only 15% of iPod owners said they were "not very likely" or "not at all likely" to choose Zune.

So is Zune attractive enough to build anything like iPod's massive sales record?

ABI Research believes that a critical factor will be whether or not Microsoft can differentiate the Zune from competing products in some meaningful way. One differentiator, Zune's Wi-Fi peer-to-peer sharing, which Microsoft is playing up heavily, "isn't all that compelling, at least not now," notes Wilson. "There's a lot more you could do with that capability."

But given the results of ABI Research's survey, Apple will need to make some big announcements in 2007 if it is to maintain its edge in the industry. Says Wilson, "Apple needs a new high-end device that works really well and looks really cool, because other brands are catching up."

Posted to the site on 2nd November 2006