there have been many companies that announced they are launching an "iPod Killer" over the past couple of years, but iPod's market share continues to grow, and most of those "killers" are long buried and forgotten. now microsoft joins the fray and is coming up with its own MP3 player.
i read this article that is giving microsoft some tips on how they can try and take market share away from iPod, so i thought i'll try to offer them some tips, too
1. Form Factor is more important than features
take a lesson from Motorola's success with RAZR. Motorola proved that when it comes to a mobile phone the mass market cares more about the form factor than the features. rather than come up with the latest and greatest features they chose to focus on building the coolest looking device.
and it worked. people didn't care about the features and the ease-of-use of the software, they just wanted to use the coolest looking device.
microsoft should try to come up with a more appealing design for its device (slim seems to be "in"). if the picture below reflects their final design i think they may have not done enough..
2. Brand is more important than Form Factor
more important than form factor is the brand. iPod continue to prove this point. people don't even compare its with Creative, Samsung or Sony devices, they don't bother to look at those other brands. they just want their iPod, because that's what everybody else has. this is the toughest hurdle microsoft (or any other competitor) has to clear.
generating coolness is far from an exact science. and microsoft has some brand challenges to deal with.. i think their best chance is to try and work through influential grassroots, and one way to get the support of these guys is by implementing #3 - #5..
3. DRM is evil
many people are upset (the french parliament, too..) about the walled garden apple has built with iPod and iTunes. i can't play music i downloaded from iTunes on other devices, and i can't play music i bought from other services on my iPod.
this is a typical apple/steve jobs strategy and one that has lead to apple losing the PC business to microsoft. if apple is not careful they can see this market evaporate for them as well.
if microsoft can pick up the glove and lead the charge for an open, user-friendly, minimal DRM eco-system (maybe give a strong embrace to creative commons?). it may give them the "street cred" they so desperately lacking and start generating some real support from the users.
4. something better than itunes, embrace Podcasts and Vodcasts
the iTunes software sucks. it is heavy, slow and cumbersome. microsoft should offer a simpler version of the windows media player to manage the device, and create an easy-to-use interface to access podcasts and vodcasts. the podcast support in iTunes is an after-thought and it looks that way.
5. open yourself to the developers community
the iPod/iTunes is a closed environment, making it very difficult for developers (whether it is small companies or individuals) to create extensions and innovate.
microsoft should make its device and desktop software open to the developer community, so new features could be introduced and let the device/service be used in ways microsoft did not envision themselves.
6. WiFi, connectivity
iPod is really lacking connectivity. i would add to an MP3 player both WiFi and wireless data (EDGE?) capabilities. it will enable people to purchase music and videos, as well as download podcasts and vodcasts to their devices.
in addition they should let people share content between the devices (goes back to the DRM issues). they could do some really cool stuff with sharing over WiF
7. FM radio
not a great technology innovation, but really missing from the iPod.
if they implement all of the above i think they can generate some real buzz and get users excited. can't promise them millions of users, but i'll do my share and buy one.
