Situational Analysis of Apple iPod and Microsoft Zune - Essay Example

?Microsoft Zune Table of Contents Competitive Analysis 3 Situational Analysis of Apple iPod and Microsoft Zune 3 Strategy Followed By Microsoft Zune 3 Issues Related To Microsoft Zune 4 Competitors of Microsoft Zune 5 Suggested Recommendations 6 Rationale for Suggestion 7 References 8 Competitive Analysis Situational Analysis of Apple iPod and Microsoft Zune Zune belongs to Microsoft and is a brand in to the industry of digital media. It consist of portable media player, a service through which the music can be subscribed called as Zune Pass, an application for media player as well as video broadcasting through Zune Software for the purpose of Xbox 360. Zune has its own music services known as Zune Marketplace which consists of over three million songs (Microsoft Corporation, 2011). On the other hand, through Apple iPod music can be played and the user can as well store videos, songs as well as their digital pictures so that they can listen and view them as an when required by the user. The videos can as well be watched on iPod and on the television by means of optional iPod AV cable (Apple, n.d.). Strategy Followed By Microsoft Zune In light of severe competition among the digital media brands, it becomes necessary for the firms to keep themselves updated with the new strategies to beat the competition. It has been noticed that Microsoft Zune has been trying to enlarge the features of Zune players with other hardware devices such as mobile phones, PCs as well as Televisions. It is worthy of mentioning that the strategy followed by Zune has been aimed at beating the competition that Apple presents. Microsoft has added Wi-Fi into the Zune in order to improve the features of the Microsoft Zune. The company aims at delivering its customers with new software, devices as well as services (Ganapati, 2009). Issues Related To Microsoft Zune It has been noted that the Microsoft Zune has faced certain problems. In order to challenge Apple Inc’s iPod, it introduced 30-gigabyte model of Zune in the year 2006 (Slideshare, 2010). The users of Microsoft demonstrated their frustration stating that the 30 gigabyte version of Microsoft Zune was incapable of playing music since the device could not start properly and as a result the users were stuck with the Zune logo screen (Hodson, 2009). The other issue as identified is that although Microsoft claims to be quite compatible, the issue is that the users want their music service to be quite compatible not with the operating systems but with iPods as well (Adkins, 2006). It has also been noted that since the Zune is loaded with too much features it becomes difficult for the users to operate the device (Adkins, 2006). The product seems to have a neutered network. It can be mentioned that adding up of the wireless service in the device has been valueless since the feature did not work with more than half of the music users purchasing from Microsoft. The battery life was also too low. Despite Microsoft Zune’s efforts to provide wireless sync, it has been noticed that the device is quite slow (Slideshare, 2010). Adding up of the radio can also be considered as an issue with the system. The users may not purchase such an expensive device for listening to radio. The user’s needs to make use of the external antenna in order to listen to the radio else the response of the radio is too poor (Dilger, 2007). Competitors of Microsoft Zune The primary competitor of Microsoft Zune is Apple iPod Nano. The secondary competitors of Microsoft Zune are Sony NWZ-A818 as well as Creative Zen. It has been found that the battery life of Sony NWZ-A818 is quite superior and even the sound quality is good. There are many features in Creative Zen and it has quite a big screen (CBS Interactive, 2011). It has been noted that the revenues of Zune reduced by around 54% and there was decline in the revenues of the company’s earnings in the entertainment as well as device divisions in the year 2008 (Slideshare, 2010). The sales of the mobile device were about 27 million in the year 2008. The figure below shows the global digital revenues by industry in the year 2008 (Slideshare, 2010). Source: (Slideshare, 2010). Apple is considered as one of the primary competitors of Microsoft Zune because Apple holds approximately 65%-80% of the market share. On the other hand, the other competitors have less than 6% of the market share. The market share of Microsoft has been 2.8% in the year 2006 (Slideshare, 2010). Suggested Recommendations 1. It can be suggested that Microsoft Zune needs to inspect its devices well before making it available for sales 2. The music system needs to be compatible with the operating systems as well as the iPod 3. The device must have an instruction manual so that the users are capable of understanding the methodology to operate the device. Proper training must be given to the users at the time of making the sales 4. The company needs to invest more in the field of research and development so that efforts can be made to make the device faster 5. There must be an internal hardware so that the users need not to make use of the external antenna to listen to the radio Rationale for Suggestion It has been suggested to inspect the device of Microsoft Zune soon after the manufacturing since such inspection will help in checking the quality of the product before the buyers make use of it. If the music device is made compatible with the operating system as well as iPod then it will be convenient for the users. With the help of the instruction manual and training, the users will be capable of learning the appropriate method of making use of the device. Investment in research and development has been suggested to Microsoft Zune because such investment will encourage the teams in identifying the ways through which the device can be made faster to make the device more convenient to operate for a user. The internal hardware in the device is suggested because it will assist in enhancing the response of the radio. References Adkins, J., (2006). 23 Reasons Microsoft’s Zune is Doomed. Mac Lab Report. Retrieved Online on October 03, 2011 from http://lowendmac.com/lab/06/0725.html Apple, (No Date). iPod Features Guide. iPod Basics. Retrieved Online on October 03, 2011 from http://manuals.info.apple.com/en/iPod_Features_Guide.pdf CBS Interactive, (2011). The Zune Vs. The World. Reviews. Retrieved Online on October 03, 2011 from http://reviews.cnet.com/4321-6490_7-6551614.html Dilger, D. E., (2007). Why Microsoft’s Zune is Still Failing. Home. Retrieved Online on October 03, 2011 from http://www.roughlydrafted.com/2007/11/22/why-microsofts-zune-is-still-failing/ Ganapati, P., (2009). Microsoft Plans New Zune Strategy. Gadget Lab. Retrieved Online on October 03, 2011 from http://www.wired.com/gadgetlab/2009/02/microsoft-plans/ Hodson, J., (2009). Leap Year Trips Zune In Black Eye For Microsoft. Technology. Retrieved Online on October 03, 2011 from http://online.wsj.com/article/SB123074469238845927.html Microsoft Corporation, (2011). Choosing between Windows Media Player and Zune. Home. Retrieved Online on October 03, 2011 from http://windows.microsoft.com/en-IN/windows-vista/Choosing-between-Windows-Media-Player-and-Zune Slideshare, (2010). Zune Objective. Agenda. Retrieved Online on October 03, 2011 from http://www.slideshare.net/pjoiner77/zune-case-study Read More