Source: Reuters

Exemplifying the trend was Microsoft's Zune, which didn't turn out to be anywhere close to an iPod killer, despite a big-budget marketing campaign heralding its release and months of press hype anticipating its arrival. In fact, for all the hoopla, Microsoft says it is aiming to sell only a modest 1 million Zune units by the end of its fiscal year, June 2007.

Not helping matters: Early reviewers of the product are underwhelmed, finding fault with everything from its deliberately hamstrung wireless sharing capabilities and its oversize, boxy design to its price tag, which at $249 for 30 GB costs as much as the slimmer, more feature-rich 30 GB iPod.

By no means should Microsoft be counted out of the digital music space. But for those waiting for a magic-bullet answer to the iPod this year, Zune wasn't it.

Then again, neither were any of the other products and services from Apple rivals.

MTV stumbled badly with its Urge music service and preferred music player, the underrated but little-purchased iRiver Clix. Its effort was largely undercut when technology partner Microsoft opted to not make the Zune compatible with other existing Microsoft digital music services.

And Real Networks didn't win legions of new fans of portable subscription services with its new branded digital device, the Sansa Rhapsody from San Disk, despite a high-profile alliance with consumer electronics giant Best Buy.

Other so-called Apple rivals never even made it to market.

Neither Amazon nor Target launched new services, contrary to expectations.

New services like SpiralFrog, Mashboxx and Qtrax have generated plenty of press ink and Web chatter in the last year, based on promises to convert peer-to-peer users into legitimate consumers with free ad-supported music. But they too are yet to launch. All three services remain mired in content-licensing negotiations with the major labels.

Even Apple turned out to be largely a non-story on the product-development front. For all the talk of touch-screen video iPods, iPhones and Apple flat-screen TVs, not a one saw daylight in 2006.

One of the main reasons almost all the above are failing to "wow" over the customers (or, simply failing to make it to market?)

DRM

I'm not unhappy to say "we told you so!"

:thumbs down: looks like free downloading still rules..

agreed. drm sucks, and free downloading does rule, unless, of course, you are trying to get music from a major label signed act. Unless, of course, you have no issue with theft. Right?

How do the Creative products do? I don't own one, but some of them seem impressive.
-T

This article seems to miss the growth of eMusic, the non-DRM saddled home of downloadable indie tracks. I thought that was notable. They even felt comfortable and successful enought to raise their prices.

I just bought a Creative MP3 player. My first. I am told the sound quality of the iPod is quite good. I'm expecting the Creative to sound like s**t, but perhaps I will be pleasantly surprised. Anyway I was expecting to use it to listen to spoken word, so sound quality wasn't a factor. $10 after rebate, versus $80 for a comparable Apple product -- that was a factor.

It all looks neat on first glance until you realize what the possibilities are with these newer devices and how much they are bundled down to useless.