Why this “Zune is Dead” dust-up reminds me of Slacker Radio.

First off, if the reports are accurate and Zune is discontinuing the hardware, it shouldn’t be this big of a shock. Zune for the longest time has been positioning itself as the media service across Microsoft properties. I mean hell, look at zune.net. What does the front page say? Zune on your Phone, Zune on your XBOX, Zune on your PC. That should’ve told you something right there.

Anyhow, I’m gonna tell you why this whole dust-up reminds me of part of my conversation with Slacker Radio. For those that don’t know Slacker Radio is a music service that allows you to find and discover new music. It’s done with a push of a button and it learns your musical tastes and adjusts playlists accordingly. Sounds like Zune? Of course, it does.

Did you also know that Slacker Radio made their own devices? Well, they did, but they decided a while ago to stop selling them. Why? Devices that were around at the time were inadequate to showcase what exactly Slacker Radio is capable of when good portability is added to mix. So, they made their own hardware. They took those to potential partners to say that this is what a complete, excellent ecosystem looks like. They stopped selling those devices because they don’t feel they need to. The service that is Slacker Radio has eventually made it way into almost every portable OS and PC as a music application.

Now look at when the first Zune’s came out. The big feature then? Song sharing from device to device. Not many (if any) devices were doing that at the time so Microsoft must’ve figured it’s best that we create one on our own to kind of highlight what’s possible. When you look through the history and take that approach, all of the devices make sense. The current Zune HD, then, became a showcase of the Zune OS which then ended up in KIN and Windows Phone 7. Granted, some of the great Zune HD features are not part of Windows Phone 7, but Zune HD did show what good portability can look like.

But of course, where Slacker Radio is succeeding in this regard is that they have their service on iPhone, Windows Phone, PC, you name it. Zune, as an app/service is still tied to XBOX 360, Windows Phone 7 and PC software. There doesn’t seem to be this big move to get it onto other platforms.

However, the parallels are striking. Maybe Microsoft’s Zune devices (since let’s face it hardware isn’t Microsoft’s strongpoint) was only to be used as a means to highlight key software features that would work well in a portable setting. I know that sounds crazy — why even make hardware? — but maybe that’s been the idea this whole time.

Of course, I could totally be off about this and we won’t know much of anything until we get some sort of official statement, but as far as I’m concerned for those that have a Zune HD — love em, hug em and call em George. And remember just because (assuming it’s true) that the devices are discontinuing doesn’t mean your current device will suddenly cease to work. There will still be music and media that you can happily sync to the device and enjoy til your heart’s content.

Addendum:

Leave it to good ole Dave Mac to put some great perspective on this whole “Zune is dead” issue. Over at the AnythingbutiPod forums, Dave put up this well-scribed post:

Hey guys:

There’s been a TON of traffic about the Bloomberg article that posted today – plus I noticed they updated the article a few hours ago:

“We have nothing to announce about another Zune device — but most recently have introduced Zune HD to Canada via the Zune Originals store and remain committed to supporting our devices in North America,” the company said in an e-mailed statement. “We are thrilled by the consumer excitement for Zune across many new platforms, including Windows Phone 7 and Xbox 360. Our long-term strategy focuses on the strength of the entire Zune ecosystem across Microsoft platforms.”

I’ve had tweets, emails, PMs and phone calls. People offering condolences, checking in on me, etc… etc… Stop, stop, stop!

The Bloomberg article is NOT an official statement from Microsoft (apart from the quote above). The headline is purportedly from a “person familiar with the matter” – which of course tells you nothing.

Here’s what you should know – ALL consumer electronics products have a lifespan, and the Zune HD is 18mo old. We were completely frank about this year’s Zune hardware being the WP7 phones, and we continue to both sell and fully support the Zune HD line of products. And as I’ve promised – we continue to bring new apps and games to the platform. More of those are in the works, I promise you.

I manage business development for Zune hardware, and I still have that job. Our PR folks released a statement today that included the text: “We’ll share more information about the evolution of the Zune entertainment service and Zune hardware as future plans develop.”

To be 100% clear – NO information about our future plans, no matter what the incarnation, has been shared. Until then treat with healthy skepticism anything you read. That’s probably a good general rule actually.

So for those who tweeted or emailed asking what I’m “going to do now” – I’ll be going to work tomorrow, working on Zune hardware bizdev. And when Microsoft announces news that is actually news, you’ll hear it from us directly, and I’ll be sure to pass it on immediately. Only then should you take it as gospel.

Cheers, Dave.