ZUNE: LESS AN iPOD KILLER, MORE A SELF-ABUSER

Since never a week goes by without the launch of something or other touted as an iPod killer, and because the details of Microsoft's Zune device are so limited at the moment, nobody is getting very excited by the pre-announcement of a mobile device from the people who bring you Excel spreadsheets and soft-crashing operating systems.

People who are looking closely, though, aren't even less than impressed.

Wired sniff and point out that not only has virtually every piece of hardware coming from Redmond been a bit of a flop (the X-Box aside), but the long chain of partners involved in flogging the music, other (supposedly) compatable players and the company itself makes it very difficult to adapt to changes in the marketplace. And that's without the massive current lead Apple has.

While the iPod isn't impregnable, it's still looking like it might have a few more years before Steve Jobs needs to lose any sleep.

music zune ipod apple microsoft