Many like to call me a Mac Zealot, but I think that such a label is far off base. I’ll use PC’s, but I prefer to use my Mac.

When word of the Zune came out I was far from paranoid that it would somehow find a way to topple the iPod and if the latest Music Player Bestseller ranks from Amazon forcast anything, the Zune will come nowhere close any time soon.

1. 2GB iPod Nano Silver (v2)
2. 30GB iPod video Black (v5.5)
3. 1GB iPod Shuffle (v2)
4. 80GB iPod video Black (v5.5)
5. 4GB iPod Nano Pink (v2)
6. SanDisk Sansa M240 1GB MP3 Player Silver
7. 4GB iPod Nano Black (v2)
8. 4GB iPod Nano Blue (v2)
9. 8GB iPod Nano Black (v2)
10. SanDisk SDMX4-2048 Sansa e250 2GB MP3 Player
11. 4GB iPod Nano Silver (v2)
12. Creative Zen Vision:M 30GB MP3 and Video Player Black
13. 30GB iPod video White (v5.5)
14. 4GB iPod Nano Green (v2)
15. Sandisk SDMX4-4096 Sansa e260 4GB MP3 Player
16. 4GB iPod Nano White (v1)
17. SanDisk Sansa M250 2GB MP3 Player Black
18. ZUNE 30GB Black
19. Creative Zen V 1GB Portable Media Player Black/Orange
20. 60GB iPod video Black (v5)

Notice that of the Amazon Top 20, the iPod line appears 13 times, and that the ONLY Zune model to appear in the Top 20 is black yet falls in a paltry 18th place. Brown falls in at 49th place, and White comes in at a pathetic 62nd.

For one of the “biggest” holiday gadgets, not even pulling in the Top 10 on one of the larger internet marketplaces is quite sad for an “iPod killer”.

The biggest flaw in my eyes (and many industry experts) for that matter is their marketing. When you compare it to the product it is supposed to be “killing” the Zune falls short by FAR. Take for instance the box…

Ok, so it’s brown, and there’s a logo on it… that’s wonderful. Now slap that baby on a shelf and that will be ALL you can see. Sure electronics stores may out of box these babies… but I know of several that don’t. You get shelf space… period. You and I may know what a Zune is… after all, I’m what they would call a techno geek… but print that box shot out and ask your mom what’s inside. I bet you my pants that she won’t have a clue. That leaves the “easy sell” to the geeks only.

Compare that with the Apple iPod box:

You have a HUGE product shot, front and center playing music. You also have the brand and the product name on the front. So now when someone walks up to your product they can see what the product looks like and based on the screen display, one can deduce that it is playing music. Even your mom can tell that much from an iPod box.

Next up is the advertising…

Zune:

iPod:

Apple has become synonymous with “the white earbud” look. Their Advertising is almost pure product. Since day one, we’ve been fed the “missing person” ipod advertising with the focus being on the product. When I watch any of the Zune commercials I’m left with a sense of “ok, so there were some people at a party….” You’re not given a good sense of the product other than “I guess it’s good for parties”.

Sure it’s early but when you’re going up against a well established product line, you MUST come out with a bang… fizzle just doesn’t cut it.