Zune You Later

After the non-event launch of Microsoft Zune, Bill & Company might be looking to the device's European release, reported to be at the end of '07, to ease the pain. After all, the Euros do love all kinds of crazy junk that doesn't catch on in the States. But if a straw poll over at Playfuls is any indication, the news is not good: "Friends from France, Sweden or Italy have not even heard of this name [Zune], and if they did (and associated it by contrast with the iPod , after viewing some photos) they firmly declared that they'll stick to the iPod."

It's possible that Zune's myriad compatibility issues will eventually be solved. And, if Microsoft were smart, they could realize the lost potential of their player's WiFi capibilities. But Microsoft may have trouble living up to even its blatantly false claims of a 20% market share in the United States.