When the Zune marketing team was formed at Microsoft they probably had a bunch of meetings with the Xbox guys and, well, every other product marketing team in Redmond. There is precedence for Microsoft delivering a product into a crowded marketplace with a clear stand-out, and Xbox/Playstation isn't the only instance of the company having success there. But with the iPod it's a hell of a problem, iPod being the defacto term for portable music player and all. The Kleenex, Band Aid and Q-tip of portable electronics (or the walkman of our age) is the iPod. It's a long uphill road from there. more ›