The ZUNE - R&D Failure

Written by Travis Power
Managing Partner at NexGen

The Zune was a portable media player that was supposed to be a rival to Apple’s iPod. Microsoft had some of the brightest minds in the world working on this project and still, it failed faster than you can say “Gone too Zune”.

Reason 1: Bad Timing
The Zune came out 5 years after the iPod, which gave the iPod a substantial lead in gaining mp3 marketshare. In that time Apple was also building up iTunes, which made it easier than ever to purchase and import music to ones device.

Reason 2: Lack of Innovation
The Zune had one unique feature that users found useful at the beginning; it was called ”squirting". Squirting allowed users to send songs wirelessly from one Zune to the next. Unfortunately, music labels weren't down with everyone sharing their music with each other.

Reason 3: Marketing
Zune’s marketing was too niche too fast. The initial campaign went hard on artsy images with the Zune targeted towards a younger generation and excluded everyone else.

Key takeaway: Don't be like Zune.
At Nexgen, we design, test and manufacture dissolvable products in one location. This allows us to iterate fast which allows you to quickly adjust to the market.