What Podcasters Need to Know About Zune (for now)
Today the Microsoft Zune was released. I haven’t picked one up yet and I may wait just a bit to do so. For now, here’s what you need to know about the status of the Zune when it comes to podcasting:
- At launch, there are no podcast-specific features (i.e. directory, menu features on the device, etc.)
- Of course, it WILL play all the standard audio/video podcast file formats (MP3, AAC, iPod video format, etc.)
- An update with podcast functionality is rumored to be coming sometime soon after launch
A contributor on the Zune team recently posted the following to his blog in response to Robert Scoble:
It’s not that we don’t getPodcasting (Robert knows I’m among the loudest voices about Podcasting at Microsoft), it’s that podcasting wasn’t done in time. I don’t expect anyone to buy based on my promises, but it’s important to separate things we don’t have at launch from comments about Zune’s long term prospects.
This seems to indicate we can expect podcasting features in the near future. Hopefully "Zune’s long term prospects" for podcasting come sooner than later.
In response to those who speculate that Microsoft is adverse to using the term "podcasting" (because of the association with Apple), a look at their Zune site reveals multiple uses of the word.
Finally, Drew Baron from Rocketboom announced over the weekend that he was turning down a cross-promotion deal with Microsoft. This would seem to indicate some sort of podcasting initiative on their part.
I’ll be watching carefully to see how things unfold for podcasting and the Zune. Todd Cochrane posted a great podcasting wish list for the Zune.
There are clear opportunities for Zune to stand out from the iPod in this space. The iPod has some less-than-ideal hangups when it come to listening to podcasts. I’m grateful that they "put podcasting on the map" and made the process of finding and subscribing significantly easier, but it’s time to move forward and much can still be done. We need another player in this field. I don’t want 75% of my subscriber base coming from iTunes anymore.
