
Zune hardware was a mistake, admits former Microsoft exec Robbie Bach - evo_9
http://www.theverge.com/2012/5/14/3019100/zune-hardware-mistake-robbie-bach
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saturdaysaint
Time will tell if the Xbox will be considered just as much of a mistake.
They've lost billions of dollars on it, it hasn't given them _any_ advantage
in other consumer product categories and the idea of any company "winning the
living room" seems quixotic in a world ruled more by highly personal devices
(phones, tablets) more than whatever's on TV.

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benologist
Summary of [http://www.geekwire.com/2012/robbie-bachs-lessons-
intraprene...](http://www.geekwire.com/2012/robbie-bachs-lessons-
intrapreneurship-xbox-zune/)

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SpikeDad
Again proving that when you do something that is not in your companies nature
or DNA but rather for money or reflexive response towards your competitors you
will fail.

It's one of the reasons why tablet=iPad. For Apple, it's technology
intertwined with their corporate DNA. For others, it's a reflexive product to
make money because they see a profit opportunity.

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bediger4000
The initial Zune reviews should have tipped him off. I saved one that really
amused me, and I'm glad to have the opportunity to dust it off:

"Avoid," is my general message. The Zune is a square wheel, a product that's
so absurd and so obviously immune to success that it evokes something akin to
a sense of pity...

    
    
        -- Andy Ihnatko

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rexf
Initial reviews aren't correlated to a product's success.

Famously, the iPod was reviewed as "No wireless. Less space than a nomad.
Lame."

[http://slashdot.org/story/01/10/23/1816257/apple-releases-
ip...](http://slashdot.org/story/01/10/23/1816257/apple-releases-ipod)

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computerslol
I think it was a great product. I still have mine in my car (although it's use
has been replaced by spotify + iphone).

The subscription service sold it. The hardware was good, but the ability to
get whatever I wanted for a $15 a month charge made it one of my favorite
things.

