Microsoft Zune Dissected

Let's get one thing clear at the start: the Zune is a beautiful music player and the entire ecosystem trumps anything devised by a PlaysforSure licensee. But Microsoft isn't satisfied with showing up its own partners; it wants a piece of Apple pie.

The signs are everywhere. The business model was borrowed from Apple, the headphones were borrowed from Apple, and the click wheel doesn't resemble an iPod scroll wheel for nothing. How far does the copying go? Every Apple product bears the phrase "Designed by Apple in California." On the back of every Zune, in tiny gray type, Microsoft has their own version of this line. It says: "Hello from Seattle."