Microsoft Unveils Device Customization via New Zune Originals Store, New Zune Players Available Tomorrow
Microsoft partners with 18 renowned artists to fuse high style with portable entertainment. — Tomorrow, consumers ready for a richer, more connected and more personal entertainment experience …
Context & Ripple Effects
The second-generation Zune arrives almost exactly one year after a rough debut: GigaOM's November 2006 verdict was bluntly titled Zuned Out, and Microsoft has spent October rebuilding — first via the three-flavor leak, then by confirming the lineup at 80, 8, and 4GB, alongside an unanswered question about whether the new players would carry DRM-free music.
With hardware specs now public, today's Zune Originals Store is the differentiation play: 18 commissioned artists turn the player's casing into a canvas, and an interview Microsoft gave Cool Hunting the same day frames customization as the brand strategy rather than a merchandising afterthought.
First-order effects
- Buyers ordering the new 80, 8, or 4GB Zunes starting tomorrow can choose artist-designed artwork instead of stock casings, making Microsoft the first major player maker to sell personalization at launch rather than as an accessory line.
- Chris Stephenson and Microsoft's marketing team gain a concrete answer to the 'why not an iPod' question: exclusivity of design, since no Apple-shipped unit carries this artwork.
Second-order effects
- Apple faces pressure to respond on the personalization front — its strength has been uniform industrial design, and Originals tests whether buyers will trade the default look for limited-edition art.
- Artist collaborations become a competitive channel: the 18 partners now have skin in the Zune's success, giving Microsoft a cultural-marketing network that pure spec competition cannot buy.
Third-order effects
- If customization sells, device makers treat hardware surfaces as media — commissioned artwork, limited editions, and store-level personalization become standard product lines rather than novelties, pushing consumer electronics toward fashion-industry release logic.
- For Microsoft specifically, Originals is a bet that brand identity, not ecosystem lock-in alone, is what closes the gap with an entrenched rival whose advantage is exactly that lock-in.
The trend: Portable media players are shifting from spec-and-storage competition toward fashion-driven differentiation, with personalization programs like Zune Originals marking the pivot point.