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Now before you go on a flame tantrum, please read the following: I'm not one to be a doomsday activist, but a recent article by TGD analyst Brion Feinberg, Ph.D. had me thinking. Not only is the Zune in danger (he actually mentions iPod), but the whole MP3 player industry is in jeopardy, he says. 
Feinberg predicts in the next few years, the stand alone MP3 player will reach its peak of popularity and begin to slowly fade away. "Within ten years, these devices will be relegated to museum shelves next to the vinyl LP and the 8-track player" he says. What? How's that? So what will take the place of my MP3 player? Feinberg believes the mobile phone will. "Even Apple is aware of this inevitability, thus one reason for rolling out the iPhone." Which led me to believe why, a couple weeks ago, Microsoft showed signs of looking into doing a Zune phone (again?). "It wouldn't be unreasonable to think at some point there might some integrated thing," Mindy Mount, chief financial officer of Microsoft's entertainment and devices division, told investors at Citigroup's global technology conference. Feinberg sites six reasons why this shift will occur: 1. Simply stated, mobile phones make great music players. 2. Music phones are less expensive when compared to buying separate mobile phones and portable music players. 3. Convenience implies carrying one device is better than carrying two. 4. Music phones will be less expensive than stand-alone music players. 5. Outside the U.S., music phones are already dominating. 6. Flash memory continues to improve. Feinberg's analysis is not something to taken lightly. His 27 years of experience and specialization in business analysis certainly brings some weight to his words. So the Zune Phone could be a reality after all? We shall see...
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