Apple Matters Looks at Zune Marketplace Pricing
by Blake Robinson on November 14, 2006


Apple Matters has a complete breakdown of the points system used by the Zune Marketplace. It seems as if James was a little overzealous in his claims that the Zune Marketplace is overcomplicated, but whatever, it’s worth checking out.

Alright the Zune Marketplace price scheme isn’t perfect. Users should be charged per song or full album. Sure Apple did it first, but that shouldn’t have mattered, it’s an efficient idea. Microsoft went wrong with the whole points system. I believe it was going for a jukebox effect, where users purchase a block of songs, but it should have just stuck with the tried and true method of cash-to-song.

Zune Marketplace’s Absurd Pricing Scheme [Apple Matters]

Comments

I think Microsoft simply figured out that they can’t make money processing tons of 1-dollar-credit-card-payments. The current solution sucks from a consumer’s point of view, but it’s great for Microsoft - they can process larger payments, and they get the interest on the money, too. It’s typical MS modus operandi. Profit maximization first, usability second (if that).

 

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