Episode Details

Remember the brown brick? This week on pplpod, we travel back to 2006 to unpack the history of the Microsoft Zune, the device launched to challenge Apple’s dominance but which ended up as a "high-profile underdog". We discuss the Zune's unique "social" features that let users wirelessly share songs and the evolution of its hardware, from the original directional pad to the second generation's "squircle" touch-pad.

We also cover:

• The Launch: How Microsoft aimed to beat the iPod with a focus on community and a viral "Welcome to the social" marketing campaign.

• The Glitches: The infamous "leap year bug" of 2008 that caused thousands of Zune 30s to freeze simultaneously.

• The High Note: The critical success of the Zune HD, which featured an OLED touchscreen and received praise from tech columnists despite arriving too late to beat the iPod Touch.

• The Legacy: How the Zune's failure was actually a "triumph of design," spawning the typography and "Metro" interface that would later define Windows Phone, Windows 8, and the Xbox dashboard.