The 3 card trick - when will they learn?

So rumour has it that Microsoft are to follow-up their failed attempt with Zune to compete with iPod with a "Zune HD" device to compete with the iPod Touch. However it is not simply launching a media player device that makes an iPod a success in the market place. It is the old 3 card trick ... the device, the software to manage the media (in the iPod's case, iTunes) and the online store to sell content and applications... which is the recipe for success. This method of cooking has evolved too, with the establishment of a software development kit for a standardised hardware platform and unified sales portal which have added to the mixture. The other essential ingredient is timing ... important in all good cooking ... in this case hitting the market at the right time. It is only in recent times that fixed and latterly/increasingly mobile download speeds have facilitated the mass-market online purchase of media and applications.

Apple will likely add additional video features in a big way to the iPhone/iPod Touch hardware platform this Summer and follow that up with a completely new device with larger screen later in the year. These steps will take their lead even further ahead of the competition, in ways which give the latter a hard job trying to follow.