Print is Dead: Books in Our Digital Age

Yikes; the Chicago Sun Times this week reviewed Microsoft’s new portable music device (and hopeful iPod killer), and didn’t pull any punches, calling the Zune a flat-out “failure.” As publishers try to tackle downloadable books and digital reading, this kind of critique/take-down goes to show the level of interaction that consumers are going to expect, and how high the bar has been set because of iTunes and the iPod (for instance, look at all the lukewarm reviews the Sony device has received).

Excerpt: “Yes, Microsoft’s new Zune digital music player is just plain dreadful. I’ve spent a week setting this thing up and using it, and the overall experience is about as pleasant as having an airbag deploy in your face.”
Avoid the loony Zune