counternotions

In an interesting San Francisco Chronicle interview, Robbie Bach, president of Microsoft’s entertainment and devices division, reveals in no uncertain terms how pleased the company is with Zune:

Q: How is the Zune business going?

A: We’re actually super-pleased at where we are. When you talk to people, customer satisfaction is somewhere north of 90 percent. We think we’ve got a product that is very strong. You’ve seen that strength in some of the new ideas that we are trying, things like Zune Social, where we have over 2 million people who are on the Zune Social site, who are sharing their playlists with other people, letting people experiment with what they are listening to, letting people see their top 10 list and creating a social experience around it.

If you look at actual sales, depending on the month, we’re No. 2, sometimes No. 3. It goes back and forth. It’s a good solid share. We’re not clipping at the heels of Apple just yet in the market share space. But that’s something that will evolve over time.

I’d be interested in our readers’ impression of how Zune is doing:

1. Should Microsoft be “super-pleased” with Zune?
2. Do products with 90+ percentage satisfaction ratings result in an on-target outfit like GameStop to discontinue selling Zunes due to “insufficient demand from customers”?
3. Is Zune a “very strong” product?
4. Is Zune’s market presence a “good solid share”?
5. Is Zune capable of “clipping at the heels of Apple” in market share over time?

Bonus questions:

1. Bach: “We will outsell the iPhone. We will outsell the BlackBerry.” Do you believe him?
2. Bach: “We don’t make phones ourselves. We don’t have any plans to make phones ourselves.” Do you think Microsoft will or will not get into cellphone hardware business?

I’m not even going to bother asking the awkward question as to why Robbie Bach is still employed at Microsoft, because that wouldn’t be fair…to MSFT shareholders.