Microsoft does have good products, but the Zune isn’t one of them. Microsoft’s iPod competitor is so unloved that in recent times Microsoft advertises the music store over the player itself, pushing a value proposition not dissimilar to its laptop hunter ads.

Zunes though have slowly been improving, and the latest Zune, the Zune HD actually sounds quite appealing. OLED touch screen, HD radio, 720p playback on external devices and more. It also doesn’t look half bad visually either (see picture above.)

But will the new Zune HD be a hit? If you take Microsoft’s lead, the answer is most definitely a no. The official announcement for the Zune HD didn’t even manage a separate media release, and instead was bolted on to the end of an announcement about the Zune marketplace being offered to XBox Live subscribers. Here’s the link to the release.

In some regard, it would be good to see Microsoft succeed here as it would in search for the same reason: competition is good for users. With Microsoft already down playing the new Zune however, I have far less confidence in the Zune vs Kumo/ Bling or what ever the new search engine will be called.