Not me asking that, but Todd Bishop, the Seattle PI reporter, in an interview with Robbie Bach, president of the company’s Entertainment & Devices Division, after yesterday’s announcement of new Zune launches, and on the day when Apple launched its new iPod Nano. So first, whether the new Zune will sell more, Bach says: “The answer is yes, it will. It will help us in the device category. We think that will continue to grow the device category. But it also helps us across connected entertainment, because music is not something that’s just isolated to portable devices. It’s things people want to experience on Xbox and on the PC and mobile phones and other places. So we think of this, as I said from the very beginning, a long-term investment.”

SEE ALSO: Microsoft Zune Adds Wi-Fi Downloads, Radio Song Downloads, Games

And then the question: At what point do you throw in the towel and try a different strategy? A valid point, and Bach said that being part of the hardware is important, and it will continue it, but, “You know, having said that, software and services are what’s going to be ultimately the differentiator in this space. So we’ll continue to invest there as well.” Methinks the new Zune will certainly sell more in the next year than it has in the last couple of years, with the new Wi-Fi and radio song tagging features…I hope they try and continue to develop alternatives to iPod.