What about the Zune?

[abjure]

Well a couple weeks ago Kevin was talking about the Zune and said he would tell us more. So two weeks later where is it? I'm curious if I should get a Zune (I'm leaning towards this one anyways) or an iPod.

Its not going to really impact my decision that much but I'm just curious to find out what Alex and Kevin thought about it.

[vahnx]

They didn't really talk about it much. I'm not hearing that much positive feedback. I never owned an MP3 player or media device in my life, but I'd want an IPod the most.

[starscream80]

iPods are alright!!! I would also like to know some details about the "zune"!!!!

[ryudo]

Zune is DRM heavy and flopping badly.

Creative Zen or Ipod..skip Zune

[dragonbladev]

Zune is DRM heavy and flopping badly.

Creative Zen or Ipod..skip Zune


its people like you why its flopping badly. i am so against ipod cause it used to be the cool diferent thing when it first started but now everyone who owns a mp3 player has a ipod.

[tokenuser]

Wait, so let me get this straight. You're against people who have valid reasons to dislike a product, unlike you who just hates it because it's "popular?"

Did you hate the popular kids in school too? Aww......I would suspect he also prefers RC Cola over Coke/Pepsi, drives a Yugo rather than a GM/Ford, and watches Betamax tapes.

There is a reason the iPod has cornered the market - because Apple got it right. The Zune might be a success, but don't hate the iPod because Apple got it right.

[casework]

From what I've heard the Zune isn't anything special. Honestly, I'd go with an iPod. Pretty much everyone I know has one, and I haven't heard any problems from anybody.

And wow, I didn't know people still actually used the argument of popularity about mp3 players...

[tokenuser]

I did a little research online, and discovered that Sony have a great range of portable media players.

They are is DRM free, have removable storage, and some models have wireless audio streaming technology.

http://pocketcalculatorshow.com/walkman/graphics/wm-3.jpg

Welcome to 1983.

[noxdineen]

I very recently bought a Creative Zen Vision:M, after reading a ton of reviews of the Zen, iPod and Zune. I'm pretty confident I made the right choice.

The Zen had twice the battery life of the iPod for video (4 hours vs 2 hours), longer battery for audio (something like 16 vs 12). Based on early user reviews the Zune's battery life isn't even as good as the iPod.

The Zune does have the largest screen, but if it craps out on you within a few hours what's the point? The Zen's screen is a decent size and looks fantastic. Also, the Zen works with the broadest range of video types.

[ryudo]

its people like you why its flopping badly. i am so against ipod cause it used to be the cool diferent thing when it first started but now everyone who owns a mp3 player has a ipod.

Where I work at Gamestop we sell them...go read around theweb..Zune is not catching on and we can't sell one to save the store and we are the district leader of all the gamestops in our area..despite signs and displays and a big thing at checkout no one is even curious..we have had it since it launched and sold one Zune..my manager bought that one..I wanted one for a while but after reading about it I finally decided it's MS BS all over again.

I don't own a Ipod nor want one I have an old Dell DJ and I plan to get a Creative Zen to replace it.

[sparkmonkeyz]

I think that one fo the reasons the Zune just isn't catching on, is because Apple has established itself as "the" MP3 player. I don't think that many peolpe even understand that an MP3 player is a device that playes digital music, but instead they thinkt hat it is an iPod.

Apple did something very right, and it is going to be hard for Microsft to get that position. Especially with the lttle advertising that they are doing.

Apple has been very good with nice, neat, fairly straight forward advertisements.

The only Zune commercials that I have seen have been on like some sears commercial, or on some other main commercial, and they used the Zune kind of like subliminal advertising.

I really like the Zune, but I don't think that Microsft has the balls to fight with a media giant to remove the DRM, like Apple has been pushing some Media Coorperations.

[lupin]

All right I actually bought an iPod 3 weeks before the Zune came out. And I am not a man who is just rolling in the dough but really wanted to try out the Zune so when/if I start my podcast soon I could talk about the differences of them. This is my review of it:

The Zune, Microsofts first attempt in the MP3 market. With its pseudo viral marketing campaign and more then enough money to buy out anybody they want it seems as if Apples iPod may very well have its first contender in the arena. Will the Zune come out victorious or will it fall like so many before it?

Right out of the box and into setup you will notice the Zune isn't as Plug & Play as the iPod. The software is kind of iffy and crashes during install sometimes. But then again Apple has been at this MP3 thing for going on 6 years, this is Microsofts freshman attempt. Once you get past the install you will need to update the firmware of the Zune. This update unlocks the "Community" menu which allows for the use of WiFi transferring (more on that later).

After the update and install you will be introduced to the first of a few surprises; the Zune does not utilize WMP10/11. Instead it runs, lives, and breathes within its own application, aptly named the Zune Player. After the initial install and launch the software will attempt to locate and organize all the music, photos, and videos on your PC and catalog it via their respective tags. As I'm sure most are aware of, the time of this process will vary depending on how much music you have on your Hard Drive(s).

The Zune supports MP3s, WMAs, and AACs. It also supports DRM'd MP3s but only ones obtained through the Zune Music Store. Thats right, Microsoft the long time supporter of the "Play For Sure" DRM standard decided to throw that out the door on their first MP3 player. The reason for doing this isn't very clear except maybe they are tying to be in 100% direct parallel competition with Apples iPod and iTunes down to the "T". For whatever reason, this means your only viable medium for legal digital music is the Zune Store.

The Zune Store is a part of the "Marketplace" structure that has already been setup on the XBOX 360, it evens uses the same "Live Points" that the 360 does. And if you have a XBOX Live account (gold or silver) you can log into that with the Zune Store and share points. The idea behind using points is good and bad at the same time; but mainly bad. The only real benefit of this system is that prices are universal. A song cost 79 points no matter what currency your country maybe using. Of course the bad is how they have the points set up. You have to buy them in large bulk sums. So if you just wanted 1 song you end up having to pay for more like 30 or 40 just to get the one. This is a downside compared to iTunes since you may not be a music fanatic just wanting to grab one song and after that may not purchase another track for months, but your stuck forking out all that cash.

On the flip side of buying per track/album, the Zune Store also has the option for a 14.99 monthly subscription for access to their 2.5 Million song database. This is a big "1-up" over iTunes to a lot of people that like to download hundreds of songs at a time even though it may be weeks or months before they get around to listening to them. Microsoft, for whatever reason, has been trying to downplay this part of the Zune, but it does come with a 14 free trial to the service.

The Zune, like the iPod and many other MP3 players, categorizes music by album, artist, and genre. It does work a little better then iPods navigation as all you have to do to change how you are organizing is press left or right on the pad, it ends up feeling a little more streamlined. Also, to activate Shuffle or Repeat all you have to do is click the middle button, which is much easier then on the iPod.

The Zune also sports a few features the iPod either doesnt have out of the box or not at all. The one that has most people talking is the WiFi. Right now it is used only to beam a song you have playing to a Zune that is nearby. And once this is done it is DRM'd on the receiving end to only be available for 3 plays or 3 days. Ouch huh? But the idea of WiFi is something that could and needs to be tapped into much more. Wireless syncing? Buying music from Zune Store on the Zune? How about MSN Messenger? All these things are possible but only when Microsoft decides to tap into them via firmware updates.

The Zune also sports radio, a feature that will set you back a few more dollars with an iPod. Radio on the Zune will also display any information on the Radio Data System (Station name song playing etc.) if the station is sending it. The one puzzling thing about this however, is that you can't record off the Radio. Zune also comes equipped with a larger screen, 3" over 2.5", but it is the same amount of pixels: 320x240. Some have gone on to say that makes it worse, but look at it this way; all SDTVs have the same resolution but its better to have a 40" over 13 right?

Video on the Zune though is more of a pain then on an iPod. All the converters I have tried have profiles for 3 different Zune codecs; WMV MP4 and H.264. But if you try to sync it on the Zune software it feels the need to convert it again. The WMV though can be directly placed on the Zune without another conversion it takes the Disk hack to do it. A large pain.

The Zune is also 60% larger then the 30GB iPod, though they both share the same disk size. The reason for this allegedly is that the processors aren't being utilized as well as Apple has on their MP3 player which requires a larger battery to match the life of the 30GB iPod. Of course, the larger screen is also a part of the need for a larger battery. But the large size is handy if you feel like hacking :D Users of various Zune Scene websites have already put in their own 80GB Harddrive into the Zune and it fits snug as a bug in a rug. Not to shabby.

Overall the Zune is not a bad MP3 player. It does have some flaws with the software and using it as a video player. These things though could very easily be fixed and patched up with new releases of the firmware and software. The WiFi, though not yet fully realized, could be what sets this little player ahead of the iPod. The only problem is, with talk of the 6th Generation of iPod coming just around the corner with 480p resolution and 16:9 touchscreen the Zune may just end up dying fast, but then again so will every other iPod from 1-5G. If the rumours of the 6G pan out to fact then Microsoft will need to do some pretty quick evolving on their next release of the Zune to keep up.

Bottom line, if you are looking for a MP3 player as a first time buyer and havent gotten into iTunes Music Store or any other DRM music services you may want to look at the Zune over the iPod. If you have an iPod now and are ok with it dont feel the need to rush out and get a Zune too.

[tokenuser]

Lupin, congratulations on an excellent, well balanced review that didn't stray into the rabid "Apple Fanboi" or "Microsoft Suxors" kneejerk mentality that has marked most posts about the Zune.

Thank you.

[masherscf]

Lupin, congratulations on an excellent, well balanced review that didn't stray into the rabid "Apple Fanboi" or "Microsoft Suxors" kneejerk mentality that has marked most posts about the Zune.

Thank you.

you gotta love the 'em. People who build a complex belief system to justify their choices when all it really takes is... "Yes, I like the iPOD, it's for me. I won't be purchasing a Zune."

One the other hand, I'm not sure the first-generation ZUNE really needs to dethrone iPOD in the first Month of release. All they really need is enough sales to do is develop the product line into the next generation. Remember how long it took the XBOX to equal the PS2. The slow evolution of the iPOD device will eventually lead people to buy other devices if they're available in the market place. Will that be the ZUNE? Maybe, maybe not.

[magunwarrior]

The Zune was a huge flop, I believe I saw a digg story where it said that Bill Gates himself thought that as well.

[ryudo]

masherscf Xbox never caught up with PS2..PS2 sold over a 100 mill world wide and Xbox barely sold more units than Gamecube but a couple million..mainly because Japan never supported Xbox.

That said I do enjoy my Xbox as I bought one for one game originally..Shenmue II but of course bought a few more games later.

[masherscf]

masherscf Xbox never caught up with PS2..PS2 sold over a 100 mill world wide and Xbox barely sold more units than Gamecube but a couple million..mainly because Japan never supported Xbox.

That said I do enjoy my Xbox as I bought one for one game originally..Shenmue II but of course bought a few more games later.

That was sort of my point. I just didn't write it very well. I don't see why MS can't enter a market without being super-successful without everyone announcing what a "flop" it is.

In any case, the XBO360 vs PS3 is a whole new ballgame...