hahahahahahhah...zune!

[pianodude123]

There isnt much to explain, but I believe I found this on the front page of Amazon:

Not much else to say... except... wow.

[FJ218700]

I still can't get over how ugly those things are

[Agent Smith]

Why brown?!? Is this M$ trying to be hip and start a new colour trend? Maybe it's their view of the new M$ world order, where everyone will wear brown and grey smocks, with black pants. Ugh! And what's amazon doing putting that on their front page? They want to attract customers, not frighten them away, or is this a new business model to which I am unfamiliar?

Edit: I know the colour choice has been talked about before, I just never got a chance to put in my two cents. :P

[Mr. MacBook]

Hey, dont go making fun of zune now.

Zune is great for a windows user...

I only got an iPod cause it broke and i had a mac...

[FJ218700]

your Zune broke already?

[papadopolis1024]

WOW and you were saying that it broke? when did they first lanch... November? still... that is less that 6 months!!!! I still have a 2nd Gen iPod WORKING

[Killyp]

WOW and you were saying that it broke? when did they first lanch... November? still... that is less that 6 months!!!! I still have a 2nd Gen iPod WORKING

Now you can't have a dig at the Zune for the odd one or two which are faulty.

The same could be said for my Macbook Pro. 9 months old and I've already had a logic board replacement, fan replacement and it needs a screen replacement and speaker/sound ship replacement (or whatever, the sound is spazzed).

[Max Payne]

LOL. I thought headphones come free as standard. :p

[brownie]

LOL. I thought headphones come free as standard. :p

yeh exactly. does this mean you have to buy headphones after you buy a zune because none come with it???

[snapplejack18]

I hate to say it but right now I say the Zune is better than the current iPods.

ONE Cuz of the bigger screens.

TWO Cuz of the wireless song transfer.(Yeah I know about the 3 song thing, but I'm sure it can be hacked/cracked easily.)

THREE Cuz of the guest designers like Stussy.

But, we'll see what apple has up its sleeve when they release the new iPod.

[Kashchei]

We can all be righteously indignant at how poorly the Zune stacks up against the iPod. On the other hand, the entry of Zune is going to push Apple to develop the iPod, which will help all of us (at least in the short term--I've seen MS assimilate too many companies and I don't want it to happen again with Apple's iPod).

For the young, those on a fixed budget, Microsoft lovers, or those without any aesthetic sense, the Zune does what it is supposed to do relatively well. One of my students has one and loves it the way we love our iPods. Chancun a son goût.

[ian-frs]

Headphones do come standard with the zune. Those are the premium head phones they are offering. I don't know what you guys have against the zune and just the zune. Why don't you guys insult the sansa as well. I love my mac computers but I like my zune alot more then my ipod. The UI is simpler then the Ipods I think and not having the click wheel dare I say it is nice. Sorry for the little rant but I am sick of reading zune bashes.

[FJ218700]

I don't know what you guys have against the zune and just the zune. Why don't you guys insult the sansa as well.

what the hell is a sansa ?

edit: just kidding, you're right. Squirting is cool.

[dmw007]

LOL. I thought headphones come free as standard. :p

One would naturally assume that you would get headphones included with a music player (especially at that price). :rolleyes:

[szsiddiq]

I'm more impressed by SanDisk's Sansa brand, than by the Zune. It's disgraceful for MS how much SanDisk was able to kick their assets.

At this point in the game, I wouldn't throw the iPod brand in for a fight. No matter what kinda features the player has, Apple has set up a strong enough infrastructure for the iPod+iTunes brand to keep it ahead for years.

[pianodude123]

Ya... I want just bashing the butt ugly color... but FREE headphones!!! OH bOY!!!! Since the headphones they include with the product are so crappy, you need to throw those out and get new ones once you buy the thing...

And... when I first saw this, I laughed my head off because every MP3 player worth of the market should come with headphones for free.. but if this is what they are advertising as a great new feature... then... ya.. umm..

So everybody... hurry over to amazon so you can buy your Zune and get FREEEEEE headphones with it..

hahaha...

[MacNut]

The iPod ear buds are not all that great either.

[zap2]

Hey, dont go making fun of zune now.

Zune is great for a windows user...

I only got an iPod cause it broke and i had a mac...

You know iPod works with Windows..iTunes runs on Windows:rolleyes:

[Techguy172]

You know iPod works with Windows..iTunes runs on Windows:rolleyes:

Zune doesn't work on mac though

@the Zune bashers why are you making fun of it its way better then the ipod its got a bigger screen easier interface and wifi maybe not the best as it is now but easily expandable and as we know from experience microsoft is amazing with networks look at xbox live

[jsw]

Looks to me like the guy's holding a black nano and flipping off the camera.

[MacNut]

The one Zune I was able to play with I liked. It had a good interface and was smaller then the iPod. If they didn't focus so much on the iPhone maybe they could make a better iPod.

[Lovesong]

There isnt much to explain, but I believe I found this on the front page of Amazon:

Not much else to say... except... wow.

I still can't get over how ugly those things are

Looks to me like the guy's holding a black nano and flipping off the camera.

Now, now, people... it's not nice to make fun of retarded things (like the Zune).

[Sun Baked]

Looks to me like the guy's holding a black nano and flipping off the camera.

Are you sure he isn't rubbing her nipple?

Which is about the only way some people would get excited when holding a Zune.

[iSee]

The one Zune I was able to play with I liked. It had a good interface and was smaller then the iPod. If they didn't focus so much on the iPhone maybe they could make a better iPod.

iPods are smaller and lighter than Zunes...

http://www.zune.net/en-us/meetzune/techspecs/player.htm
http://www.apple.com/ipod/specs.html

Even the 80GB iPod is a bit smaller than the Zune.

[zap2]

Zune doesn't work on mac though

Yes?...I was making a point, as Mr. MacBook said he got an iPod because he owned a Mac, but Zune were good for Windows owers. I was sayiing iPod works about the same on each OS



@the Zune bashers why are you making fun of it its way better then the ipod
No its no..there is no way the Zune us better then the iPod

its got a bigger screen easier interface and wifi
Bigger screen yes, but the unit itself is much bigger too...easier interface, lol, your joking right? And wi-fi is wasn't on the unit itself


maybe not the best as it is now but easily expandable and as we know from experience microsoft is amazing with networks look at xbox live

How would MS expand the Zune? Add a web browser? That be fun using a D-Pad :rolleyes: And anything else they could as Apple could also add..althought there isn't a ton I think either could add on either unit. Hardware is far more important.

[bartelby]

I hate to say it but right now I say the Zune is better than the current iPods.

ONE Cuz of the bigger screens.

TWO Cuz of the wireless song transfer.(Yeah I know about the 3 song thing, but I'm sure it can be hacked/cracked easily.)

THREE Cuz of the guest designers like Stussy.

But, we'll see what apple has up its sleeve when they release the new iPod.

1) Erm, why do you need a screen to listen to music? Sod looking at videos or photos on a poxy small screen (inc iPod ones)

2) Woopee doo!!

3) again, woopee doo. Stussy, how very 1990s:rolleyes:

You've got some convincing arguments there. Well done.

[Eraserhead]

Does the Zune even sync yet without crashing? I believe that was a problem when it was realeased.

If it still doesn't then it's worse than a 1G iPod.

[Jim Campbell]

its way better then the ipod its got a bigger screen

Bigger screen ... same number of pixels, though, so hardly a massive advantage, then ...

Cheers

Jim

[ezekielrage_99]

I hate to say it but right now I say the Zune is better than the current iPods.

ONE Cuz of the bigger screens.

TWO Cuz of the wireless song transfer.(Yeah I know about the 3 song thing, but I'm sure it can be hacked/cracked easily.)

THREE Cuz of the guest designers like Stussy.

But, we'll see what apple has up its sleeve when they release the new iPod.

I tend to agree with point 1, the Zune feature wise is better than the current iPod line plus the Zune doesn't scratch as easy. On paper the Zune looks a lot better (spec wise) while the current iPods are looking like they need an update soon.

However the Zune's strengths are also very limiting, wireless sounds good but 3 songs limits, hack/crack issues are rife, brown (what were they thinking it's not even a nice brown) and only for Windows.

With the Zune there's very little support for bonus item like speakers, cases , etc where iPod reins surpreme in these areas. The reality is that Apple will update the iPod some and hopefully add a bigger screen, made from the same stuff as the Nanos/Shuffles, more colours and hopefully some sort of WiFi or Bluetooth capacity then the iPod will assert the is no subsitute for a real iPod.

One last point..... Stussy what is this 1995?

[MacAnkka]

Meh. I prefer the Zune UI over the iPod's. The focus on album art and the effects are really nice. It also seems to be a lot more stronger and scratch-resistant. If it just was possible to sync it with a Mac (easily), I'd serously consider it to be a better choice than an iPod.

[zim]

Zune, Is that thing still around? Honestly I had forgotten all about it.

[ian-frs]

My household owns 3 zunes and not one of them have crashed syncing, I belive that is just stupid people trying to use the product incorectly. The zunes wifi is a hardware device that with a firmware upgrade can be used to buy songs over any internet connection or even sync over a network and not have to be attatched to a computer. The reason we can't do any of that is due to microsoft having some issues witht he FCC and such. One last thing, the headphones that come with the zune are the same ones that come with the ipod but in black and with a magnet on the back(so they don't tangle). The add is once again offering the zune premium headphones.

[aricher]

Why brown?!? Is this M$ trying to be hip and start a new colour trend?

I think it was an ill-conceived tie-in with South Park.
http://farm1.static.flickr.com/106/293237792_359442cd12_o.jpg

[Eraserhead]

I belive that is just stupid people trying to use the product incorectly.

Right, which is why Ars Technica (http://arstechnica.com/reviews/hardware/zune.ars/6) had problems, though they may have fixed the issue since release with a software update.

Anyway I've never heard of users have problems with iTunes crashing while syncing music.

[ian-frs]

Right, which is why Ars Technica (http://arstechnica.com/reviews/hardware/zune.ars/6) had problems ;), though they may have fixed the issue since release with a software update.

People always make mistakes. I've had zunes since launch in November and haven't had a problem with one yet. So I am just speaking from my experiences.

[princealfie]

Headphones do come standard with the zune. Those are the premium head phones they are offering. I don't know what you guys have against the zune and just the zune. Why don't you guys insult the sansa as well. I love my mac computers but I like my zune alot more then my ipod. The UI is simpler then the Ipods I think and not having the click wheel dare I say it is nice. Sorry for the little rant but I am sick of reading zune bashes.

Hey there Ian, I remember you from Zunescene. I got my brown Zune and million iPods. Word.

Yeah, I really love having everything in life. Yummy :D

Zune + iPod wifi chatting someday ... word.

[ian-frs]

Hey Alfie nice to have another zunester around here.

[freediverdude]

There are Zune people around here?? Ack!! Traitors!! Seize them!! They must not be allowed to live!! :apple: :apple: :apple: :apple: :apple: :apple: :apple: :apple: :apple: :apple: sigh.... that's better, more apples......things are right with the world again.....

[Dustman]

Why brown?!? Is this M$ trying to be hip and start a new colour trend? Maybe it's their view of the new M$ world order, where everyone will wear brown and grey smocks, with black pants. Ugh! And what's amazon doing putting that on their front page? They want to attract customers, not frighten them away, or is this a new business model to which I am unfamiliar?

Edit: I know the colour choice has been talked about before, I just never got a chance to put in my two cents. :P

They mays well have gone with wood panelling.. like those station wagons from the 70s.. pretty much the same thing right? :P

[Eraserhead]

People always make mistakes.

The thing is here is that one of the leading technology sites on the internet has had a problem with auto-syncing the Zune crashing, and with multiple Zune's (as mentioned in the review, and I'd imagine multiple PC's) too so it's unlikely to be a hardware issue. Yet no-one, not even people who know nothing about computers, has a general problem with iPods and auto-syncing, unless the hardware itself is faulty.

To me that seems like there is a problem with the software for the product, and I find it difficult to believe otherwise.

Now according to the review manual syncing works fine so if that is what you do you then won't hit any problems <shrug>.

[dextertangocci]

The Zune's sucks so much. I haven't even met anyone with one. I've never even seen one in real life:rolleyes:

[Eraserhead]

The Zune's sucks so much. I haven't even met anyone with one. I've never even seen one in real life:rolleyes:

They are US only though, so it's not totally surprising.

[bigandy]

why do people keep bringing up the point about a bigger screen on the Zune?

it's the same fracking resolution. yawn. move along.

[princealfie]

Hey Alfie nice to have another zunester around here.

Yeah I'm one of the global moderator at Zunescene.
I guess that i'm still the only guy here with both Zune and iPod :rolleyes:

[bartelby]

why do people keep bringing up the point about a bigger screen on the Zune?

it's the same fracking resolution. yawn. move along.

Yeah, but it's BIGGER, and bigger is better!
The fact that the rest of it is a sack of cack is irrelevant!

[Sesshi]

Yeah I'm one of the global moderator at Zunescene.
I guess that i'm still the only guy here with both Zune and iPod :rolleyes:

Nope.

I agree with MacAnkka BTW. Those who have actually used the Zune will probably agree too. The Apple Blinkered probably won't ;)

[MacAnkka]

Bigger screen, even if it is the same resonlution, is a good thing.
32" SDTV resolution screen > 14" SDTV resolution screen
3" screen with 320x240 resolution > 2.5" screen with 320x240 resolution
Zune screen > iPod screen

[bartelby]

Bigger screen, even if it is the same resonlution, is a good thing.
32" SDTV resolution screen > 14" SDTV resolution screen
3" screen with 320x240 resolution > 2.5" screen with 320x240 resolution
Zune screen > iPod screen

But no matter which way you rub it a 3" screen is pointless for video.

[zim]

Bigger screen, even if it is the same resonlution, is a good thing.
32" SDTV resolution screen > 14" SDTV resolution screen
3" screen with 320x240 resolution > 2.5" screen with 320x240 resolution
Zune screen > iPod screen

Huh? The lower pixel density of the Zune's screen = a less sharp image.

Same resolution larger screen degrades the quality. It is just like when you take a photo into photoshop and keep the pixel count the same but increase the width and height, it gets soft.

[Sesshi]

But no matter which way you rub it a 3" screen is pointless for video.

Have you seen the two side by side?

(I needn't really ask that of a true-blue Apple zealot, but just to be polite you know ;) )

It's actually quite a noticeable difference. I feel much less self-conscious watching the video podcasts on the Zune for example, and it is on the whole nicer to look at than the iPod. As for which is better it's 50:50 for me. The Zune works better for me for some things, while the iPod does better in others.

[bartelby]

Have you seen the two side by side? It's actually quite a noticeable difference. I feel much less self-conscious watching the video podcasts on the Zune.

You miss interpret what I'm saying.

I'm not saying the ZUNE is ***** compared to the iPod in terms of video playback. I think they're BOTH pointless.
The worst thing Apple did with the iPod was allow video playback.

[clevin]

1) Erm, why do you need a screen to listen to music? Sod looking at videos or photos on a poxy small screen (inc iPod ones)


i guess you don't think video iPod should exist at all then.

why do people keep bringing up the point about a bigger screen on the Zune?
it's the same fracking resolution. yawn. move along.

haha, funy u talking about this, why appleTV even require HD TV since it has no HD movie to offer?

seriously, why ppl buy a bigger TV for same resolution of TV content?

[bartelby]

i guess you don't think video iPod should exist at all then.


Spot on!

The iPod line should have split when video playback became viable.
I want a large capacity iPod purely for music. I'm not even bothered about a colour screen.

The iPod is becoming a Jack of all trades, master of none.

[MyJelleo]

I don't really understand why people are defending the Zune...

Here are some video clips on why the Zune Zucks:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6ZXiLY4bo80

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NAg4ehqmuwE <-- funny

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=T10L9ybstps

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=u6o0tNa6FbA

The moment you buy a zune, you are accused of being thief of music. Watch and learn. OH yeah, and it's UGLY, and who the hell termed the beaming feature squirting?

[bartelby]

I don't really understand why people are defending the Zune...

Someone has to I suppose:rolleyes:

[Sesshi]

You miss interpret what I'm saying.

I'm not saying the ZUNE is ***** compared to the iPod in terms of video playback. I think they're BOTH pointless.
The worst thing Apple did with the iPod was allow video playback.

Yeah... well, they didn't sacrifice the audio functionality to make it happen, and as I pointed out I watch video podcasts on all my video-capable players - it's a handy way to catch up on news.

Just because you can't see the point doesn't necessarily mean it is pointless.

But in a way I agree with you - Apple should have fixed some of the more glaring audio issues on the iPod before moving onto video. Also in terms of audio features the iPod has also stayed virtually still since the 3G and that could use a refresh too, especially as other companies are coming out with handier / better features.

[bartelby]

Just because you can't see the point doesn't necessarily mean it is pointless.

Very true.

But I do wonder what the percentage of iPod users is that watch video on their iPod and for what percentage of the time.

[dextertangocci]

They are US only though, so it's not totally surprising.

Why? Because they suck so much?

[MacAnkka]

Huh? The lower pixel density of the Zune's screen = a less sharp image.

Same resolution larger screen degrades the quality. It is just like when you take a photo into photoshop and keep the pixel count the same but increase the width and height, it gets soft.
And after this post you went back to watch TV on your 12" SDTV while laughing at all those idiots who bought more inferior, 32" SDTVs with lower pixel densities, right?

[CRAZYBUBBA]

If they were mac-compatible I'd get a sandisk sansa.

[zim]

And after this post you went back to watch TV on your 12" SDTV while laughing at all those idiots who bought more inferior, 32" SDTVs with lower pixel densities, right?

My comment was directed to the LCD screens of the players. I never said that the zune's screen is inferior just that it can't be as sharp due to the exapnded pixels. Do a google search, there are plenty of side by side comparisons of LCD screens that explain exactly my post.

[Counterfit]

But in a way I agree with you - Apple should have fixed some of the more glaring audio issues on the iPod before moving onto video.

Such as... ?

[Sesshi]

Such as... ?

For iPod with Video
EQ
Still some codec tics
Output stage issues
yada yada

For iPod before Video
Even more of the above

[bartelby]

EQ
Still some codec tics
Output stage issues
yada yada

To be fair they did improve the DAC and output stage vastly from the early generations.

[Sesshi]

To be fair they did improve the DAC and output stage vastly from the early generations.

Not exactly - they made it more consistent, along the lines of other players. The circuitry could still use a notable tweaking to bring it in line with the best of the rest.

[feelthefire]

I really like my zune as well. I don't really get the whole us and them mentality everyone seems to have...if you don't like 'em, don't buy one, and leave the people who do buy one alone because it's none of your business.

"the moment you buy a zune, you're accused of being a thief of music."

uh, did you READ the clear plastic wrapper around your brand new shiny iPod? The one that said "Don't steal music" in like 6 languages? At least the zune one says "let's get started." I think that's a small improvement.

[aquajet]

They mays well have gone with wood panelling.. like those station wagons from the 70s.. pretty much the same thing right? :P

I'd say they look more like the old bakelite tabletop radios from the 1940s.

[MacAnkka]

My comment was directed to the LCD screens of the players. I never said that the zune's screen is inferior just that it can't be as sharp due to the exapnded pixels. Do a google search, there are plenty of side by side comparisons of LCD screens that explain exactly my post.
I have no problem understanding the technical details of your posts. It is your logic that seems to evade me. I am just saying that the smaller pixel density IS NOT A BIG DEAL. The upsides of having a bigger screen really overweight the downside of having lower pixel density (just like the difference of a MacBook screen and a 720p 32" LCD screen. I'd really rather watch movies on the latter, even though the resolution is pretty much the same and pixel density is a LOT smaller).

To be fair they did improve the DAC and output stage vastly from the early generations.
The 4G iPod still has the best DAC out of all the iPods. The bad thing was that it had a really bad amp, so you have to use the dock line-out (or even better, iMod (http://www.redwineaudio.com/iMod.html) the iPod) and an external amp to get most out of it.

[bartelby]

The 4G iPod still has the best DAC out of all the iPods. The bad thing was that it had a really bad amp, so you have to use the dock line-out (or even better, iMod (http://www.redwineaudio.com/iMod.html) the iPod) and an external amp to get most out of it.

Yeah, I have a 4G and noise from the headphone output is pretty bad...

[ian-frs]

I watched all those videos and then some. This one made me laugh http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ao8Lr2U7mX8&mode=related&search= only for the fact that it said the zune gets viruses when I don't know if any of you remeber but a few months back apple shipped out a batch of Ipods virus preinstalled and I have my zunes connecting to all of my computers with no problems at all and my auto sync works just fine on any of them. The video with cnn when they said that apple had 70% of the market share, they only have that much because of the nano and the shuffle. The bigger Ipod sales are closer to the zune sales still ahead but not by to much. Maybe one day the Ipod users will stop being such elitists and let other people enjoy other companys products without wanting to burn them at the stake.

[Sesshi]

Maybe one day the Ipod*insert :apple: here*users will stop being such elitists and let other people enjoy other companys products without wanting to burn them at the stake.

On this forum, probably when hell freezes over ;)

[ian-frs]

Until hell freezes over I will keep using my zune on my MBP!

[Sesshi]

Until hell freezes over I will keep using my zune on my MBP!

Man... that is torture. :p