Microsoft Attempting to Recruit App Store Developers for Zune HD?

[cretony38]

Ipod & Zune search

I looked up iPod & Zune on eBay: 179,968 iPod items vs 15,352 Zune items. A lot of barely used zunes for sale on there.

TIFWIW

 

[Illusion986]

I like how it looks. And i hope its good because apple needs competition, and when there is competition consumers usually win . I bought zune 8gb before i had iphone and iMac and i loved it, its perfect for gym as it has FM receiver and if you want to hear TV in the gym you have to turn radio on specific frequency. But now its real pain update music library as most of my music is on iTunes, and Microsoft software still doesnt work on Mac and there are issues of making it work on Parallels that im still trying to resolve, it doesnt recognize video card . And i really dont want to turn my PC back on after switching to mac just because of Zune

 

[knewsom]

Hey, I was under the impression that the 360 had way more titles and way more customers than the PS3, but if Sony is closing the gap, I'm all for it! The PS3 is simply a BETTER SYSTEM. (which is why I bought it)

...a better system that is sadly lacking support of some pretty key file formats, and also lacking the ability to stream netflix movies, unlike the 360. *grumble*

Thanks for posting the numbers, I guess things have changed since last I saw them. I stand corrected and retract the "PWNED" remark! But yes, they have been quite successful nonetheless.

 

[Eidorian]

This is a minor point that has been raised by others, but would it honestly kill Apple to integrate a radio receiver of any kind into at least the iPod Touch? My free cell phone from AT&T tunes in to FM channels, it's not like the technology isn't there. The Zune, for all its flaws, is putting HD radio receivers inside - would Steve's stigmata start to leak if the iPod Touch had one as well?

</rant>

No mobile NPR without a radio. ;_;

 

[Truffy]

The Zune HD, however, will likely be at a distinct disadvantage relative to the iPod touch given the vast offerings of Apple's App Store that increase the iPod touch's functionality well beyond those of standard digital media players.

As someone who doesn't own an iPod Touch but who is definitely in the market, the app store leaves me somewhat cold. What really leaves the Zune at a distinct disadvantage is that it is (IMO at least) butt-ugly.

 

[actripxl]

Like mentioned the dock is $50 and the remote is $20. And why the hell not? Basically it's an Apple TV without the cost and its rolled into a portable device.

I mean, it does seem bothersome to take the dock with you everywhere but for vacations, moving it around house, or back and forth from college to home - it's great.

I wish Apple would incorporate Front Row onto iPods and allow a media center but that would obviously conflict with AppleTV (their current worst product).

Like I said only fanboys will purchase it. Its $90 not $50 so look it up. Also who in their right mind would pay $90 for something to take on VACATION? You're on vacation spending hundreds of dollars and your going to sit and watch a movie in your room. Unless you live in a Mansion and have an HDTV in every room why would you pay $90 to drag something from room to room to watch a movie.
You make no logical sense, hence your a fanboy. I'm all for the better product to win and I am considering the Zune but the dock is a waste of money for most people to consider.

 

[griz]

The iTunes store isn't that profitable. It's meant to sell iPods.

P-Worm

You know, I keep hearing this. But for once, I wish someone could quote a source for this tidbit of information. I find it to be completely speculative.

 

[NoahK17]

...but I won't be buying one of them. Hopefully Apple examines the product closely and grabs a few good ideas here - like HD radio for example.

I hate having to take my iPhone out of the car, and I don't want an iPod touch, so this Zune HD might be just the thing for me.

 

[actripxl]

I hate having to take my iPhone out of the car, and I don't want an iPod touch, so this Zune HD might be just the thing for me.

So let me get this straight you have a perfectly good media player and you're going to buy another one because you hate taking the first one out of the car?

 

[Mackan]

Why can't Microsoft just add a 3G chip to it and call it the Zune Phone, and be done with it.

 

[FSMBP]

Funny that Apple's "worst product" serves me and many others very well, thanks very much...in fact, no one has come close to Apple in terms of offering an easy to use media control hub, even when the Apple TV may still be regarded as a hobby...amazing.

I have yet to find something who believes spending that amount of money on a media center without a optical drive (regardless of what Apple thinks, DVDs and Blu-Ray are not dead) is worth it.

I love Apple and everything they do but I honestly can't see why they made AppleTV. It is a niche market but still, I'd much rather have a 2 year old Mac Mini hooked up with Front Row that would replace my existing DVD player - at least with a Mini, my friends could bring over a DVD and pop it in. Hell, they could burn a data DVD with movies/shows and can we even watch that. But that's just me, I am a Apple fanboy but I don't think everything they produce is a God-sent.

And as regards for my incorrect pricing on the Zune dock - sorry!!!! It's $90 for a dock, remote and cables. I was $20 off. Either way, it's a portable media player that doubles as a media center sans optical drive. It's a PMP first with a nifty media center.

 

[BongoBanger]

I quite like the Zune HD but it's a dying market. PMPs are starting to drop off in sales.

My bet is this is a tester or a MS phone. As for apps, who do you think all those developers developed for before the iPhone?

 

[hashholly]

The new Zune HD could take you to the moon and back, wash your car, keep your wife from nagging, and cook a 3 course 5 star restaurant quality meal every night and it still wouldn't make a tiny dent at Apple's MP3 player marketshare, and anyone who thinks otherwise has surprise instore.

I may commend Microsoft at their attempts to compete, but, in the end you can have all the OLED in the world....little Johhny is still going to ask his mommy for an iPod Touch this holiday season.

 

[sparks9]

the zune is not a real competitor for the iphone/ipod touch.

what apple has to worry about is google android, which will be the toughest competitor in the future.

 

[chr1s60]

I actually think the Zune HD looks good. Much better than other zunes. However, I still doubt that this will have much of an impact on the iPod market share. Sure, MS might gain a minimum amount of market share, but in the big picture it will still be very little. Especially considering that Apple updates their lineup about once a year. Not to mention that a rumored camera for the iPod would increase sales enough to leave the Zune even further behind iPod.

As far as developers are concerned, depending on the way MS handles sales and how much the developer gets, there are going to be many developers that stay away simply because there aren't nearly as many users on Zune compared to iPod and iPhone.

 

[aristotle]

The best thing about Zune HD is that it is designed as a video device. It has a proper widescreen display (16:9, unlike iPhone/iPod touch which use an aspect ratio that no video content producer has ever considered using for output) and supports HD video output to a TV.

That's a great way to spin a lower resolution. Are you going to extol the virtues of the OLED display too? OLED displays will end up with a colour shift towards blue after continued exposure to sunlight when the organic dyes in the substrate begin to break down.

 

[hashholly]

I quite like the Zune HD but it's a dying market. PMPs are starting to drop off in sales.

My bet is this is a tester or a MS phone. As for apps, who do you think all those developers developed for before the iPhone?

Yes, but then you have to ask yourself, how big of a market will making apps for the Zune be? Apple can sell more iPhones/iTouches in a quarter than Microsoft can sell in a year....as a Dev, i rather focus my time making applications for a device that has a massive market share that will continue to grow vs a device that isn't coming close.

 

[geminidown]

Like I said only fanboys will purchase it. Its $90 not $50 so look it up.

What $90 Dock are you looking at? LOL.

The Apple Universal Dock is $49 AND it comes with the Apple Remote, so take your own advice and LOOK IT UP. </sarcasm>

http://store.apple.com/us/product/MB125G/B

Bottom line, the number of customers buying the Dock or Composite or Component Cables from Apple are pretty marginal. I'd also venture to say that a large portion of folks buying portable music players really don't use Audio/Video Out to begin with. Some people on the forum, obviously, are a little different, considering many are more tech savvy than the average consumer. It makes it a little difficult for some forum members to understand what average consumers really use these things for. Everyone touts devices and machines as having the next best feature like a tech boy pissing contest, but let's remember how these things will typically be used by average consumers.

Bring on competition. It's a good thing for consumers.

 

[xIGmanIx]

That's a great way to spin a lower resolution. Are you going to extol the virtues of the OLED display too? OLED displays will end up with a colour shift towards blue after continued exposure to sunlight when the organic dyes in the substrate begin to break down.

dang, and i was going to buy one thinking i could store it in direct sunlight.

 

[LagunaSol]

Why can't Microsoft just add a 3G chip to it and call it the Zune Phone, and be done with it.

You know it's just a matter of time.

Microsoft - The Freedom To Innovate (TM)

 

[Bubba Satori]

Pride goeth before a fall.

A lot of nervousness and fear thinly veiled behind many of these comments. I wonder why that is ?

 

[LagunaSol]

Apple can sell more iPhones/iTouches in a quarter than Microsoft can sell in a year....

Not to mention, Apple already has tens of millions of touch devices in the marketplace - Zune HD is starting with...zero.

Microsoft is simply not a come-from-behind company - not when they can't leverage the Windows/Office monopoly to their advantage. An underdog needs something special to challenge the leader. HD radio and OLED displays aren't it.

 

[buxtone17]

I hate having to take my iPhone out of the car, and I don't want an iPod touch, so this Zune HD might be just the thing for me.

Do you only take calls when you're driving? Do you not have pockets?

Seriously. The iPhone weighs, what, five ounces?

What's so bad about taking it out of your car?

 

[LagunaSol]

A lot of nervousness and fear thinly veiled behind many of these comments. I wonder why that is ?

Puh-lease.

 

[buxtone17]

Pride goeth before a fall.

A lot of nervousness and fear thinly veiled behind many of these comments. I wonder why that is ?

Interesting that you can smell fear through typed words on the internet. Maybe it's something different. Maybe your cat peed on the couch.

Anyways... If you seriously think the Zune is going to take down the iPod, you've got to get your head checked.

I don't subscribe to this line of thinking, but there's a lot of truth to the "I'll buy anything if it's shiny and made by Apple" line in the MacBook Wheel ad over at the onion.