Why all this interest for a device that has less than 1% of market share???
So market share of previous versions makes the Zune HD not worth being interested in?
x2I guess a device is only worth getting if everyone else has one?
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Microsoft Launches Zune HD
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So market share of previous versions makes the Zune HD not worth being interested in?
x2I guess a device is only worth getting if everyone else has one?
My iPhone looks nothing like that. It's a side-effect of being photographed. On my iPhone, the blacks are pure black, no lightness to it at all. I would guess the apparent difference comes from the fact that the iPhone/iPod Touch are off-center and the Zune HD is not. Regardless, you would have to photograph these under considerably more controlled manner to make such a comparative judgment--or use a color calibration device to get fully objective measurements of the blacks.
here is why the ZOON never has and never will catch on
1. iPod is now synonymous with mp3 player
2. Microsoft doesnt get it- being run by clueless post boomers
3. most of all-it doesnt look "Cool" or have an OUTSTANDING features
too Johnny-come-lately
Lastly in keeping with the post-boomer scale of things
IT LOOKS MORE AT HOME ON AN EXECUTIVE OR CEOs DESK/POCKET/PORSCHE
ie: its design will appeal to OLD guys -to go along with the $1000 ROLEX and that $500 gold ink pen desk set
not exactly a great market to be after
1. iPod is now synonymous with mp3 player
2. Microsoft doesnt get it- being run by clueless post boomers
3. most of all-it doesnt look "Cool" or have an OUTSTANDING features
too Johnny-come-lately
Lastly in keeping with the post-boomer scale of things
IT LOOKS MORE AT HOME ON AN EXECUTIVE OR CEOs DESK/POCKET/PORSCHE
ie: its design will appeal to OLD guys -to go along with the $1000 ROLEX and that $500 gold ink pen desk set
not exactly a great market to be after
With today's release, the Zune Pass allows you to stream music to a web browser. The Zune Pass is great.
So market share of previous versions makes the Zune HD not worth being interested in?
I guess a device is only worth getting if everyone else has one?
It's always MS MS MS ... What's the benefit of having a gorgeous display without nothing inside?
Great, now how about a shot in realistic daily use lighting? Like sunlight? Full room lighting? The Zune looks nice under dim mood lighting, but how does it fare otherwise?
It's not as cut and dry the way you make it sound. First the lack of an app store is a BIG deal. This is the same argument that PC fans have against Macs, lack of software, and regardless how much software there is for Macs (and there's now a lot) this will continue to be the defense PC fans have against the Mac platform.
Secondly, it's not all about Microsoft just opening up a store and all is well. The iPhone brought a lot of customers to Apple and is quite the most popular smart phone and developers know this and are jumping at every chance to write apps for it. The iPod Touch easily gets sold due to the store, that's why I bought one. Maybe you forgot or never knew that Microsoft had an online store already and failed, the Zune Marketplace has failed miserably, so it's not about them just opening a store and instant success for the Zune HD.
So much nonsense in this thread, coming from the usual suspects. For one thing, the automatic forwarding to a mobile site is done by the website itself, not the device - if the forwarding isn't working, don't blame the company that made your device (provided they've set a unique user agent, which I'm sure Microsoft have), blame whoever is responsible for the website.
I can't believe everyone is complaining about it - Microsoft has released a portable media player which is far better than any of the iPod models. The most significant thing though is that you get DOUBLE the storage capacity on the entry level model for just $29 more. Even if you're not interested in the other features, this should really get your attention.
The other thing I'm curious about is why everyone is so desperate to have "apps" on their media player. Sure, there is the odd game which is fun to play, but without a permanent data connection it's pretty redundant. Everyone knows that if you want to play games on the go, you get a proper gaming device. Nothing comes close to playing a game with a set of buttons instead of some pretend ones on screen.
Radio is also a great feature to have. Whether it's FM, HD or DAB, it's great. I know plenty of people who still use FM radio and when Microsoft does get round to releasing this in the UK I can see people talking about it for this very reason.
I can't believe everyone is complaining about it - Microsoft has released a portable media player which is far better than any of the iPod models. The most significant thing though is that you get DOUBLE the storage capacity on the entry level model for just $29 more. Even if you're not interested in the other features, this should really get your attention.
The other thing I'm curious about is why everyone is so desperate to have "apps" on their media player. Sure, there is the odd game which is fun to play, but without a permanent data connection it's pretty redundant. Everyone knows that if you want to play games on the go, you get a proper gaming device. Nothing comes close to playing a game with a set of buttons instead of some pretend ones on screen.
Radio is also a great feature to have. Whether it's FM, HD or DAB, it's great. I know plenty of people who still use FM radio and when Microsoft does get round to releasing this in the UK I can see people talking about it for this very reason.
Not that it actually matters whether HD Radio is proprietary or not, Wikipedia claims that the codec used is proprietary.
Good point, but I don't think these kids who never lived through the QDOS era understand why MS cannot be used as an example of "fair competition".
C'mon what you have to do with that device? Going to the moon?
If Samsung or SanDisk release a new device ... they will receive all this rumour?
Completely agree with you. It's a mp3 player first and foremost, and Zune have always been noted for having slightly better sound quality than ipods.
Reviews coming in for the Zune HD for been overwhelming positive, and almost all of them note the Zune HD is on par or exceeds any ipod offering, current or past.
Hardware doesn't sell alone, this is why Apple is now promoting the iPod Touch as a gaming device because there is so much available for the iPod Touch from the app store. Only geeks on here care about constant updates and competition from other companies to make Apple offer more to the hardware.
If I was to go out right now and buy a Nintendo DS, I would only care about one thing, the games available. Most people are in the same boat as I am, their not giving a rats behind about a camera not being in the DS or the fastest processor or what Sony's PSP offers, especially if someone is looking for a game that's only on the Nintendo.
Why all this interest for a device that has less than 1% of market share???
Because it's the internet... what else is there to do?
Or considering how crummy and unreliable Word is to this day versus Word Perfect 5.1 from circa 1989. Gawd, I wish someone would open source Word Perfect so at the very least it could replace the OpenOffice word processor.
QDOS/MS-DOS/PC-DOS ripped off CP/M. Known fact. Microsoft BASIC allegedly appropriated the officially licensed DEC BASIC. Windows was inferior to GEM. And on and on and on.
Just image the computer world had the Atari ST and [Commodore] Amiga still persisted to this day. Now that would be healthy competition for the Mac platform, most unlike the Windows monopoly. We would have three similar platforms with easy application portability and with each duking it out for the most intuitive GUI and features. And all three would "just work".
Word only became bad at version 6. Word 5.1a for Mac was rock solid and a joy to work with compared to WordPerfect 5.1.
Anyone who posts the article from Apple Insider is not allowed to discuss technology in any way shape or form ever again. It's the most BS ridden article ever posted by that site, which has proven time and time again to be biased to the point of lying, even going so far as to put a positive spin on Apple's locking out of video accessories.
Anyway, the Zune HD looks great. If it continues on one tradition of the past Zunes, it will be better than the iPod touch. What tradition? Audio quality. The iPod's audio quality peaked with the 5.5G iPod in 2006. Ever since then it's been going down hill fast as they focus more on form over functionality. Since then Microsoft has taken over in the audio quality department and even Sony has risen from the ashes of a once great company and started releasing players with good uncolored sound quality (though still weak headphone amps).
Thanks to Apple failing to deliver a proper iPod touch update, as long as the Zune can sound as good as the previous Zune models, it will be a better product than the iPod touch.
If you want games, get a PSP or DS. I have a few games on my iPhone and they just don't compare to the REAL gaming experience provided by the PSP and DS.
Anyway, the Zune HD looks great. If it continues on one tradition of the past Zunes, it will be better than the iPod touch. What tradition? Audio quality. The iPod's audio quality peaked with the 5.5G iPod in 2006. Ever since then it's been going down hill fast as they focus more on form over functionality. Since then Microsoft has taken over in the audio quality department and even Sony has risen from the ashes of a once great company and started releasing players with good uncolored sound quality (though still weak headphone amps).
Thanks to Apple failing to deliver a proper iPod touch update, as long as the Zune can sound as good as the previous Zune models, it will be a better product than the iPod touch.
If you want games, get a PSP or DS. I have a few games on my iPhone and they just don't compare to the REAL gaming experience provided by the PSP and DS.