Sidebar Sidebar
Become a MacRumors Supporter for $50/year with no ads, ability to filter front page stories, and private forums.

Microsoft Launches Zune HD

HLdan said:
As much as I hate Microsoft I don't have much negative to say about this device, but I will say this, in the very words of many PC fanboys in the past and present ignorant ones, "Why buy a Mac, there's no software for it?"
Click to expand...

Agreed. The MS Brigade wails about the small ecosystem for Macs and deride it as useless eye candy (both the OS GUI and the hardware itself). "Where is the software? Where are the games? LOL!!!!"

But when Microsoft comes out with a device with a small ecosystem and a focus on eye candy and hardware design, they think it's the greatest thing the world has ever seen. Just read the comments on Engadget for every Zune post. You'd think they'd sell a billion of these things based on the joyous cyber-chatter.

The astroturfing machine is in high gear for the Zune HD. In fact, I bet we'll see a lot of new MacRumors members this week singing the Zune's praises.

Me, I see nothing new being brought to the table. Another Me Too product from the world's favorite Me Too company; Microsoft.
 
Looks nice, but I see several drawbacks:

Doesn't work with Macs
It is only in the U.S.
Very few apps.
Only one form factor.
 
It's a really nice looking device with serious potential. If I hadn't sunk a fortune into apps I'd be seriously tempted.
 
I appreciate that the Zune is a direct competitor - but why the hell is this on page one??

This is barely page two news on a site apparently dedicated to Apple rumours.
 
LagunaSol said:
Agreed. The MS Brigade wails about the small ecosystem for Macs and deride it as useless eye candy (both the OS GUI and the hardware itself). "Where is the software? Where are the games? LOL!!!!"

But when Microsoft comes out with a device with a small ecosystem and a focus on eye candy and hardware design, they think it's the greatest thing the world has ever seen. Just read the comments on Engadget for every Zune post. You'd think they'd sell a billion of these things based on the joyous cyber-chatter.

The astroturfing machine is in high gear for the Zune HD. In fact, I bet we'll see a lot of new MacRumors members this week singing the Zune's praises.

Me, I see nothing new being brought to the table. Another Me Too product from the world's favorite Me Too company; Microsoft.
Click to expand...

Another Palm Pre in the making!
 
kurosov said:
Funny how this significant step forward only has one thing to offer the touch/iphone doesn't. The oled screen.

I think i'll stick with my iPhone and be happy.
Click to expand...

And HD Radio with tagging. And HD video out. And a faster interface. And subscription based music library support.

But no mac support. :(

I would have bought one today if there was mac support. Windows users are lucky in this case.


Although dude, you have an iPhone- the best of all the devices! It does everything except make clear phone calls! ;)

But at least it has a camera!
 
I prefer my iPod Touch, but I actually like the industrial design of this thing.

In any case, let's hope Apple doesn't simply ignore it. The Zune HD could be good motivation for Apple to improve the iPod.
 
I'm glad someone is trying to compete with the iPod touch. The OLED screen, "HD" radio and 720p output are all neat features. There's also apparently a big update coming in November for the 360 and Zune HD that will allow integration between the two.

It is a little ironic that the Apple TV can't do 720p playback at 30 FPS and the Zune HD can. Heh.

"H.264 video3; Baseline Profile + bframes, up to 10 Mbps peak video bit rate; 720 pixels x 480 pixels up to 30 frames per second (or 720 pixels x 576 pixels up to 25 frames per second);1280 pixels x 720 pixels up to 30 frames per second, up to level 3.1 and 14.0 Mbps peak video bitrate; Zune software will transcode HD WMV files above the stated capabilities at device sync
DVR-MS4; Zune software will transcode at time of sync"

The whole "We're not going to have an App Store competitor until Windows Mobile 7 comes out" is kind of weird. And the fact that the Zune HD's browser is based on Internet Explorer 6 (quite possibly the worst version ever of IE) is also a downer.

However, Zune HD looks to be a decent competitor if you want something other than iPod touch.

http://www.businessinsider.com/zune-hd-app-store-2009-9
 
I love Apple products as much as the next guy, but this actually looks like a worthy opponent. Can't wait to try it out.

Though, I also hear lots of people are having problems setting it up.
 
Warbrain said:
Because this is a surprise here. :rolleyes:

Give the damn device a chance.
Click to expand...

Can't. No Mac support. Microsoft doesn't want my money.

It's not like I ONLY buy Apple products. I own devices from many companies. But it has to work with my computer to even consider it.

It's confusing, honestly. MS is only hurting themselves at this point. If you look at JUST the demographic that buys media players like this I suspect you'll find that a higher percentage of them use Macs than the population at large.

It's like they don't want to succeed or something.
 
whooleytoo said:
Not true.

Just to name one such usage off the top of my head: Reflink/local commentary radio broadcasts at sports events. Since the iPhone doesn't have a radio receiver, I have to either carry a separate FM radio, or buy one at the ground (5-10 euros per game, up to 20 events per year.. it adds up).
Click to expand...
Almost all radio stations have internet feeds in this day and age, and you can use an app like WunderRadio to access them on the iPhone.
 
safetyobc said:
I pre-ordered a Zune HD, should be on my doorsteps in a couple hours.

I have an iPhone 3GS so I am not giving up on anything on the Apple side. I also have my iPod 5.5G Video that I use daily. I have owned an iPod Touch (first gen, before the iPhone) and a couple Nano's and a shuffle.

I like the looks and feature set of the Zune, especially the Zune Pass, which I have signed up for. I like the idea of the subscription plan with "keep 10" per month. Some people don't like that idea, and that is okay. To each his own.

The Zune HD looks promising. It is starting out with minimal apps, but Apple did the same thing with the first gen iPhone/iPod Touch. So there is potential for this to be a cool device. I don't think that the web browser on the Zune will ever compete with mobile Safari, but that isn't why I wanted a Zune anyway. It will never out do Apple's success but I think that competition is good. Look at the iPod Touch's announcement on 9/9/09. Nothing new because nothing is competing with it at the moment.

I bought the Zune HD primarily for the Zune Pass. I have my Macbook Pro and iPhone combo. The iPhone will go with me everywhere and the Zune will likely stay in the car. I got sick of my Sirius Subscription playing the same music over and over an over, so I got the Zune with Zune Pass.

HD Radio isn't a compelling feature for me because there are no HD stations in my area. HD Video out is a neat feature but I'll probably never use it. It does suck that they don't offer Zune software for the Mac. As it stands now, I use my daughters laptop for my Zune. I could use my bootcamp but don't want to use up the Hard Drive space or more media.

That is how I am going to use it. Others are fan boys who just bought it because they like MS. Others are Apple fans and won't buy it just because it is a MS product. Me personally could care less who makes a gadget if it is cool and I want it, I get it (if I am financially able). I think that the Zune has potential but will never outsell the iPods. Again, I still have iPods but I wanted to try the Zune Pass and the Zune HD looked like a great way to go.

Just my .02
Click to expand...

I hope that you enjoy it, but......

Is Zune Pass the only music subscription service available? Couldn't you have signed up for another service that would have allowed you to listen to subscription music on your iPhone (eg. Rhapsody), paid the monthly fee for it, and then used the Zune HD money to buy 10 songs a months?

I don't think that we'll see the same growth in the Zune Apps Store that we've seen in Apple's App Store. There is just so many more Apple devices around- developers will continue to primarily develop for Apple devices for a long time to come.

It seems that there are more Zune HD features that you won't use versus features that you actually will use.
 
Looks quite nice.

Glad to see Apple finally getting some competition with the Pre and the Zune HD. iPhone/iPod Touch certainly needs a good kick in the crotch in the next year with some real improvements.
 
safetyobc said:
I bought the Zune HD primarily for the Zune Pass. I have my Macbook Pro and iPhone combo. The iPhone will go with me everywhere and the Zune will likely stay in the car. I got sick of my Sirius Subscription playing the same music over and over an over, so I got the Zune with Zune Pass.
Click to expand...

I have something even better on my iPhone. It's called Slacker Radio. I don't have to bother with downloading stuff - it plays what I want automatically. There's no annoying DJ chatter. Commercials are sparse. And it's free.
 
jaw04005 said:
And the fact that the Zune HD's browser is based on Internet Explorer 6 (quite possibly the worst version ever of IE) is also a downer.
Click to expand...

Mobile IE and desktop IE are two different things developed by two different teams. The version number is just a coincidence.

Unfortunately, desktop or mobile, it's still IE. I suppose it could be another Mac IE "this is surprisingly not bad" situation, but I won't hold my breath for that.

LagunaSol said:
I have something even better on my iPhone. It's called Slacker Radio. I don't have to bother with downloading stuff - it plays what I want automatically. There's no annoying DJ chatter. Commercials are sparse. And it's free.
Click to expand...

I have both a Zune Pass and Slacker Radio. The two just can't be compared. Slacker Radio is nice when I just want to listen to any random music, but being able to download exactly the music I want from Zune Pass is even better.
 
Small White Car said:
Can't. No Mac support. Microsoft doesn't want my money.

It's not like I ONLY buy Apple products. I own devices from many companies. But it has to work with my computer to even consider it.

It's confusing, honestly. MS is only hurting themselves at this point. If you look at JUST the demographic that buys media players like this I suspect you'll find that a higher percentage of them use Macs than the population at large.

It's like they don't want to succeed or something.
Click to expand...

Rumor is that a Mac version of the software is in the works.

I highly doubt that you'll find that a higher percentage of people buying PMPs are Mac users. The vast majority of iPod owners are using Windows.

They're doing exactly the same thing Apple did when they came out with the iPod. It'll come around soon, don't worry. Microsoft is in a harder spot now because they have to play catch up to Apple.
 
Looks very nice IMO. Since I've had zero hands-on experience either way, I certainly can't be a judge, but its looks definitely rival the iPod Touch's.
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Register on MacRumors! This sidebar will go away, and you'll see fewer ads.
Top Bottom
Back