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

Microsoft Releases Zune Details

slooksterPSV said:
Something about the Zune doesn't seem right with the song sharing, even if it is only 3 plays is the max you can hear it on another device.
Click to expand...

I think the idea of song sharing wirelessly is awesome. There are plenty of times I would have liked to borrow a song or two from a friends' iPod, or vice versa. That's one feature of the Zune that I think is quite attractive.
 
What is interesting is that MS I think is the first to have software/hardware set up like iTunes/iPod. While there first offering may not be a Wow product, the wireless networking could be something big with the kids.

I this point I'll stick with iTunes+iPod, plus there is no Mac support. 🙁
 
Not crazy about the industrial design, though it isn't hideous. A bit bulky and not particularly elegant.

I am shocked by the GUI though - wow. I didn't know Microsoft had it in them to make a good GUI. It looks really smooth, useable and the screen looks very organic, almost like it's part of the surface.

Love the wide-screen sideways viewing.

The Wi-Fi has a lot of potential for use outside of music. I'd love to go to a museum that loads images of artworks onto a player that you I can then scroll through to access an audio tour for the art I am interested in.

I'd like to know how the buttons work, what they do and how easy they are to use.

I'm also a bit concerned about battery life, considering all of that excess animation.

Too bad all of the tunes I bought on iTunes would be defunct. Well, unless I burned and ripped them I guess.

Definitely going to keep an eye on this. After having two iPods die on me and a third one kicking the bucket, I am not thrilled about the idea of purchasing another. Might be time to move on.
 
The Zune looks cheap and unfinished. It will be interesting to see how many years MS will stay in the game. Especially in the US where the iPod has an 83% market share.

The brown one looks like a polished turd.
 
There is sooooo much more behind this device that Microsoft is admitting. There will be a video store, these things will be able to do full blown HD, and they're going to have some SERIOUS integration between the xbox360 and their PeeCees

Oh, and I hate to admit this, but the new WMP11 online store is GORGEOUS...has anyone else seen this!?! This is by far the best interface they've ever designed. In fact, the recent itunes 7 feels so cluttered (on the online store pages)
 

Attachments

  • WMP_store.jpg
    WMP_store.jpg
    64.9 KB · Views: 738
"It also will come loaded with about 25 songs or other pieces of content."

Well give them an "A" for consistency... I see Microsoft isn't backing off its track record of loading up its releases with a bunch of extraneous crap I don't want.
 
Credible device

Better than I expected from Microsoft.

I'm a bit put off by the video, though: seems like a significant delay between a button press and anything actually happening on the screen. Reminds me of my Treo 700w. That delay between button presses and action is f()%*#ing infuriating!

The new-agey UI is nice and pretty (the "starburst" progress indicator, etc), but it damned well better be a theme; I can't imagine glancing at that and getting the information I get out of the more functional iPod display. I can also imagine it getting very old, very fast.

Although, I also have to deduct points for the trendy iPod-ripoff round collection of buttons. There's no reason for that button collection to be round other than for it to look like an iPod scroll wheel. Be original!
 
slate1 said:
"It also will come loaded with about 25 songs or other pieces of content."

Well give them an "A" for consistency... I see Microsoft isn't backing off its track record of loading up its releases with a bunch of extraneous crap I don't want.
Click to expand...

it prob also comes with pre-loaded spyware, for your convenience of course!
 
I like it. It'll be some real competition I think.. That, combined with the iPod stagnentation, and I see iPod market share falling.....
 
The one BIG advantage MSFT has over everybody is they can afford to sell their products at a loss just to build market share, like they did with the xBox. So, it may not be as nice as the iPod, but if it is $50-100 cheaper, it will sell and sell well.
 
I hate to admit it, but it looks pretty damn sweet.
And as another user pointed out, the Zune online store has a better look than the iTS.

The one thing that bothers me is that Apple always had a significantly different, and therefore better, interface feel than the mainstream. But the new iTunes 7 and store puts Apple in the same territory as Microsoft, design-wise, and frankly it seems it's going to hurt them.



irmongoose
 
Willis said:
that has to be the worst ipod killer ive seen.
Click to expand...

Are you saying this just because it's from Microsoft and not Apple? If not, then I would really like to hear your reasoning behind such a bold statement. I've seen far worse "iPod killers" before the Zune. I'm not one to praise Microsoft, but you have to admit that this player looks nice and it definitely has potential. Perhaps this will actually be a fair competitor with the iPod. Remember, folks: competition is a good thing!
 
It's not cheaper. Supposedly it's $50 more.

Even analysts think it's going to flop. Even Dell has already given up, geez 😀

I think the wi-fi thing is stupid, personally. Oh wow, I can be hit by dozens of wifi networks all over the place just so people can listen to a song three times.
 
qtip919 said:
There is sooooo much more behind this device that Microsoft is admitting. There will be a video store, these things will be able to do full blown HD, and they're going to have some SERIOUS integration between the xbox360 and their PeeCees
Click to expand...

how on god's green earth are they going to do HD on a screen that only supports 320x240. answer: they aren't.

qtip919 said:
Oh, and I hate to admit this, but the new WMP11 online store is GORGEOUS...has anyone else seen this!?! This is by far the best interface they've ever designed. In fact, the recent itunes 7 feels so cluttered (on the online store pages)
Click to expand...

you are joking right? i'm no zune/microsoft hater, i think what they did with the xbox360 is really nice, and the zune device is competent, attractive with some nice features. however the zune marketplace UI is pathetic. wasted space, horrible typography, hidden navigation (roll overs? in this day and age? come on!) lame market-speak category/content labels where's the feedback for currently playing songs? crap layout and organization. it's just bad.
 
I think it is really sharp. Who cares if the buttons are in a round pattern? The wifi is awesome. It will have lots of other uses, I'm sure. Integrating into the Xbox 360 will also be awesome. The screen and the UI look beautiful. If MS really works hard, supports Macs and finds a way to use songs from iTunes, and prices competitively, they will do pretty well. I am surprised that Apple let MS announce an mp3 player that truely will support video before they did. They must not have wanted to be first, considering they just had a chance to the other day. Hard drive definitely needs to be bigger. Wonder what the battery life is. At first glance, MS has done quite well.
 
Puppies said:
It's not cheaper. Supposedly it's $50 more.

Even analysts think it's going to flop. Even Dell has already given up, geez 😀

I think the wi-fi thing is stupid, personally. Oh wow, I can be hit by dozens of wifi networks all over the place just so people can listen to a song three times.
Click to expand...

I don't think MS has announced a price yet, despite what annalysts say (since they're usually wrong, just like macrumors forum members 🙂 )

It seems promising, and while it won't topple apple's iPod share, just from what I know about it at this point, it seems like it can at least beat out Creative, et al.
 
This could be a hit...

...I'm surprised no one has mentioned the XBox here. Pretty much everyone wrote Microsoft off when it announced it was getting into the console market - okay the original XBox was pig ugly, but there was plenty of good thinking there - especially XBox Live.

Roll on the XBox 360 and not only is the hardware practically elegant, but the online experience is the best yet. Take the machine home, plug it into the router, switch on and go through the simple configuration - voila you're online. XBox Live is almost foolproof, fun and at the moment something of a unique selling point. Microsoft got the 360 right and they're going to clean up on it.

Microsoft have now moved some of the people who made XBox a critical (if not financial - yet) success, into Zune. The interface looks slick, the online store looks professional and the WiFi is a great talking point even if it's unlikely to be used every day.

Apple can't afford to be smug right now, this is real competition run by peple who know what they're doing and with mountains of cash behind them. I'd be thinking how I could hang on to market share, which is why I think they made the iTV announcement this week rather than showing it when it was done - the best is yet to come? Perhaps, but Apple is going to have a fight on its hand from now on.

Of course, Microsoft being Microsoft, the company has screwed up one thing - brown? Brown? BROWN? Not market friendly language like 'warm bronze' or 'sunset ochre' but brown. I think I know what colour will be all alone sitting on the shelves come Christmas Eve.
 
Just heard a review of it on the radio from a tech correspondent for a Seattle paper (didn't catch the name).

He liked it. Movies automatically play widescreen so you turn the device on its side... he also said something about how it's supposed to be tactilely softish, like a wallet, unlike the shiny hardness of the iPod.

Make no mistake; this is going to be the most serious competition to the iPod yet which may just spur an incredible evolution in the iPod itself.

Of course, if the software won't run on a Mac, I won't be interested at all.
 
i'd say it's got some nice features so far (radio, wifi) that the iPod doesn't. i really like the GUI from what i've seen of it. the brown is UGLY. the black and white look nice, though. looks too thick to be convenient. may just be the photos, but it looks like we've gone back to a 1G iPod. if they thin it out, offer competitive prices, and perhaps offer bigger drives than just 30gb, then i think the iPod might have some real competition..
 
A couple of things...

First: from the MS website: • Import your music. Zune software can automatically import your existing music, pictures and videos from iTunes and Windows Media® Player in a variety of formats, including your existing playlists and song ratings, as permitted by the online service from which it was purchased. Is it legal to do that, import from iTunes? Also, notice the WMP is registered trademark, but iTunes is not, apparently.

Also, I do think it is ugly, in three colors. The raised relief around the buttons will feel cheap, I think. The contrasting debossed ring of color around the screen and fake scroll wheel looks bizarre, and will look worse when it starts wearing faster than the rest of the device. Plus, there is nothing sleek about it, at least compared to an iPod. It looks like it will be very bulky in the hand. And....BROWN? oy veh... Soviet industrial design is alive and well in redmond...
 
It all depends on the retail price. If Microsoft wanted to they could buy their way into the music player market and sell each unit at a loss. So if these are 30GB and sell for $99 each they will kill the iPod overnight. MS could loose $200M and would never notice.
 
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