Microsoft Releases Zune Details

[xfiftyfour]

Of course, if the software won't run on a Mac, I won't be interested at all.

surely they'd be silly not to offer mac compatible software? i mean, if they're trying to take over an apple product, then it must have dawned on them to make it work with apple computers - especially considering that those that will be the toughest to sway will be the mac users themselves because of loyalty.

 

[irmongoose]

But Apple knew this - Steve himself said that Microsoft will have to get into the market because everyone else has no idea what to do. Then where is the iPod-killer-killer?

Oh and I'll buy Brown just to piss you all off. Hah.



irmongoose

 

[aly]

my 2 pennies worth

I don't like it, it looks like a sony w900 in layout and looks huge, i'll be interested to see one up close nd personal. Having said this it is the closest thing probably to attacking the ipod market share, purely cause its microsh*t and its computer related so some people will think it must be good then. And so what if it has an impact on the ipod, surely that will make Apple think up some new and better features to compete. Surely thats a good thing? No?

 

[jellybean]

I'm no Microsoft hater but it looks like something from the 80's

and I'd also like to add... BROWN?? I guess that's suggestive of which of Bill Gates's orifices it came from

But the fact that it can play AAC's... does that mean it might work with iTunes? And does that also include the protected files bought from the iTunes music store?

 

[fishcalmer]

Oh and I'll buy Brown just to piss you all off. Hah.

...which is your perogative. Piece of friendly advice when visiting the little man's room be really careful you don't flush it!



Seriously though i was almost worried for a moment - then i saw they were releasing it in BROWN and i've now been grinning stupidly for approx. 3 whole hours now.

 

[kainjow]

surely they'd be silly not to offer mac compatible software? i mean, if they're trying to take over an apple product, then it must have dawned on them to make it work with apple computers - especially considering that those that will be the toughest to sway will be the mac users themselves because of loyalty.

I would be very surprised if they came out with Mac software, because DRM'd WMA isn't Mac compatible. But I will probably buy one to figure out how it works and possibly create a Mac app.

 

[Project]

The player is nothing. Im more interested in the software. Wait til you see what it can do. Think Xbox Live for music (gamertags, buddy lists etc)

Make no mistake, Appe WILL be doing a lot of "copying" from the media player software that Zune uses. There is some very innovative stuff in there. It isnt just an iTunes copycat.

 

[Zwhaler]

That things looks HUGE.

More like fat. At least it seemed like it to me.

 

[Arcady]

What a pile of crap.

 

[Eraserhead]

After reading more about it, the only good feature seems to be the wireless, and then I thought some more... When in a social situation with an iPod if you want someone else to listen to your music so they can listen to a song or two, you give them your iPod, that way they can also look through your other music at the same time. OK so now if you both have Zune's you could send the song to each other but I'm not sure it would be that good, because it would take some of the social side away from sharing your music, as you surely wouldn't want to listen to something else on your player at the same time, and they wouldn't be able to look at any of your other music, making the whole situation kinda rude/unfriendly. I'm not convinced that any real world usage on this will occur apart from the idea sounding cool.

The final nail in the coffin is that it only works with some songs, now that is going to totally confuse the average consumer who probably thinks iTunes rips to MP3.

Other than that it's a straight iPod rip-off (though without some of the cool new features like searching) so unless it costs $199 or less I can't see many takers.

 

[dvdh]

WiFi sharing . . . hmmm . . .
How useful does one suppose that might be for sharing viruses between users? If I happened to own a Zune (this is really hypothetical now), and I decided to share via WiFi (assuming that the default is off), am I also opening a portal for anyone in the near proximity access my player for less than benign reasons? I hope that microsoft has worked out some type of WiFi user group control . . .
Of course this problem never really materialized with cellphone (other than a few proof of concepts) as far as I know, so I guess that it is unlikely to be a problem for the Zune either . . .

Anyways: my verdict: lacking the design and easy of use factor of the ipod (really the reason for the ipod dominance in the market). Microsoft seems to have again fell to the strategy of adding features and free-bees to try and gain an advantage. However, this attempt might well be competitive enough to erode some of Apple's market share (and grab a significant portion of the new legal movie download market). Of course all of this depends on whether or not microsoft has the bugs ironed out of the device. Otherwise wait another generation before expecting a significant impact.

 

[Aperture]

Good Luck to MS, that thing is UGLY. The only thing that I sort of like about it is the wifi but how useful is that really? It has too much going on as well. I think i'll stick with my Nano.

 

[heffemonkeyman]

I know I'm in the minority, but I'd love to see Apple put FM tuners in iPods. (NPR) I mean the chip/component's got to be pretty small/cheap by now?
Maybe this POS with get them to do it. Doubt it.

Also, the downfall of this thing will be the software interface. If WMP11 is any indication, it will utterly suck.

 

[wwooden]

I wonder if this will connect with the XBox 360 some how. Maybe the wireless connection it uses for sharing music is the same the 360 uses to connect to it's controllers, allowing them to work together. I would be curious to see if something like this happened.

 

[Mammoth]

This is great because Apple has to give us something better in terms of features to stay at the top.

 

[kainjow]

This is great because Apple has to give us something better in terms of features to stay at the top.

Can't agree more. Zune will keep iPod prices down and innovation up. Everyone should be happy now that there is a decent competitor.

 

[wildmac]

History might not agree. Walkman ruled for 15 to 20 years and through several generations. I think iPod will too.

Yep, the Walkman ruled until there was a fundemantal technology change.

 

[W2u7Yw4HaD]

What turd came up the color brown at MS? Blows my mind..

 

[zap2]

Can't agree more. Zune will keep iPod prices down and innovation up. Everyone should be happy now that there is a decent competitor.

I'm sad that this is a decne competitor..its HUGE, more pricey then an iPod, no clickwheel...it doesn't bring much to to table, other then a company how is willing to lose billions trying to support it...(and Wi-Fi which is a bit usesless until more people have a Zune) However if helps push new iPods out the door, I'm up for it!

 

[Project]

Microsoft did some foul work by photoshopping a higher resolution image onto the screens for those press releases. The reality is the screen is nowhere near that nice, or push that many pixels. Some real shots:

 

[iGary]

Microsoft did some foul work by photoshopping a higher resolution image onto the screens for those press releases. The reality is the screen is nowhere near that nice, or push that many pixels. Some real shots:

That brown... *gouges eyes out*

 

[autrefois]

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?

Well, Pages and TextEdit can open .doc files, and Microsoft lets Apple do this. Other third-party applications on the Mac can use files that are in iTunes, including Windows Media Player for Mac (and I assume for Windows), so I don't know if legally Apple could sue, but I doubt they would.

I'm going to assume that the Zune won't be able to read protected AAC bought in the iTunes Store, is this a safe assumption?

 

[Project]

Well, Pages and TextEdit can open .doc files, and Microsoft lets Apple do this. Other third-party applications on the Mac can use files that are in iTunes, including Windows Media Player for Mac, so I don't know if legally Apple could sue, but I doubt they would.

I'm going to assume that the Zune won't be able to read protected AAC bought in the iTunes Store, is this a safe assumption?

No, it doesnt (im using it as we speak)

 

[HecubusPro]

I'm sad that this is a decne competitor..its HUGE, more pricey then an iPod, no clickwheel...it doesn't bring much to to table, other then a company how is willing to lose billions trying to support it...(and Wi-Fi which is a bit usesless until more people have a Zune) However if helps push new iPods out the door, I'm up for it!

Comparatively, it is a bit larger than the iPod, but I doubt there's much empty space in there, considering what they've included. I think it's a very manageable size. And we won't know if it's more pricey until MS actually announces the price, which they haven't yet. There have been some analyst musings, but that's it.

Microsoft did some foul work by photoshopping a higher resolution image onto the screens for those press releases. The reality is the screen is nowhere near that nice, or push that many pixels.

From what I can tell, it doesn't look too bad. Granted the screens with the press release weren't real world, but these are not bad at all. And until we actually see one live and in person, it's a little difficult to judge quality of a video image on a device taken by who knows what kind of camera. Still, looks okay to me.

 

[kainjow]

I'm going to assume that the Zune won't be able to read protected AAC bought in the iTunes Store, is this a safe assumption?

Yes.