iPod Opinions On The Zune

[shunpike]

Please feel free to give your own opinions on the Zune on this thread...

In the meantime it has these tags on Amazon.com:
defectivebydesign (106)
drm (30)
garbage (14)
microsoft (14)
zune (9)
mp3 (6)
crap (5)
ipod (5)
ipod killer (5)
junk (5)
mp3 player (5)
ugly (5)
apple (3)
aac compatible (2)
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big screen (2)
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music (2)
portable video player (2)
video (2)
video player (2)
weak (2)
wireless (2)
2little 2late (1)
amazing (1)
an other microsoft garbage (1)
an_interesting_ alternative (1)
answertoijunk (1)
answertoitrash (1)
anti-creativeco mmons (1)
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apple rip-off (1)
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beats ipod (1)
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better than ipod (1)
bogus (1)
boo (1)
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brown log (1)
buggy (1)
communist (1)
copycat (1)
customizable (1)
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doa (1)
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gigabeat is better (1)
goodbyefairuse (1)
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movies (1)
mp3 players (1)
music player (1)
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not now (1)
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osama bin laden owns one (1)
overhyped (1)
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pos (1)
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predators (1)
review (1)
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riaa taxed (1)
rip off (1)
stalkers (1)
stay away (1)
stoneage machine (1)
superb (1)

 

[clevin]

and ipod video 30 g has these tags: (and seriously, u guys need to stop attacking zune at mr forums, time will tell if it s successful, digging, digging, digging negative news isn't some thing good, especially there is plenty of bad info about ipod anyway, remember, there are many unique features of zune are nice, and competition will benefit ipod users in the end too. )
defectivebydesi gn (71)
ipod (38)
drm (25)
apple (17)
ipod video (14)
mp3 (9)
mp3 player (6)
apple ipod (4)
black (3)
cool (3)
video (3)
30 gb ipod (2)
mpeg4 (2)
thin (2)
17798511 (1)
2005 (1)
30 gb (1)
30gb blakc (1)
5g (1)
683482 (1)
allpods (1)
alternative ipod (1)
apple computer steve jobs (1)
apple ipod c (1)
apple ipod video (1)
audio (1)
bad (1)
bad apple service (1)
bad item to erase songs (1)
best (1)
bethpresent (1)
black ipod (1)
bling bling (1)
briana (1)
carito (1)
cbmacd (1)
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clevermoms dot com (1)
crap (1)
cristina (1)
dawn (1)
deal (1)
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defective design (1)
design (1)
dipod (1)
discomusic dot com top pick (1)
dustin (1)
electronics (1)
encumbered by drm (1)
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for charlie (1)
frank huenufil (1)
gadget (1)
greinke samuel (1)
highly recommended (1)
iipod viideo (1)
invisble shield (1)
ipod 30 (1)
ipod 30gb (1)
ipod 60 gb (1)
ipod black (1)
ipod nano (1)
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mac (1)
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mp3 players (1)
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music (1)
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stupid (1)
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tag1 (1)
tech (1)
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test tag (1)
tha realest (1)
this is a test

 

[gloss]

Despite what the majority here say, it's a rather nice player in its own right. The software and format compatibility are what kill it for me.

I think Ars Technica's review was excellent.

 

[Eraserhead]

Despite what the majority here say, it's a rather nice player in its own right. The software and format compatibility are what kill it for me.

I think Ars Technica's review was excellent.

Yeah, except for the rating, 8 is way too high.

 

[Zmmyt]

I don't get it.

I haven't seen anyone in my life watching a movie on an iPod. Seriously. Why do people want to carry around their movies and then watch them on a 2,5'' or 3'' display? If I have funny short clips I just put them on my mobile to show others.

What's the point of the Zune? MP3 player? Video player? Social-worker?

I just don't get the whole thing. What am I missing? Help!

I would want to buy an iPod 30GB or 80GB to carry around my whole music library and I even would put short clips on the iPod, but I would never buy the iPod just for video. And I don't care if the screen is 2,5'' or 3''.

What makes the video-function so great?

EDIT: back to topic. The Zune seems half-baked and I think it's extremely ugly. The software seems to be crap. Don't care about their nicer interface. Don't care about the Zune's WiFi.

My opinion: $hyt!

 

[j26]

I don't get it.

I haven't seen anyone in my life watching a movie on an iPod. Seriously. Why do people want to carry around their movies and then watch them on a a 2,5'' or 3'' display? If I have funny short clip I just put it on my mobile to show others.

What's the point of the Zune? MP3 player? Video player? Social-worker?

I just don't get the whole thing. What am I missing? Help!

I would want to buy an iPod 30GB or 80GB to carry around my whole music library and I even would put short clips on the iPod, but I would never buy the iPod just for video. And I don't care if the screen is 2,5'' or 3''.

What makes the video-function so great?

I watch movies on the train sometimes, and the ability to output near dvd quality to a tv is great as you don't have to lug movies about with you. That's pretty useful for the parents of a young child when you go on holiday - a few drinks and a movie in the hotel/apartment after she's gone to bed.
I also put short home movies of my daughter on it - when you're away all week it can be a great boost to see her doing her thing.
I don't bother, but Im sure some people like watching music videos, or dont have time at home to watch their favourite shows, and record/buy them for watching when they have more time.

Watching a long movie on a small screen is not the best, but a 20-30 minute show is great for passing time if you're travelling.

Some people have no use for the video function. For others (like me) video is a very important part of the package.

 

[gloss]

Yeah, except for the rating, 8 is way too high.

Yeah, except that they gave it a 7.

 

[shunpike]

Just found this very good and fair review on Amazon.com:

"It's impossible to not compare the Zune to the iPod so I'm not even going to try, but let's get one thing out of the way right quick: Anyone who calls the Zune an iPod killer needs to have their head examined. Let's not forget that there are many people who have invested hundreds or thousands of dollars into iTunes music, so they're pretty much iPod customers for life(as Zune customers will be if they choose to use the Zune marketplace, but more on that later). And in case you haven't noticed, the iPod is a pretty darn good device. The Zune doesn't really offer anything that should have iPod+iTunes users jumping ship, but it does offer a compelling option for those looking to purchase a product like this for the first time or iPod users who have chosen to continue to buy CDs instead of digital albums.

The first thing you'll notice after purchasing the Zune is that if they ever gave away some type of award for product packaging, the Zune would probably win it. The brown portion of the Zune box slips off to reveal a compartmentalized box inside that includes the Zune, the docking cable, stock earbuds, the Zune software, the token cheap felt case, and the documentation.

Onto the Zune itself. Even at 30 gigs it's a bit longer and thicker than the 80 gig iPod. It is substantially heavier but not to a fault. Those looking to use an MP3 player for active use will probably want a flash player anyway. Where the Zune holds a big advantage over the iPod however is the rubbery-plastic finish. Whereas the iPod's glossy finish is a magnet for fingerprints, the Zune's rubbery plastic feel attracts virtually no fingerprints, and when it does they simply wipe off. The screen accumulates them quickly, and while a thin plastic film coating is included, it has some large text on it, so you might have to invest in a third-party screen protector. Bummer. The control pad has been often maligned for not being a scroll wheel, but I don't understand why. Is moving your thumb around in circles really THAT intuitive?

Onto the software. It's a bit dissapointing that the Zune doesn't simply intergrate seamlessly with Windows Media Player 11 like most MP3 players now do. Instead you'll have to install the dedicated Zune software, which is essentially Windows Media Player 11 in some new clothing and with the Zune Marketplace built in. There have been many reports of hiccups installing the new software, so beware. It seems I was lucky. Once you do get the software going, syncing your music library to your player is a breeze, with a transfer speed of about two seconds per song.

As I said, the Zune software is essentially WMP11 with the Zune Marketplace included. The first time you enter the marketplace the software will ask you for your Windows Live ID. This is where one very cool perk comes into play if you are an XBox Live user. When you login with your ID, your Zune Marketplace account automatically links up with your XBox Live account, so you can share your Microsoft Points you already have across both services! Very very convienent.

Unfortunately, that may be the highlight of the Zune Marketplace. Graphically, it can't hold a candle to iTunes and is pretty darn ugly. Users can't review albums, and it as of yet doesn't offer anything besides music(this is probably going to change very very soon). I don't even use an iPod and I like browsing the iTunes store to see what's new and read user reviews. I couldn't imagine using the Zune Marketplace for anything except buying an album. But even that wouldn't be advisable, since the music you purchase on the Zune marketplace will work ONLY on the Microsoft Zune and nothing else. So until it starts offering TV Shows and movies, the Zune Marketplace is a major dud.

This is where the real treat comes in, once you get your music onto the Zune and fire it up for the first time, many of your initial doubts will vanish. The screen is large, bright, and the background is fully customizable. The interface is a huge breath of fresh air after using the stale Artist>Album>Song system on iPods and Creative players for so many years. Instead, Artist, Album, and Song are listed horizontally at the top of the screen, and as you move the cursor over each option all of the items spill out down the substantial screen, with thumbnail album art included! When you do choose a song, the album art for that song dominates the screen, and the sound quality is excellent. You can easily adjust the volume by pressing up-and-down on the control pad, and scroll through the song by pushing left and right.

So music playback is a huge "hit", but how about the video? The format support is pretty limited, and while the Zune software will convert just about anything, the playback format of converted videos is pretty poor. It was also a puzzling move for the Zune to have a 16x9 screen but only support 4:3 resolution. The stretching of the picture doesn't really take that much away, but it seems a bit pointless. One handy feature is that the control pad will re-orient the controls for the Zune when you hold the player sideways.

One last thing, you might have noticed I haven't even mentioned the much-hyped wi-fi feature. Why? Because it's practically useless. Songs received via wi-fi transfer can only be played three times within a three day period, and songs by some artists(such as the Rolling Stones) won't even transfer at all! The wi-fi capabilities of the Zune certainly offers exciting possibilities for future firmware updates, but they're certainly not present now.

So that's it. The Zune offers nothing that will have seasoned iPod+iTunes users jumping ship, and it certainly' won't kill the iPod, but the exceptional physical design, vastly superior user interface, and wi-fi possiblities in the future warrant a serious look by shoppers."

 

[munkle]

A rather shorter review. (via)

 

[clevin]

I don't get it.

I haven't seen anyone in my life watching a movie on an iPod. Seriously. Why do people want to carry around their movies and then watch them on a 2,5'' or 3'' display? If I have funny short clips I just put them on my mobile to show others.

What's the point of the Zune? MP3 player? Video player? Social-worker?

I just don't get the whole thing. What am I missing? Help!

I would want to buy an iPod 30GB or 80GB to carry around my whole music library and I even would put short clips on the iPod, but I would never buy the iPod just for video. And I don't care if the screen is 2,5'' or 3''.

What makes the video-function so great?

EDIT: back to topic. The Zune seems half-baked and I think it's extremely ugly. The software seems to be crap. Don't care about their nicer interface. Don't care about the Zune's WiFi.

My opinion: $hyt!

u just being envy, lol, if ipod video has reason to exist, why not zune? "don't care"? i guess u will "care" if ipod have those functions.
what u are missing is u expect a totally microsoft version copy of ipod from zune, and turned out zune has quite different features.

 

[shunpike]

A rather shorter review. (via)

That isn't a review, its a **** joke... lol

Sorry review is long... but it is a fair and unbiased one instead of a 9yr old's joke. lol

 

[Zmmyt]

u just being envy, lol, if ipod video has reason to exist, why not zune? "don't care"? i guess u will "care" if ipod have those functions.
what u are missing is u expect a totally microsoft version copy of ipod from zune, and turned out zune has quite different features.

Sorry, you are wrong. You ask for my opinion and in my opinion the extra functionality which comes with the Zune is less then tempting to me.

I don't even care about the video function on the iPod, why should I fancy the Zune. Because "everyone" has one and I want to share my music with "everyone"? Because it's bulkier then the iPod? Because it doesn't support my computer?

Envy? Where?

 

[clevin]

Sorry, you are wrong. You ask for my opinion and in my opinion the extra functionality which comes with the Zune is less then tempting to me.

I don't even care about the video function on the iPod, why should I fancy the Zune. Because "everyone" has one and I want to share my music with "everyone"? Because it's bulkier then the iPod? It doesn't support my computer?

Envy? Where.

i didnt ask u, Op did
its very easy to understand about "envy", normally when a person can't get somethin other ppl have, and he really like it, then he will be "envy".
its ok if you are not "envy", if u asked urself and know all the features in Zune is NOT significant, and You won't feel happier if Ipods were to get them as well.
still, u are missing the points, if you think video is not important, then ask apple why they even produce a video ipod.

 

[Zmmyt]

i didnt ask u, Op did
its very easy to understand about "envy", normally when a person can't get somethin other ppl have, and he really like it, then he will be "envy".
its ok if you are not "envy", if u asked urself and know all the features in Zune is NOT significant, and You won't feel happier if Ipods were to get them as well.
still, u are missing the points, if you think video is not important, then ask apple why they even produce a video ipod.

Sorry. Thought you were the OP.

The original question was "what is your opinion" or am I wrong?

Why do you want to argue? Do you think I have the wrong opinion?

 

[animenick65]

Its a halfway decent player. Apple could learn a thing or two from it. The surface is VERY nice and makes for easier handling and scratch resistance. Apple should also learn something ABOUT INCLUDING FREAKIN FM PLAYERS IN THEIR IPODS!!!! Apple could also learn something about a nicer GUI. OSX is beautiful and they know how to make a clean and beautiful interface, but honeslty all they have done to the damn thing over the years is add a little color and a few tidbits of sparkle and thats it. The zune interface and its transitions is beautiful and blows the IPOD away. At the very least I think the zune is a nice change of pace and nice competition for apple. Hopefully it will light a fire under Apple's but.

 

[solvs]

I love my nano, and the shuffle it replaced, and the mini that replaced. So, no. Even if it didn't suck so bad. And from what I've seen, it really sucks. Even being a Rev. 1.

And I'm sure Apple has something up their sleeves to counteract whatever M$ might come up with in the future.

 

[clevin]

Sorry. Thought you were the OP.

The original question was "what is your opinion" or am I wrong?

Why do you want to argue? Do you think I have the wrong opinion?

well, u were asking what u r missing...
and yeah, your sure can have opinion, im just telling u your opinion is not majority, even in ipod' users, thats why apple is producing ipod video, coz user are using them.

and ipod users, how many of u guys do or do not want your ipod to have customizable wallpaper, a larger screen, a fm radio build-in, and wi-fi sharing?

 

[Zmmyt]

well, u were asking what u r missing...
and yeah, your sure can have opinion, im just telling u your opinion is not majority, even in ipod' users, thats why apple is producing ipod video, coz user are using them.

and ipod users, how many of u guys do or do not want your ipod to have customizable wallpaper, a larger screen, a fm radio build-in, and wi-fi sharing?

And yes again. If people want FM radio, WiFi and a bigger screen go for the Zune.

There is nothing to discuss.

 

[clevin]

I love my nano, and the shuffle it replaced, and the mini that replaced. So, no. Even if it didn't suck so bad. And from what I've seen, it really sucks. Even being a Rev. 1.

And I'm sure Apple has something up their sleeves to counteract whatever M$ might come up with in the future.

goto bestbuy and feel for urself.

 

[macg4]

i would never trade my ipod for a zune, ever....i have owned like 4 ipods now and have loved everyone of them. i have a 2g 20gig, 4g 20gig, 2g 4gig mini, and a 5g 30gig video

 

[mkrishnan]

I'm withholding my judgment for two reasons:

1) Even if the wifi capability is poorly implemented, it needs a critical mass to really see if it's a good idea. If the iPod had this feature and had it for a couple of years (so that there'd be an installed base of units with this feature running in the many millions by now), then I could see people using it, even given the limitations. I would probably use it. But right now it's like being a member of the Steve Ballmer fan club. Being the only member, I get no benefit from being part of the community....

2) I think it also remains to be seen how MS resolves the fiasco of the transition from PFS to the Zune store. It's technically possible, I believe, that they can do this without screwing it up. And if they do, then this will become a non-issue in the long run....

Don't get me wrong. I'm withholding judgment but not mocking. I respect any product gangsta' that makes Vista have an orgasm. Although I will never understand the logic that went into the decision process that went something like, "the business case says we can get away with a maximum of three different colors. That's okay, as long as one of them is brown."

 

[SactoGuy18]

Hardware-wise, the Zune shows tremendous potential because it has a superb interface for operating the player. Hopefully, Microsoft can use next-generation hardware soon to reduce the thickness of the Zune and improve the battery life, which would make it far more competitive against the 5.5G iPod.

But gawd, I saw the software to copy music/video to the Zune and it is difficult to use, to say the least. It makes even iTunes 7.0.2 look easy to use in comparison.

 

[solvs]

and ipod users, how many of u guys do or do not want your ipod to have customizable wallpaper, a larger screen, a fm radio build-in, and wi-fi sharing?

I have no desire for any of those.

I got a nano because it's small, has good battery life, and is simple. I had a cell phone that did most of that stuff, and I never used any of it. I use my iPods mostly in my car when there's nothing on the radio or walking around just to keep myself occupied. If you want FM, there are several solutions for the iPod, and several other players that offer it built in without the same issues the Zune has. I don't get the Wifi thing, seems a bit soon and kind of a battery killer, if you even use it. The implementation and restrictions seem to make it more trouble than it's worth.

But to each his own I suppose. I'm sure someone will enjoy their Zune. Or, you know, if they actually buy them.

goto bestbuy and feel for urself.

Saw it at some store that had a display. Not impressed. Every review I've read on it says pretty much the same thing and I mostly agree. I like my scroll wheel.

 

[appleman123]

Same here, i couldnt go with out the scroll wheel

I have no desire for any of those.

I got a nano because it's small, has good battery life, and is simple. I had a cell phone that did most of that stuff, and I never used any of it. I use my iPods mostly in my car when there's nothing on the radio or walking around just to keep myself occupied. If you want FM, there are several solutions for the iPod, and several other players that offer it built in without the same issues the Zune has. I don't get the Wifi thing, seems a bit soon and kind of a battery killer, if you even use it. The implementation and restrictions seem to make it more trouble than it's worth.

But to each his own I suppose. I'm sure someone will enjoy their Zune. Or, you know, if they actually buy them.


Saw it at some store that had a display. Not impressed. Every review I've read on it says pretty much the same thing and I mostly agree. I like my scroll wheel.

 

[clevin]

well, i dont disagree there are iPod loyalty out there who feel ipod is enough, I just think most ipod user would be happier if their ipod has all those features provided in Zune.
and to be honest, i do think
1. some fanboy are blindly against anything outside apple, which is unwise,
2. competition would only improve ipod, mono play never good for end user
3. there are several very attractive features in Zune, which some fanboy just pretend to be "useless, not care" untill ipod would include same feature, they would jump out again and praise it. u can like ipods feature, but plz, no need to ditch other product's unique features as "useless", dishonest and arrogant.