Zune 2 on Tuesday?

[MacsAttack]

From my point of view the big thing (well one of the big things) that is a majo strike against the Zune has been that MicroSoft chose not to go for an international launch. So even if the Zune were a "real neat thing" the market in other areas of the world has been left wide open to the competition.

Or to put it another way - the iPod has had yeat another year to total own the market here.

Now perhaps the Zune would have had a chance to make some inroads had Apple stood still. However I've just visited the new Apple store in Glasgow this very day. The new Nano look very good. The only reason I did not buy one to replace my 1st gen Nano was because I also got to play around with the iPod Touch. The only reason I did not buy a Touch was because they didn't have any left in stock...

It comes down to personal preference, but I though the Touch looked good from all the info I'd seen. In the flesh (well, metal, glass and plastic) it was even better than I was expecting. Sure there is so much more that could b added to it, but you just know Apple are saving it for new revisons and new devices down the line. What Apple have served up is in fact a very impressive product that is going to give the competition nightmares.

Unless Microsoft are going to serve up a device that costs less than a Nano, has more capacity than a Touch, and (possibly) has a good web browser, then it is kind of hard to see this second coming of the Zune as any more successful than the first outing.

 

[InLikeALion]

Gimme a sleek, full touch screen(preferably multi touch), 50+ GB HDD based Zune, with wifi, bluetooth, Windows mobile 6, OPEN to all third party developers and I m ready to ditch Apple.

Apple has done the worst things possible lately and I no longer find myself favoring Apple over its competitors. First Giving you the iPhone with no other option but ATT in US. Europeans wait for four months. Asians Wait till 2008. India??? sometime in 2009? or 2010? Then dropping iPhone prices pissing off all the Apple loyalists. And once it is finally unlocked, they Brick your iPhone with the latest update.

I could understand to a degree that they had to relock the unlocked iPhone, Or even stop 3rd party apps but bricking it completely and not supporting hacked iPhones et al is something unacceptable. Not giving an option to even downgrade to 1.0.2 is again absolutely rubbish. Apple has got some of the best software engineers in the industry. The new update could have simply resetted the unlocked/hacked iPhones to latest firmware and still usable with your 2 year ATT contract. But no, Apple decides to completely kill the unlocked iPhones.


Say whatever you want. Yes Apple did warn of the consequences in advance and the iPhone still works as it is supposed to if you dont hack/unlock it. Still this "bricking the iPhone" thing has almost made me start disliking Apple products. My Macbook has suddenly started to look like just another notebook. I was willing to pay 50% extra for something with an Apple logo even if there are similar or even slightly better options available for lesser price(Cuz I knew it`ll be worth it). But no more. Apple is EVIL. Steve Jobs aint Lord Stevee anymore. Apple is one big greedy bad bad bad evil company.

/End rant. Sorry couldnt stop myself. BTW my iPhone is coming this weekend in India with 1.0.1 firmware. Hope I`ll be able to unlock it. But I m seriously considering selling the unlocked iPhone and boycotting Apple products as much as possible. Not for that it`ll matter to Apple but if there are more and more people starting to dislike Apple they`ll someday get the message and try to avoid such stupid mistakes in future. I m now realising why I like my Apple Macbook. It`s not really coz it`s the best notebook. It`s coz the competition(Windows/linux) is really bad. Gimme another OS as good as OSX and my next computer wont be a Mac. Ok that might be a never happen. Anyways I advised 100`s of people I know to get a MAC. But no more. Apple is no longer the best option. The almost seem like the worst one.


/OK. Seriously END RANT

I just don't know where I could start with this. Your reasoning and arguments are so full of holes - its trollish and laughable. If you weren't a high-post member, I'd have assumed you just wandered in here to do some flaming.

Seriously? "I m now realising why I like my Apple Macbook. It`s not really coz it`s the best notebook. It`s coz the competition(Windows/linux) is really bad. Gimme another OS as good as OSX and my next computer wont be a Mac."

Wow. "Give me another Apple that's just as good as this Apple, and then this Apple won't seem great anymore and I'll go with the other Apple"? Really?

 

[Snowy_River]

Gimme a sleek, full touch screen(preferably multi touch), 50+ GB HDD based Zune, with wifi, bluetooth, Windows mobile 6, OPEN to all third party developers and I m ready to ditch Apple.

Apple has done the worst things possible lately and I no longer find myself favoring Apple over its competitors. First Giving you the iPhone with no other option but ATT in US. Europeans wait for four months. Asians Wait till 2008. India??? sometime in 2009? or 2010? Then dropping iPhone prices pissing off all the Apple loyalists. And once it is finally unlocked, they Brick your iPhone with the latest update.

I could understand to a degree that they had to relock the unlocked iPhone, Or even stop 3rd party apps but bricking it completely and not supporting hacked iPhones et al is something unacceptable. Not giving an option to even downgrade to 1.0.2 is again absolutely rubbish. Apple has got some of the best software engineers in the industry. The new update could have simply resetted the unlocked/hacked iPhones to latest firmware and still usable with your 2 year ATT contract. But no, Apple decides to completely kill the unlocked iPhones.


Say whatever you want. Yes Apple did warn of the consequences in advance and the iPhone still works as it is supposed to if you dont hack/unlock it. Still this "bricking the iPhone" thing has almost made me start disliking Apple products. My Macbook has suddenly started to look like just another notebook. I was willing to pay 50% extra for something with an Apple logo even if there are similar or even slightly better options available for lesser price(Cuz I knew it`ll be worth it). But no more. Apple is EVIL. Steve Jobs aint Lord Stevee anymore. Apple is one big greedy bad bad bad evil company.

/End rant. Sorry couldnt stop myself. BTW my iPhone is coming this weekend in India with 1.0.1 firmware. Hope I`ll be able to unlock it. But I m seriously considering selling the unlocked iPhone and boycotting Apple products as much as possible. Not for that it`ll matter to Apple but if there are more and more people starting to dislike Apple they`ll someday get the message and try to avoid such stupid mistakes in future. I m now realising why I like my Apple Macbook. It`s not really coz it`s the best notebook. It`s coz the competition(Windows/linux) is really bad. Gimme another OS as good as OSX and my next computer wont be a Mac. Ok that might be a never happen. Anyways I advised 100`s of people I know to get a MAC. But no more. Apple is no longer the best option. The almost seem like the worst one.


/OK. Seriously END RANT

A little bitter?

Seriously, the decisions that Apple has made have been strategic. You may not like them (for that matter, I don't like all of them), but they had their reasons for making them. And I don't think it's fair to say that any of those reasons stemmed from being evil. Taking it a step further, it has been noted that Apple has long been a company that has not met with the approval of people who like to really tinker with things. The Mac OS has been designed not to allow much of that. Now the iPhone and the iPT are both inheriting that trait. Over time, we may well see an SDK released, and iPhones and iPTs that are open to (some) 3rd party developers. When the iPod started out, there was only one game that came with it, and many cried foul about that. Look where that ended up...

 

[balamw]

I say MS will go with 16gig considering, Cowon, Creative, Samsung(depending on where you read), Sandisk, and Sony all have 16gig devices that that compete with the Nano.

Apparently ... not. http://www.engadget.com/2007/10/02/microsofts-4gb-8gb-flash-based-zunes-revealed-by-fcc/

B

 

[xUKHCx]

Apparently ... not. http://www.engadget.com/2007/10/02/microsofts-4gb-8gb-flash-based-zunes-revealed-by-fcc/

B

Yeah was just reading that, when they say in the update that it has Wifi is that referring to the FM add on or the actual Zune flash. That is a nice addition if it is in the actual zune.

 

[guzhogi]

I just don't know where I could start with this. Your reasoning and arguments are so full of holes - its trollish and laughable. If you weren't a high-post member, I'd have assumed you just wandered in here to do some flaming.

Seriously? "I m now realising why I like my Apple Macbook. It`s not really coz it`s the best notebook. It`s coz the competition(Windows/linux) is really bad. Gimme another OS as good as OSX and my next computer wont be a Mac."

Wow. "Give me another Apple that's just as good as this Apple, and then this Apple won't seem great anymore and I'll go with the other Apple"? Really?

I don't think he means the computer & software, I think it's the fact that SJ & APple are absolute control freaks now and doesn't let any outside source customize Apple products.

 

[storage]

YES! Finally I can get rid of my 1 day old 3G nano!

 

[bloodycape]

there are bigger monopolies, and it is questionable if MS still is one anyway.

At anyrate I am glad MS is competing... or at least *trying* to. I hope they do a little better this time, real competition for Apple can only mean good things for us, whether it is cheaper iPod or iPods with more features. I think after seeing the iPod Touch get features removed we can all agree that a little pressure on Apple might be a godsend.

Sorry, but there has been real competition for years(that is way better than the Zune and even ipod in many aspects) it just MS is the only one that has the cash to do mass marketing campaigns.

 

[bloodycape]

Apparently ... not. http://www.engadget.com/2007/10/02/microsofts-4gb-8gb-flash-based-zunes-revealed-by-fcc/

B

That is a shame. 16gig would have maybe made me look at it with all the glowing reviews I heard about the sound quality and fairly nice interface it has. I guess I have to wait untill Samsung brings out the P2 in a 16gig or 32gig which ever comes first.

 

[LizKat]

How is Zune pronounced, anyway?

Just one syllable, like Zoo? or two, like Zoo, Knee ?

 

[Orng]

YES! Finally I can get rid of my 1 day old 3G nano!

That old thing? I'll give ya 50 bucks for it. Canadian.

 

[xUKHCx]

How is Zune pronounced, anyway?

Just one syllable, like Zoo? or two, like Zoo, Knee ?

I pronounce it more like Zoon.

 

[MacsAttack]

How is Zune pronounced, anyway?

Luzer?

 

[hayesk]

That old thing? I'll give ya 50 bucks for it. Canadian.

The Canadian dollar is almost exactly equal to a US Dollar these days. Today $1 CDN = $1.001US

 

[ImNoSuperMan]

I just don't know where I could start with this. Your reasoning and arguments are so full of holes - its trollish and laughable. If you weren't a high-post member, I'd have assumed you just wandered in here to do some flaming.

Seriously? "I m now realising why I like my Apple Macbook. It`s not really coz it`s the best notebook. It`s coz the competition(Windows/linux) is really bad. Gimme another OS as good as OSX and my next computer wont be a Mac."

Wow. "Give me another Apple that's just as good as this Apple, and then this Apple won't seem great anymore and I'll go with the other Apple"? Really?

Alright. Alright. I know it might be laughable and stupid sounding. But I made my point clear. I cud have just said I wont buy a Mac et al but that wud be lie. The only reason my next computer too will be a Mac is OSX. Not coz it`s Apple. BTW I got this MB coz coz my iBook G4 was way ahead of anything else in the market and made a real Apple Fan. But with the way things are going, Apple is starting to look worse by the day.

BTW If you read carefully I meant Gimme me another fruit as good as this Apple and I wont buy this Apple anymore. Ok thats still stupid. But watever. I m really pissed off with Apple this time. I used to wonder why there are so many Apple haters on the web, they make some of the best products. But not any more.

 

[thejadedmonkey]

The only reason my next computer too will be a Mac is OSX. Not coz it`s Apple. BTW I got this MB coz coz my iBook G4 was way ahead of anything else in the market and made a real Apple Fan. But with the way things are going, Apple is starting to look worse by the day.

I used to think that way.. I'm wondering about just getting a nice Dell and dual booting- XP for games, and a different flavor of *nix for everyday use, just like I do now, only on hardware that has a 2 button mouse and costs way less.

**and don't give me the whole ? is cheeper crap, it's only cheeper if you get what ? wants.

 

[Aperture]

Here are the official specs.

I have to say, it doesn't look that bad. It is definitely going to provide competition for iPods.

(btw, not sure if that link was posted. If not, I apologize)

 

[ian-frs]

I personally Love my Zune Gen 1 and plan on getting a gen 2. I don't get what all the hate over the Zune is. I don't think they look half bad its just a different look then the normal iPod. And who's copying who with the whole wifi thing here. If I remember correctly when the Zune was announce to have wifi Apples response was it would never work and they would never place it in the ipod line. Yes MS could take better care of the Zune with some more updates but the product in general is not any better or worse then an iPod. I know I am going to get flamed for this but I have to just throw in my 2 cents.

Edit: Here's something new that wasn't copied from apple. "WiFi sync to host computer!" Direct from link in Apertures post.

 

[suneohair]

They don't work with OS X, so I don't care.

 

[slick316]

Vote me in with the "I think its cool that MS is trying to give Apple some competition" group.

I have no use for a Zune. I use my two iPods for in car use only (no real need for a personal music/video player). My 1st gen Nano is used in my parents Van when I need to use it, and my 30GB 5g iPod Video is used in my car (though my music collection is growing, I might need a bigger one soon).

But I have to admit, I think the Zune didn't do half bad when it launched. I think it didn't do that great because the iPod was pretty much dominating the market.

But this new Zune 80 and the Zune 4 and 8 look interesting. I like that the new Zunes have a new interface and that the first generation Zune will also be upgradeable to this new OS, I can't believe that MS doesn't want to use that as a reason for existing Zune users to upgrade to a Zune 80. Wifi syncing, enough said. Can sync video from a Media Center PC (if this means that you can sync recorded TV shows so you can watch them on the go, I see that as a really nice touch).

Seriously, I think MS is really trying here and they are not half assing it. If the Zune would work as easily as the iPod does in my car, I would have to give it a second look over the iPod.

 

[bousozoku]

They look better except for the diarrhea green. I'm not sure whether it's better than the **** brown.

 

[flopticalcube]

Looks like they did a better job of it this time. DRM-free store as well. Lack of OSX support is a non-starter for me as well but it will give a kick up the iPods backside.

 

[G5Unit]

Ugh NO OS X SUPPORT? Why don't they add it? These new Zunes actually look ok!

 

[SDAVE]

wow
the ipod is the top seller and will stay on top of the charts for as long as we live

Well that's a bold statement now isn't it...?

 

[MacsAttack]

Here's something new that wasn't copied from apple. "WiFi sync to host computer!"

Its a curious feature. Most of the time when I want to sync a device, I also want to recharge it - so I have to plug it in anyway.

One of the cool new features added to the eyeTV software is the ability to stream the recordings over a local network to an iPod Touch or iPhone. Can't wait to try it out. Wonder if there is some way to make it work remote.

Now that is the kind of feature that MicroSoft should have added if they wanted to inovate (TM).