Zune Out

First headline on zunerumors.com

"2G Zune said to be "slightly less crap" - Microsoft"

 

http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/technology/6143500.stm

I'm surprised it took this long to get a post about it

 

This annoys me.

Converting real cash to points, it makes consumers think they are paying 79 cents for a track

Not to mention idiots claiming that the store is cheaper than iTunes.

 

i hate it as well, but i must admit it is a very good marketing strategy. people see a lower figure, and assume it means price.

also, people neglect the fact that the screen has the same resolution as the iPod (thus making it non-widescreen), and the fact that shared songs are only good for 3 plays/days.

they can't even make it a good brown...

 

Check out engadgets experince with installing the Zune software.

http://www.engadget.com/2006/11/13/installing-the-zune-sucked/

 

I was interested when news about the Zunes features came out but now my interest in it has bottomed out. Plus the rumours that the Zune may not be out in Europe until 2008 means I'll wait a couple of months after it's actually available here to buy it.

 

No, they are trying to avoid the credit card fees by selling large chuncks of points which they don't pay fees for using.

and it could be cheaper, If you buy in bulk

 

That makes for entertaining reading

 

But I want to buy a single song for 79 pence, not a block of 'credits' for £5.

I heard on the TWIT podcast that somebody worked out that the minimum it would cost to get your 'credit' back to zero would be $490-ish! If this is correct then I am not not going to pay nearly $500 for a 79 pence song. And I think a lot of other people will be the same.

 

But most people hae no idea what the frack it is.

Apple normally advertises no specifics... adds intrigue, which drives people to investigate.

People see Zune and go "wow, a brick-shaped turd."

 

Do you honestly take that to mean it'll cost you $500 for a 79pence song??

 

Hope not, they were just working out to what point would break even with microsoft. When somebody hacks this puppy to work with itunes i might get one.

omfg on nbc they compared the zune to a 4th gen b&w ipod

 

If you care about a few cents. There's apparently enough wrong with this device and it's software without picking holes in their 'token' model.

So, I thought the zune would be a little failure but judging on the two reviews I've seen so far installation isn't even easy. This is gonna bomb.

 

No. I just mean that I want to but a song for a set price and not effectively loan Microsoft, nor any company for that matter, some money (God knows that they don't need it, but I do).

For example, I buy a block of 'credits' for £5 (?) and then buy a song for 79 pence, which means that Microsoft still has £4.21 of my money. I buy another two songs for £1.58 (Microsoft still has £2.63 of my money) and so on until I spend all the available credits - Microsoft still has 26 pence that is mine and that I cannot spend without buying another block of 'credits' for £5. Therefore the only way that can spend all of my money ('credits' equals zero) is to spend hundreds of pounds on the Zune store.

It's a pathetic, misleading system and a potential barrier to entry for a lot of people.

 

I like my microsoft is a cheap skate and dodging credit charges theory still though

 

I agree but I think the drawbacks of this system pale into insignificance compared to all the other shortcomings.

 

lol, good stuff.

 

Again (yes again)...

 

That's the third time that I have watched that in two days. When will I learn about your 'again' links!?!

(If I was to part my hair, I'd have a Steve Jobs haircut and not my "surfers" mop )

 

http://money.cnn.com/popups/2006/fortune/zune/index.html?cnn=yes

 

Good review, thanks for the link.

 

Hmmmm.

I wonder if this is what the payments to UMG are all about?

 

The more I read about this software and store, the more I find about it that I don't like.

 

Good review. Pretty evenhanded.