I'm glad that Apple is finally getting some decent competition in the mp3 business. While the Zune is not likely to succeed, there is potential for it to take some marketshare. Hopefully this will make Apple be a little more innovative. I'm certain that whatever iPod is released, it will knock all of our socks off and we will all say, "Apple has done it again." Competition is good.
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iPod Zune Out
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Yes BUT YOU KNOW that very soon...probably in January at MACWORLD or soon therafter, THERE will be the widescreen iPod, possibly with wireless that means something... For me it is still only about the music and my 80GB iPods filled with 19,450 songs works great. So when will Apple release a 100GB VERSION??
Yes, I am fully aware of the new iPod that may be released. Now that will be a show stopper. It's just a pity that Apple doesn't have one up for xmas.
aussie_geek
omfg on nbc they compared the zune to a 4th gen b&w ipod
Yeah I saw that too! I was like what the hell thats like comparing a beat up old G3 iMac to a nice new Alienware and calling it better. What do you bet microsoft paid them to use the older iPod.
aussie_geek said:
But, the screen resolution's the same, so just bigger pixels. On the surface this looks good, but really it's meaningless.
Watch the CNN video and see how people respond to this, I think it could be cool, but between the shear geekiness of it, and the DRM snafus, I think this fails as a killer app. Not to mention, unless you're around another Zune user it's worthless.aussie_geek said:
And, so does a zillion other players that are currently getting their collective *sses handed to them by iPods sans this feature. I don't buy it.aussie_geek said:
See above. It's buggy, awkward, and takes time. Steve Jobs' comment about it was succint: "It takes forever. By the time you've gone through all that, the girl's got up and left! You're much better off to take one of your earbuds out and put it in her ear. Then you're connected with about two feet of headphone cable."aussie_geek said:
So does Real and Sony. See my earlier comment about FM radios.aussie_geek said:
Features can't just be a list, they have to matter to the user, and frankly the Zune's killer difference is too geeky and buggy to sell them to more than the technophiles. The Zune, however, doesn't have all the accessories the iPod does, which includes the hundreds of cases, connectors, add-ons, software, etc. Think of the whole Nike+ thing or the recent announcement that several airlines will add iPod-functionality to their entertainment systems. Not to mention the car integrations, once you've installed an Alpine system in your Mini, are you really going to buy a Zune over a new iPod?aussie_geek said:
Furthermore, the goofy way that Microsoft charges for their songs, using points rather than cash, is confusing and a huge scam. The minute users figure out that you have to give Microsoft $5.00 for the first song, they're going to be unhappy.
aussie_geek said:
And quickly returned on December 26 for iPods.
I'm going to go bother a bunch of people in the cafe' I'm sitting in, if more than 10% of them know what a Zune even is, I'll retract my statement.
Now, Apple should pay attention to the Zune and react accordingly, the iPod should remain a difficult and moving target, adding on new content and new useful features.
As you all know by now, WIFI is the big feature for Zune. Not only are you limited to 3x playback within three days, you have to GUESS which song you can share if you've bought it from the Zune store!
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7TPJ7GQOuzk
Wow.
Remember she used to be the HOST of TECH TV out of San Francisco when...drum roll..Microsoft banked it..
I would love apple to come up with an iPod Ad campaign similar to to the Get a Mac ones. Imagine this:
Zune (in a brown suit of course): Hello I'm a Zune
iPod: and I'm an iPod
iPod: so whats that you're playing with?
Zune (throwing up a ball and catching it again): oh this is a new song I just downloaded from the zune marketplace, it's really popular at the moment.
iPod: Congratulations, I can see you're enjoying it.
Zune: Oh it's not just me watch this:
(2nd Zune walks onto the screen)
Zune: Excuse me, mind if I zune this song to you?
Zune 2: Yeah sure, go ahead.
(Zune throws ball to Zune 2 who then starts throwing it up and catching it.)
iPod: Wow thats really cool.
Zune: I know, we're great buddies.
(Zune 2 throws up the ball for the third time, but it does not come back down again.)
iPod: Wait, what happened?
Zune: Oh he's only allowed it for a little while.
(Zune 2 walks off with a sad expression)
iPod: So what happend to the song?
(ball falls and hits Zune on the head)
iPod: Oh, right.
Zune (in a brown suit of course): Hello I'm a Zune
iPod: and I'm an iPod
iPod: so whats that you're playing with?
Zune (throwing up a ball and catching it again): oh this is a new song I just downloaded from the zune marketplace, it's really popular at the moment.
iPod: Congratulations, I can see you're enjoying it.
Zune: Oh it's not just me watch this:
(2nd Zune walks onto the screen)
Zune: Excuse me, mind if I zune this song to you?
Zune 2: Yeah sure, go ahead.
(Zune throws ball to Zune 2 who then starts throwing it up and catching it.)
iPod: Wow thats really cool.
Zune: I know, we're great buddies.
(Zune 2 throws up the ball for the third time, but it does not come back down again.)
iPod: Wait, what happened?
Zune: Oh he's only allowed it for a little while.
(Zune 2 walks off with a sad expression)
iPod: So what happend to the song?
(ball falls and hits Zune on the head)
iPod: Oh, right.
Haha
Zune will suck bad..Bill Gates is a retard... No charisma or style, just a computer nerd making crappy software...
..Zune will fail,,just like Windows and the Xbox, i'm so happy microsof isn't a part of my life haha,,
I use a MacBook; eMacs at school,
I use my iPod video
& i use my Gamecube and DS, can't wait for Wii, Wii will totally kill Xbox,,Graphics my ass, people just want fun..
Zune will suck bad..Bill Gates is a retard... No charisma or style, just a computer nerd making crappy software...
..Zune will fail,,just like Windows and the Xbox, i'm so happy microsof isn't a part of my life haha,,
I use a MacBook; eMacs at school,
I use my iPod video
& i use my Gamecube and DS, can't wait for Wii, Wii will totally kill Xbox,,Graphics my ass, people just want fun..
Apple "a little more innovated?" Crap they always are. Everyone who has been wishing and waiting for wide screens wi fi and other new bells an whistles should remember that WHEN Apple has these type of things perfected, they release them and kick ass. They have not yet released a WIFI version because it is simply not ready so their last updates that seemed to dissapoint some, were simply great improvements and price drops. You just know rthat their wide screen will be so much cooler than ZUNI.
"What colors should the Zune come in Mr. Gates?"
"I'm thinking we'll use Apple's black and white- and then since I can't think of another color myself, why don't we just mix the two together and use that as the third color"
"Alright sir, I'll call the Zune specialists and let them know"
"Good, thanks Larry, here's a Zune Buck"
"Thanks Sir, I can buy one and a quarter songs now!"
"I'm thinking we'll use Apple's black and white- and then since I can't think of another color myself, why don't we just mix the two together and use that as the third color"
"Alright sir, I'll call the Zune specialists and let them know"
"Good, thanks Larry, here's a Zune Buck"
"Thanks Sir, I can buy one and a quarter songs now!"
As for the scroll wheel - who cares. Fair enough, it is a great interface - tough to beat but I am sure the one M$ used will do the job.
As for video / movie store. It plays movies. Who cares where you get them - as long as they work...
As for the Zune competing for the shuffle / nano position, M$ would be mad to go for these model's.
The only way Zune will sell at the moment is the fact at first glance it has more stuff than the current model iPod.
Just imagine in a department store:
Customer " I want to buy an MP3 player"
Rep " Yes - here we have an iPod and here we have a new product from MICROSOFT called the Zune"
Customer " what's the difference between them?"
Rep " The zune has everything the iPod has etc but it has more stuff too like........"
Customer " How much is it?"
Rep " Same as an iPod".
Fair enough the customer in this scenario is ill informed about MP3 players .Most customers may not be as naive as this example but how many of the millions of people would go online and research their MP3 player before purchase.
I am not defending Microsoft or endorsing Apple products here. I am just trying to portray an unbiased opinion. Simple really:
Zune is more stuff than iPod for same price =sales.
It's a known fact that people think that more features = better. Although we know better, most people are not as tech savvy as the ones reading the posts in this forum. These are the ones (ie most consumers) that will buy one.
aussie_geek
I would love apple to come up with an iPod Ad campaign similar to to the Get a Mac ones. Imagine this:
Zune (in a brown suit of course): Hello I'm a Zune
iPod: and I'm an iPod
iPod: so whats that you're playing with?
Zune (throwing up a ball and catching it again): oh this is a new song I just downloaded from the zune marketplace, it's really popular at the moment.
iPod: Congratulations, I can see you're enjoying it.
Zune: Oh it's not just me watch this:
(2nd Zune walks onto the screen)
Zune: Excuse me, mind if I zune this song to you?
Zune 2: Yeah sure, go ahead.
(Zune throws ball to Zune 2 who then starts throwing it up and catching it.)
iPod: Wow thats really cool.
Zune: I know, we're great buddies.
(Zune 2 throws up the ball for the third time, but it does not come back down again.)
iPod: Wait, what happened?
Zune: Oh he's only allowed it for a little while.
(Zune 2 walks off with a sad expression)
iPod: So what happend to the song?
(ball falls and hits Zune on the head)
iPod: Oh, right.
LOVE IT!!
or something with the Zune guy holding his new cds, claiming he bought them at the store,,
then the iPod guy is holding dvds,
the iPod guy asks if he bought any DVDS,
then he's like, the store i went to didn't carry those,,,
iPod guy says, my store does, u should stop by,
then the Zune, says something like, sorry i can't, then he's like, i'm going back to buy more cds,,,
aussie_geek said:
-aussie_geek
Be careful not to equate feature set with value.
aussie_geek said:
This is the school of Microsoft, and is patently false. When one trend matches another for a while, there is a propensity to tie the two as related. Just because a conclusion can be drawn from coincidence, don't take it to the bank.
Please be aware, I'm not attacking, and not as a Mac-head. This is just a historical pattern.
As for the scroll wheel - who cares. Fair enough, it is a great interface - tough to beat but I am sure the one M$ used will do the job.
As for video / movie store. It plays movies. Who cares where you get them - as long as they work...
As for the Zune competing for the shuffle / nano position, M$ would be mad to go for these model's.
The only way Zune will sell at the moment is the fact at first glance it has more stuff than the current model iPod.
Just imagine in a department store:
Customer " I want to buy an MP3 player"
Rep " Yes - here we have an iPod and here we have a new product from MICROSOFT called the Zune"
Customer " what's the difference between them?"
Rep " The zune has everything the iPod has etc but it has more stuff too like........"
Customer " How much is it?"
Rep " Same as an iPod".
Fair enough the customer in this scenario is ill informed about MP3 players .Most customers may not be as naive as this example but how many of the millions of people would go online and research their MP3 player before purchase.
I am not defending Microsoft or endorsing Apple products here. I am just trying to portray an unbiased opinion. Simple really:
Zune is more stuff than iPod for same price =sales.
It's a known fact that people think that more features = better. Although we know better, most people are not as tech savvy as the ones reading the posts in this forum. These are the ones (ie most consumers) that will buy one.
aussie_geek
If you're referring to naive customers, those are the ones who walk up to the sales person and say "ipod please" asking only what colors it comes in. As far as Techno geeks go, a lot of them don't have iPod, it's APPLE geeks that do. No offense, but naive consumers aren't going to give a crap about wifi, and when they see the Zune is larger and uglier- I think we both know what they chose. May I suggest you try the cNet forms if you'd like to continue to promote this blatantly pro-microsoft point of view?
Sorry but a mix of black and white make grey!
That's what microsoft paid you to think
Why the surprise?...
This says it all...
Spoken like a man who's making his decisions from a spec sheet! The features are there, the boxes are ticked but HOW they work appears to be completely unuseful because it take a DESIGNER to answer the HOW question, not a geek.
The big question will be; is anyone still fooled by specifications alone? Will people clue in to the fact that Zune is to Wintel as iPod is to Mac. This could be Microsoft's biggest mistake.
This says it all...
Spoken like a man who's making his decisions from a spec sheet! The features are there, the boxes are ticked but HOW they work appears to be completely unuseful because it take a DESIGNER to answer the HOW question, not a geek.
The big question will be; is anyone still fooled by specifications alone? Will people clue in to the fact that Zune is to Wintel as iPod is to Mac. This could be Microsoft's biggest mistake.
It has a bigger screen than the iPod.[/aussie_geek]
But, the screen resolution's the same, so just bigger pixels. On the surface this looks good, but really it's meaningless.
Watch the CNN video and see how people respond to this, I think it could be cool, but between the shear geekiness of it, and the DRM snafus, I think this fails as a killer app. Not to mention, unless you're around another Zune user it's worthless.
And, so does a zillion other players that are currently getting their collective *sses handed to them by iPods sans this feature. I don't buy it.
See above. It's buggy, awkward, and takes time. Steve Jobs' comment about it was succint: "It takes forever. By the time you've gone through all that, the girl's got up and left! You're much better off to take one of your earbuds out and put it in her ear. Then you're connected with about two feet of headphone cable."
So does Real and Sony. See my earlier comment about FM radios.
Features can't just be a list, they have to matter to the user, and frankly the Zune's killer difference is too geeky and buggy to sell them to more than the technophiles. The Zune, however, doesn't have all the accessories the iPod does, which includes the hundreds of cases, connectors, add-ons, software, etc. Think of the whole Nike+ thing or the recent announcement that several airlines will add iPod-functionality to their entertainment systems. Not to mention the car integrations, once you've installed an Alpine system in your Mini, are you really going to buy a Zune over a new iPod?
Furthermore, the goofy way that Microsoft charges for their songs, using points rather than cash, is confusing and a huge scam. The minute users figure out that you have to give Microsoft $5.00 for the first song, they're going to be unhappy.
And quickly returned on December 26 for iPods.
I'm going to go bother a bunch of people in the cafe' I'm sitting in, if more than 10% of them know what a Zune even is, I'll retract my statement.
Now, Apple should pay attention to the Zune and react accordingly, the iPod should remain a difficult and moving target, adding on new content and new useful features.
You are missing the whole point mate, at first glance - ie what will be on the posters in the stores for xmas it has more "stuff" than the iPod. This is all that is needed to get a mainstream, non tech savvy forum poster google researching news site reader to buy one.
aussie_geek
As you all know by now, WIFI is the big feature for Zune. Not only are you limited to 3x playback within three days, you have to GUESS which song you can share if you've bought it from the Zune store!
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7TPJ7GQOuzk
What an tool!
I do hope this product fails, but I hope this kicks Apple to make them release a newer redisigned iPod.
I love the CNN piece, the anchors pwnt the Zune.
You can ignore that quote. It's BS, in fact it's exactly the same BS that gets tossed around all the time about the iPod line. It can play unprotected AAC and MP3.
First post, so go easy
For me, there's two major flaws in the Zune as a product.
Firstly, it really is too damn big -- my girlfriend's old 20GB 3G looks sleek by comparison; my 30GB 5G must be 40% smaller still in volume terms.
Secondly, it's just not going to get enough market penetration with only a 30GB model available. If a "Nano Zune" were released, would it carry the wif-fi feature? I just can't see this wi-fi Zune-to-Zune sharing coming commonplace, especially if it's subject to such silly rules as 3 days/plays.
But, hey, I for one quite like the brown model
For me, there's two major flaws in the Zune as a product.
Firstly, it really is too damn big -- my girlfriend's old 20GB 3G looks sleek by comparison; my 30GB 5G must be 40% smaller still in volume terms.
Secondly, it's just not going to get enough market penetration with only a 30GB model available. If a "Nano Zune" were released, would it carry the wif-fi feature? I just can't see this wi-fi Zune-to-Zune sharing coming commonplace, especially if it's subject to such silly rules as 3 days/plays.
But, hey, I for one quite like the brown model