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iPod Zune Pricing and Shipping Announced.
- Thread starter Chundles
- Start date
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Doctor Q said:
Sony didn't blink when the original xbox was released, now they are clamoring to catch up after the release of the XBOX 360, and are stumbling along the way. Sony ruled the video game roost for the last 2 generations.
Being on top does not = staying on top
This is NOT an unattractive unit, atleast to me. They can keep the brown, but then again I would never buy a green Ipod either, but those exist.
People have been clamoring for a wifi/bluetooth ipod for sometime, so why is it such a bad Idea, I think its great!
The larger screen, and similair pricing moves it into ipod territory, and that is firmly that. If you think its not a threat, or dismiss it so simply, you will be in for a large surprise.
BillHarrison said:
I think the reasoning is that it's not 'truly' wireless, in that you can't sync it with your computer wirelessly, can't stream to a stereo wirelessly, can't purchase new music wirelessly, etc. etc. It's just (to me) a gimmick that they've added on, and won't really add much value.
aprilfools said:
You, my friend, are a marketer's wet dream. Reality check: You're flying off the handle because one consumer product didn't think of another consumer product.
notjustjay said:Anyone want to wager Apple announces an across-the-board iPod price drop the day before Zune is released?
I say they won't. It would be too much reaction and who would want to give off the impression of being scared of their competitor, especially something as yawn-inducing as the ZZZZzzzzZZZZune? If anything, Apple will step up production of the next iPod (whatever it is) to one-up the Zune's introduction hype.
BillHarrison said:
This is what's called a "post hoc" fallacy. You're assuming because something happens after another thing that they must be related, but I disagree. Sony has had its own problems for the last 10+ years that have nothing to do with the XBOX. Don't give the XBOX too much credit for this. Any competitor could have stepped in to rule Sony. And what about Nintendo? The Wii is getting some crazy hype and it's being predicted as the big winner in the next generation of consoles. And from what I can see, it looks like a real step forward in terms of gaming. The XBox 360 is just the same old gameplay with more power behind it. Why do you think that's so hard to beat?
BillHarrison said:
It's not unattractive, but it does have that trying-too-hard-to-look-like-an-iPod aura to it that might cause a lot of consumers to think see it as a cheap knock off.
BillHarrison said:
Geeks have been clamoring for wifi. Nobody else gives a frig! It's classic MS. Take a simple idea and bog it down with a load of features only a small fraction of their users will bother with.
BillHarrison said:
This conclusion was pulled totally out of your ass. Don't be so condescending about it.
inkswamp said:
What??? Talk about historical revisionism. Yes, if you looked closely Sony has dropped the ball on many fronts (Walkman/iPod, flatscreen TV tech, etc.) but the Playstation was the one thing they got right.
Any competitor could have stepped in to rule Sony? Ha ha ha. Let me refresh your memory. Sega had just mounted a comeback with its very good Dreamcast system (it was really ahead of its time, with VGA output and built-in connectivity), and all of a sudden it came to a screeching halt when the PS2 hype machine started churning. Sega's days as a console maker came to an end. Nintendo ruled the roost from 1985-1995 and found themselves a distant second -- and then third within a few years. They have been doing consoles for 20 years and found themselves relegated to also-rans in two generations with the ineptitude of the N64. It was in this environment that Microsoft introduced the first X-Box. Much like the iPod now is to Apple, the market was Sony's to lose. Microsoft's chances coming into this were slim-to-none.
Now they have entrenched themselves at a competitive #2 player in the next generation, and every day Sony manages to botch the PS3 launch is another day MS grows stronger and gets a chance at #1 with the XBox 360.
So while Sony has shot itself in the foot, Sega and Nintendo failed to capitalize where the XBox has thus far succeeded. It is foolish to consistantly underestimate Microsoft -- they actually manage to get some thinsg right. Let me give you a quick history in case you have forgotten.
DOS wasn't always the defacto on the PC.
Windows didn't always rule the desktop.
Office wasn't always ubiquitous. There used to be these things called Lotus 1-2-3, dBase, Word Perfect, VisiCalc, etc. that were the leading office products.
Windows CE was once a joke, and now it has all but obliterrated Palm OS.
Need I continue? The pattern is clear. They start with a sucky product but incrementally improve it until eventually it dominates -- if they can be bothered to stick with it.
Microsoft put a LOT of thought into the X-Box 360. A LOT. It is clear with the 360 that they weren't screwing around. Now the same team behind that is responsible for the Zune. Don't be so quick to dismiss it.
janstett said:
GREAT post. Everyone is proclaiming the Wii to be some kind of next generation champion. I contend it isn't even a step forward in gaming. Just to the side with this motion sensitivity controller. The console will still be dominated by Playskool games for kiddies. Hardly the way to win a console war.
I honestly think the kiddie Wii contigent just has the largest internet presence and are creating a false sense of demand out of a product that no adult would want.
joemama said:
Ha ha ha. Are you kidding me? It's built by Toshiba. If you ever have the chance to come over to Tokyo and stroll through Yodabashi (sort of like a "Best Buy" only very cluttered and un-kept) you'll see TONS of crap that copy from Apple. The click wheel is copied in everything including cell phones and refrigerator UIs. The worste though are on laptops. These people actually make trackpads that are ROUND with a scroll wheel that goes around it. It's absolutely shameless over here. At least its not as bad as the gum-drop mimicry that took place durring the CRT iMac era.
asxtb said:
Ha ha. Of course not - because its already out in Japan under a different/original brand name.
"Hey this looks just like the Toshiba mp3 player I already decided NOT to buy." Sort of like the people who picked up an iPod and saw HP on it. ha ha.
BTW people have missed some finer points of the Zune.
For example, with the bigger screen, Microsoft photos do show it tilted on the side (for a more widescreen aspect ratio) and the picture adjusts automatically. That's what people have been speculating about with the true video iPod.
For example, with the bigger screen, Microsoft photos do show it tilted on the side (for a more widescreen aspect ratio) and the picture adjusts automatically. That's what people have been speculating about with the true video iPod.
janstett said:
Microsoft tried to take on Intuit in personal accounting software. Miserable failure.
Microsoft tried to take on Oracle in enterprise databases. Miserable failure.
Microsoft has tried to take on Adobe in various markets and technologies over the years. Miserable failure after miserable failure.
Microsoft has tried to make MSN the premiere web portal for years and drive AOL and Yahoo into the ground. Miserable failure.
Just because they spend a lot of time and money on something doesn't mean they're going to automatically win. They can roll over the inept and hubris-clouded Netscapes, WordPerfects, Palms, and Lotuses of the world, but intelligently-run companies and beat them back. Can't say I see Apple pulling a Palm here.
Silencio said:
Unfortunatly, over here MSN is synonym for Instant Messaging, When you talk about AIM, Yahoo, or any other IM service they go huh? Is that something like MSN? And I'm really not exagerating here, for a lot of people, MSN is the only possible way to IM, and ironically, by this attitude, it has become the only way to IM.
Silencio said:
Yes, Microsoft has its failures. I'm not trying to be a MS cheerleader -- just suggesting not to underestimate them.
I wouldn't call all of those things you listed failures. For example, MS SQL server is actually based on Sybase's SQL server. Oracle has a huge lead over everybody else, including MS & Sybase. MSN, well, some success and some failures. But they aren't giving up.
Perhaps the greatest example, which I forgot to mention the first time, is Novell Netware. They once OWNED the network server market, something like 89%, and Microsoft's LAN Manager was a joke. Today Novell is hanging on by its fingernails as a relic of the past. Microsoft just kept plugging away while Novell sat on its laurels and found itself in the dust bin. It took more than a decade for this to happen, but it did happen.
Intelligently-run companies can beat back Microsoft. But I think the lesson is that 9 out of 10 companies are not intelligently run, at least not 100% of the time. Some day Steve Jobs will leave Apple, or Apple will lose its grip on the market through one or more screw ups, and MS will capitalize on each and every mistake. It requires constant vigilance, and too often you have a Netscape or a Palm or a Netware who are so clouded by hubris they can't help tripping over themselves.
stainlessliquid said:
It is pretty nice but seems kinda busy. I agree that the iPod UI could use an update. Oh, and the brown one is much uglier in real footage than in the marketing picts.
