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Microsoft Releases Zune Details
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Has anyone else thought that maybe Apple held back on releasing a new iPod this past week, knowing that MS was going to announce this? Now that MS has blown their wad (as my 76 year old Aunt likes to say!), will Apple release the rumored widescreen video iPod with touchscreen controls and blow this thing away?
If anything, the Zune intrigues me and the UI has some great eye-candy (which will sway a lot of potential users and people sitting on the fence) and could be a starting point for the "ecosystem" that has helped fuel the iPods success. I can imagine a lot of wallpaper/theme websites starting up and people skinning the UI to their preferences. The jury is still out for me on the form factor though. It's not necessarily bad, it's just not what I am used to. Frankly, I don't think anything looks as good as the 1G and 2G iPods. I LOVED that they looked like a stereo speaker and they just seemed very balanced. The 5G (and the ugly 3G) looks too top heavy for me, just from a pure asthetic, and the 4G (which I currently have) is borderline but I love the color UI.
Ultimately, we will all benefit if it is successful as it will a) drive Apple to continue to innovate and, gasp, b) maybe create enough of a stir that consumers begin to demand open standards/compatible DRM after they try to move their music purchased from iTMS onto the Zune.
If anything, the Zune intrigues me and the UI has some great eye-candy (which will sway a lot of potential users and people sitting on the fence) and could be a starting point for the "ecosystem" that has helped fuel the iPods success. I can imagine a lot of wallpaper/theme websites starting up and people skinning the UI to their preferences. The jury is still out for me on the form factor though. It's not necessarily bad, it's just not what I am used to. Frankly, I don't think anything looks as good as the 1G and 2G iPods. I LOVED that they looked like a stereo speaker and they just seemed very balanced. The 5G (and the ugly 3G) looks too top heavy for me, just from a pure asthetic, and the 4G (which I currently have) is borderline but I love the color UI.
Ultimately, we will all benefit if it is successful as it will a) drive Apple to continue to innovate and, gasp, b) maybe create enough of a stir that consumers begin to demand open standards/compatible DRM after they try to move their music purchased from iTMS onto the Zune.
I think the zune is pretty cool, and it definitly has potential to give the iPod a challenge in the market. However, the fact still remains that unless MS does something drastic like undercut prices, Apples are of updates and upcoming full screen iPod will blow this thing out of the water even if it is more expensive. Maybe the fact that it was released will speed up the release of the true video iPod, who knows?
People fail to appreciate the true genious behind this!
Nobody is going to steal a brown one...
Nobody is going to steal a brown one...
One thing about being an iPod supporter is that you begin to hate anything, and everything, that isn't an iPod. Sure it isn't an iPod, but the Zune has some good features going for it. It isn't a bad unit, and I like the various things you can do with it, so I give it high marks for design, and user friendliness.
Will it succeed? In the understanding that I have, it will only play downloaded music from the Microsoft store. I would suspect you can rip your own CD's and use it that way, but I haven't read that for sure either. So what about the 1.5 billion songs that have been purchased from the iTunes store. None of them will be useable. Ever. Unless of course, you go full circle and hack, but who has time for that. If Microsoft wanted to make this an iPod killer, they should have made it 100% iTunes friendly. If they had done that, there might have been a chance to take a bite out of Apple's dominance in the MP3 player market.
Will it succeed? In the understanding that I have, it will only play downloaded music from the Microsoft store. I would suspect you can rip your own CD's and use it that way, but I haven't read that for sure either. So what about the 1.5 billion songs that have been purchased from the iTunes store. None of them will be useable. Ever. Unless of course, you go full circle and hack, but who has time for that. If Microsoft wanted to make this an iPod killer, they should have made it 100% iTunes friendly. If they had done that, there might have been a chance to take a bite out of Apple's dominance in the MP3 player market.
Both the iPod and the Zune have trade offs. The iPod is thinner but it also has less hardware and capabilities in it. The zune is a brick but has capabilities that the iPod doesn't. there are really only three things keeping be from seriously looking at the Zune.
1. Hard drive size. 30GB is a joke. My 60GB is 9GB from being filled. My next player will have to be 80GB
2. Windows Media Player sucks.
3. OS X support.
#2 from what I understand is going away. There apparently is a Zune player wich may simply be a few front end for WMP. The screen shots I've seen so far look interesting. But 1 & 3? 1 may be solved in the next gen of the Zune but OS X support? Yah right.
the really interesting thing is that this thing supports AAC and H.264. So most of my collection can be migrated over and the iTMS stuff can be cracked if necessary.
1. Hard drive size. 30GB is a joke. My 60GB is 9GB from being filled. My next player will have to be 80GB
2. Windows Media Player sucks.
3. OS X support.
#2 from what I understand is going away. There apparently is a Zune player wich may simply be a few front end for WMP. The screen shots I've seen so far look interesting. But 1 & 3? 1 may be solved in the next gen of the Zune but OS X support? Yah right.
the really interesting thing is that this thing supports AAC and H.264. So most of my collection can be migrated over and the iTMS stuff can be cracked if necessary.
Gave it a positive rating because you kind of expect Steve to whip out the big guns to one-up Microsoft. "Newer is better" and popular to say the least. When the full screen comes out, the 3" is going to look embarrassingly stupid, especially with such a crappy res for a 3" and 4:3 format. 30GB is stupid but the 60/80 one is going to come out. Smart business standpoint Jobs is taking but as a consumer you're pissed.
The talks of the Zune phone is hillarious. Cingular will have to lose their "least dropped calls" thing after the BSOD starts actin up on the phone. Apple should release the iPhone first anyways because it'll establish the standard. With the Apple's aesthetics, there's no way Microsoft can one-up Apple.
I'll give you some positives: I like the UI and the 3G iPod nostalgia. I loved that 3G.
The talks of the Zune phone is hillarious. Cingular will have to lose their "least dropped calls" thing after the BSOD starts actin up on the phone. Apple should release the iPhone first anyways because it'll establish the standard. With the Apple's aesthetics, there's no way Microsoft can one-up Apple.
I'll give you some positives: I like the UI and the 3G iPod nostalgia. I loved that 3G.
iPod Killer?
Well it looks interesting, though a bit hefty. The added features are nice but not something I personally would use. It may offer realistic competition for the iPod but it will do little to harm Apple's market dominacne. After all the iPod is not the best selling MP3 player in the world.
The iPod Nano is and this thing is hardly a competitor for the Nano.
Well it looks interesting, though a bit hefty. The added features are nice but not something I personally would use. It may offer realistic competition for the iPod but it will do little to harm Apple's market dominacne. After all the iPod is not the best selling MP3 player in the world.
The iPod Nano is and this thing is hardly a competitor for the Nano.
- Seems too large
- I dont get the Wifi sharing. Why would I want to listen to random songs strangers send? More likely perverts will anonymously send something abnoxious. Probably viruses too.
- I thought they were going to use Wifi so that you can download songs from the store using area hotsports or at home. If its just for sharing, I'd rather have bluetooth. Could sync up with a Mac or PC via bluetooth, use bluetooth headset. Play music in a car via bluetooth, etc.
Hard to tell how well it will do. I don't think it seems revolutionary. I'm more curious about the iPhone, video iPod or ways to get multimedia into the living room.
- I dont get the Wifi sharing. Why would I want to listen to random songs strangers send? More likely perverts will anonymously send something abnoxious. Probably viruses too.
- I thought they were going to use Wifi so that you can download songs from the store using area hotsports or at home. If its just for sharing, I'd rather have bluetooth. Could sync up with a Mac or PC via bluetooth, use bluetooth headset. Play music in a car via bluetooth, etc.
Hard to tell how well it will do. I don't think it seems revolutionary. I'm more curious about the iPhone, video iPod or ways to get multimedia into the living room.
PetMac said:
I was just at my local apple store an hour or so ago, and I had a chance to take a look at the new nano's. They feel great--significantly better than the previous version--like the old mini. It makes me wish the standard iPod were made similarly.
Was that a built-in radio I saw from the youtube video? One thing I wanted for my iPod was the radio as a built-in feature. Anyone care?
I love the UI. The sharing aspect is awesome and will be a hit, especially on a college campus. I also like the subscription to the music. If you have a subscription, then you can listen to a shared song unlimited amounts. I dig the radio feature. It isn't a new feature, by any means, but I would like to have one on the ipod. I will say, it looks, in the pictures anyway, very cheaply made. The iPod is elegant and looks well made. The zune doesn't. Although, I like the poo color.
timswim78 said:
Probably wont be any new versions of WMP for OSX, Microsoft is already giving you the ability to download Flip 4 Mac. As well as they have no real incentive to give anything to the Apple community, we are gaining market share and trust me they aren't going to give us any help. Ex. (If Windows user Joe looks at an Apple computer and is wanting to part from Windows he theoretically could be tied to Windows via his Zune only working with Windows Media Player which will only be available on Windows)
chukronos said:
A lot of college kids already have iPods, or get a free iPod when they purchase a Mac - plus, they have very little liquid income, so switching to a new player entirely seems unlikely
chukronos said:
Hee hee. You said poo.
In Microsoft's defense, the Zune's essentially a customized Toshiba Gigabeat. I fiddled with a Gigabeat in Akihabara and it was a nice-feeling machine. In fact, it beat out the iPod in a catagorical review on CNet.
I know, it's CNet.
Some more interesting stuff from the BBC
"They put a big screen designed for movies, but there are no movies for it," said analyst Rob Enderle. "That is a design mistake."
Built in to every Zune device is a wireless music sharing system. The short range data swapping system lets Zune owners beam tracks, playlists and images to other Zune players nearby.
Tracks shared in this way can be listened to three times or kept for three days before they disappear.
This ability to share is at the heart of Microsoft's ambitions for the player and the way it hopes to differentiate itself from what it dubs the "closed" world of Apple's iTunes.
With the sharing feature it hopes to tap into the community appeal that has made websites such as MySpace, Flickr and Facebook into huge successes.
It hopes that the tracks people share with friends will lead to extra sales via the associated Zune marketplace. Every user with a Zune account will have a special page on which are listed all the tracks they have shared or have been recommended by others.
Microsoft hopes that the flat-rate, all-you-can-eat pricing for Zune will encourage people to share, recommend and fill out their song libraries.
Early rumours suggested that Microsoft would replicate the iTunes library of anyone signing up to Zune. Microsoft has now said it will not do this."
http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/technology/5348674.stm
"They put a big screen designed for movies, but there are no movies for it," said analyst Rob Enderle. "That is a design mistake."
Built in to every Zune device is a wireless music sharing system. The short range data swapping system lets Zune owners beam tracks, playlists and images to other Zune players nearby.
Tracks shared in this way can be listened to three times or kept for three days before they disappear.
This ability to share is at the heart of Microsoft's ambitions for the player and the way it hopes to differentiate itself from what it dubs the "closed" world of Apple's iTunes.
With the sharing feature it hopes to tap into the community appeal that has made websites such as MySpace, Flickr and Facebook into huge successes.
It hopes that the tracks people share with friends will lead to extra sales via the associated Zune marketplace. Every user with a Zune account will have a special page on which are listed all the tracks they have shared or have been recommended by others.
Microsoft hopes that the flat-rate, all-you-can-eat pricing for Zune will encourage people to share, recommend and fill out their song libraries.
Early rumours suggested that Microsoft would replicate the iTunes library of anyone signing up to Zune. Microsoft has now said it will not do this."
http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/technology/5348674.stm
Puppies said:It's not cheaper. Supposedly it's $50 more.
Even analysts think it's going to flop. Even Dell has already given up, geez
I think the wi-fi thing is stupid, personally. Oh wow, I can be hit by dozens of wifi networks all over the place just so people can listen to a song three times.
Just wait and see it it's more....Bet not. How about this thought...maybe Dell did not give up because they could not compete with Apple....maybe they "gave up" becuase they are getting fully behind the Zune effort. How would a free ( or very low cost) Zune with evey home Dell PC grab you.....
APPLENEWBIE said:
And I wonder how long it's going to take for someone to create a conversion tool to convert iTunes videos (or DVD videos) to the Zune? Probably not long.
The day I got my video iPod, I was filling it with full length movies and TV shows that weren't offered on iTMS.