Let the games begin. Today at 12 EST (right now), just two days after Apple’s big press show, Microsoft lifts the veil on all things Zune. The Microsofties invited Stereogum (along with all your other favorite MP3 bloggers and old-school media) to Seattle to meet with Zune’s lead marketers and developers, to play with one for a few minutes, and to be among the first to report. How could we resist? We love air travel!
So without further delay, a look at the first sanctioned image of Microsoft’s new baby.
Looks sorta like an iPod, doesn’t it? Well, there are some design differences (longer body, larger, vertically oriented screen, a direction pad in place of the patented click wheel) and some distinct hardware features (wireless!), but here’s the real issue: How curious were you to see the thing? It’s all about the look of the device and what it can do, right?
That’s where Microsoft’s challenge lies. Zune provides a few improvements over iPod but, as much as Microsoft acknowledges the inevitability of a device-based dialogue, its aspirations lay far beyond the unit itself; with Zune, the company wants to redefine the market for purchased music, going from the “closed” system of Apple to an open community — an “army of promoters” ?- changing the way music is discovered (via wireless-device sharing of songs and playlists) and purchased (via Zune’s subscription service).
Before I elaborate on the Zune concept, the marketing strategy and, of course, a detailed report on the device itself, here’s a quick breakdown:
SALIENT FEATURES (OR HOW ZUNE OUT-SPECS IPOD)
- 3″ Color Screen (compared to 2.5″ for iPod) with shifting orientation for music (vertical) and picture (horizontal) playback.
- Wi-Fi Wireless Technology, allowing Zune devices in the same room (distance specs TBA) to beam songs between units (a pillar of their “community” concept), to be used for the lesser of three days or three plays. Zunes can also beam pictures, but there is no Digital Rights Management (DRM) associated with picture files (i.e. yours to keep forever).
- FM Radio reception
- Personalization of screen and wallpaper with user-provided images and pictures.
- Dearth of options. True, it’s the first generation, but having only one model ready for launch, while Apple diversifies to ever-increasing, niche options on every level (from the thumb-sized Shuffle, to the 8 GB Nano Mini [or as we like to say, "Ninny"], to the 80GB for just $350) is not gonna be pretty.
- Limited use of best feature. Zune brings the advance of community sharing, allowing devices to wirelessly share songs. But this won’t mean much when you’re the only early-adopter in the room.
- Weight. From my crude assessment, the 30GB Zune was roughly the same weight as my 60GB iPod (while wearing its hard plastic cover!).
- Loss of iTunes-purchased music. Microsoft has no plans to provide for the conversion of protected/DRM iTunes songs.
- No compatibility with Macs. Obvs.
“We will not look like iPod, nor smell, nor feel.”
This came from the mouth of Chris Stephenson, the Director of Marketing for the Zune project and the owner of four iPods. I sat armed with the most obvious question to ask of someone entering the portable MP3 player (PMP) market: To compete with iPod, you must have identified some weaknesses in its design and function; what are those weaknesses and how did you exploit them with Zune?
The subsequent lecture preempted my inquiry.
“Our goal is to come into the market to create a brand or product in Stage One that competes on the current terms of digital music,” Chris offered. “That is, to have a great device. But that’s only a small part of the vision. We’re much more about connected entertainment.”
The gamble is huge. Microsoft is attempting to transform the market place, to convince users that their approach of sharing and community is the future. It’s a paradigm shift, at a time when the sexiness of iPod couldn’t be greater.
But the Zune device does offer improvements on the iPod model and, according to Microsoft’s numbers, the available market is surprisingly large. Stephenson cited that there are 50 million iPods in 32 million households (meaning there are many multi-unit homes). 20% of iPod users are deeply invested (with the full ecosystem of products, sizes, etc), but the remaining 80% are at a low level of investment; they use PCs, their iPods were gifts, they own an average of 24 AAC files (iTunes-purchased songs).
“Apple as a brand is very strong with media and artists, but the market is much bigger; it’s hundreds of millions, where now only 32 million homes have them. That’s only a small portion in the game, a tiny portion in the digital download space. While there is growth in digital music, there’s only a small investment so far. There’s a huge market opportunity. 95% of the OS base is still Microsoft, so it’s quite robust.”
Microsoft’s initial goal is modest; to be a strong #2, and slowly grow a Zune community to implement their new vision of music discovery and consumption, and their vision of the PMP less as a “device” and more as a “tuner.”
Chris draws an analogy to Hotmail.
“If you have an account, you’re not thinking that you need a computer for your hotmail account, you’re thinking that you need a tuner to get your mail. Hotmail is about information and use, and my music is about my entertainment, not about iPod and iTunes.”
Fortunately for Microsoft, they have a working, successful model for connected entertainment; Xbox Live pulled off a similar marketplace transformation recently. We’re no gamers (too busy with our MP3s), but here’s the gist of what went down when Xbox came on the scene: Sony’s PlayStation was dominant and the kids were content. Microsoft’s solution was to give ‘em what they didn?t know they were missing: a connected-gaming community, replete with online identities (or “tags”). This community thinking revolutionized gaming and, in time, PlayStation was forced to accommodate this new landscape with similar, competitive services.
Just as the first generation Xboxes were built with the hardware necessary to accommodate future advances and enhancements in service, Zune rolls out with the tech specs and updatable firmware to make it all happen. And the plan for Zune is similar. As soon as users access the Zune Marketplace, Microsoft will give them the opportunity to create tags, or identities, and ultimately be able to view friends’ playlists and libraries in order to suggest and share songs with ease.
DEVICE DESCRIPTION
Zune’s first generation is launching with one size option (30GB) in three colors (white, black, brown … the first brown MP3 player?), each in a dulled plastic with translucent coating. The color screen measures 3″ diagonally, and shifts orientation depending on whether you’re listening to music (vertical) or looking at pictures and watching videos (horizontal). The device’s weight is well distributed for each orientation, with a subtle, rear concavity to provide a natural finger-pivot point. The front has one four-way direction button (not a click wheel) and two other functional buttons. (The first thing I did when I got my paws on one was to rub the directional pad like it was a click wheel. Silly muscle memory.)
Zune’s menu navigation is based on the standard hierarchical method that iPod utilizes; their tweak is called TWIST. The device strings the previous menu horizontally across the screen top, keeping everything one click closer (to avoid repeatedly pressing “back” or “menu” to get home). For example, once you’ve selected “Playlists” from the home menu, your playlist titles are listed across the top of the screen, while the contents of the highlighted playlist appear in the vertical space below. Having a larger screen ? and having it oriented vertically ? provides more real estate for lists and information, which makes for less scrolling.
The four-way directional button (center-situated circular button below screen) makes moving through menus and songs easy; press up or down to scroll. And if you hold the button down to speed through your song library, Zune displays a large image of the current letter for ease and speed of identification. And the UI has a cosmetic sheen that iPod has yet to approximate; screens fade in and out as you transition between menu levels. Quite smooth.
Walking through the Zune device will be a breeze to anyone who’s had some experience with an iPod. I played a song (which sounded great, but it was “Saególpur” by Sigur Rós, and that shit would sound live on an 8-track), “flagged” it (as distinct from rating it on a five-star scale, which Zune also offers), looked through photos (which oriented themselves horizontally as I opened them), set one as my personal background, and adjusted the song’s volume — all without needing any hand holding.
WI-FI WIRELESS
Easily Zune’s most distinguishing feature, each unit comes with Wi-Fi wireless sending and receiving capability. Gotta admit, this is pretty hot. With wireless, users can beam songs (or full playlists), album art and pictures to any Zune in the same room (specs TBA). The DRM associated with each music file (regardless of how initially obtained) allows the receiving Zune to enjoy the track for the lesser of three days or three plays. Pictures and album art have no digital rights management associated with them.
Microsoft is hoping to create (and corporately co-opt) the burgeoning network of music sharers and promoters the blogosphere represents; Zune’s wireless capability is the first step.
“We think of Zune as a link to the world, where Apple sees it as closed,” says Chris. “With all due respect, Apple is a very controlled brand. They don’t really have any direct interaction with the consumer or artists. We’re into Web 2.0. The YouTubes, the MySpaces, the user generated content, the creators. We want to facilitate that.”
They’re hoping you’ll grab a track from a friend, enjoy it, flag it (another simple-but-useful function), and buy it from Zune Marketplace when you next synch up. And all of this leads to their hope that you’ll jump on board with their subscription plan.
ALL YOU CAN EAT
“Over time, people will learn to love subscription,” Stephenson said confidently. “People haven’t got it just yet, ’cause the brands haven’t been able to build their brand strong enough. Subscription is a dirty word to some people. Think of it as flat rate programming. Like TiVO,” he said, pausing for effect. “People don’t mind that ’cause they think they’re getting value. Flat rate plans allow people to discover new music at no additional cost.”
That is, no cost in addition to the flat fee you pay per-month to have unlimited access to Zune Marketplace-affiliated labels’ rosters.
“KCRW and KEXP are good ’cause they surprise me with their programming,” he said. “Wireless sharing and subscription plans is just bringing that to life. It’s the community aspect.”
The Zune Marketplace (i.e. the store and software) is similar to iTunes, with the primary differences being cosmetic (color scheme), organization (three primary information columns, as opposed to iTunes’ two), and the Journal feature, designed to manage and track your Zune device’s wireless activity. From the Journal page, users will have a list of the songs that have beamed or flagged, allowing for download from the Marketplace within the same screen. Assuming you’re one that buys music, naturally.
And the Microsofties are self-aware; having seen (and acknowledged the hilarity of) the YouTube spoof of Microsoft’s packaging of iPod, Zune comes in a simple and elegant box; still not as sexy as iPod, but a far cry from that video’s hyperbole. Maybe they’re learning.
ARTIST RELATIONSHIPS
Moving forward, Microsoft is intent is to portray itself as a music-first company. Richard Winn, the Director of Artist Development for Zune, sketched out the vision.
“There are a core group of major artists that sell a lot of music. We want to be in that, great opportunities with major labels and retailers, all very important. The other part is to be what we are ? a real and authentic, connected music company ? we need to be involved with up and coming artists, that mean something to people like Stereogum readers.”
Microsoft will cater to top-selling artists, of course, but they also want to be involved with emerging indie talent — and do so without compromising their integrity. This means collaborating with artists like CSS or Band of Horses (and non-Sub Pop bands, too) and doing everything from providing exposure via track preloads in Zune, to promoting the artist on Zune Marketplace or Xbox, to providing road managerial and IT services (managing MySpace pages, answering fan mail, etc). In exchange, Microsoft hopes to get exclusive content (like concert audio and pictures) and, ultimately, to take some “cool” from Apple.
PARTING THOUGHTS
“You gotta come up with a thin and gorgeous 100GB Zune, ’cause that’s what we music geeks want,” I told Stephenson as we were wrapping up.
“That’s what I want too, baby,” he smiled. “You should sit in our product development meetings. That’s what we all want.”
We shared a laugh, but this jocular exchange highlighted Microsoft’s main issue: for now, developers and consumers alike are united in their desire for the coolest gadget. Community is a great concept, but people gotta have the device in order to enable a community of users. That begins with making a dent in Apple’s device dominance. And that’s a tall order.
Apple is a runaway success; even those around Zune HQ acknowledge iPod’s emergence as a watershed moment in PMPs, as Pong was to video gaming. What Microsoft hopes is that, as with Pong, that advance was only the beginning. The challenges for both brands are clearly drawn: Apple must retain the rogue spirit, fighting like the underdog it was when it launched its foray into the PMP market and continue to innovate, while Microsoft has to convince users that the game has changed, and theirs is the only device that can play it.
Microsoft has introduced features to which Apple must, and will, respond. Wirelessly transferring tracks ? be it device to device, device to computer, or device to music store ? is a logical evolutionary step. Making personal pictures into wallpaper? Sure, why not, that too. But realistically, Zune has a few-months window within which to advance the possibilities their new technology offers; with aggressive marketing and smart management, there is hope for Zune to grow into the profitable, user-friendly community Microsoft envisions. But, as it stands, Apple has the image, the loyalty, and the market share.
Zune is long on ideas, but may be short on time.
Again, I wasn’t the only MP3 blogger out there to play. Check Coolfer, My Old Kentucky Blog, Scenestars, Music For Robots, 3Hive, and Tiny Mix Tapes for more perspectives and coverage.
What do you guys think? Is the 3″ color screen, the radio, and the wireless capability enough to get you to give up your iPods? Do you think the Connected Entertainment Model will work? Will time run out? Does it blow your mind to think of Microsoft as an underdog?
Scott and I are soon departing to Austin for ACL (they still let you bring MP3 players on planes, right?) but, if you have any questions, feel free to fire ‘em off in the comments. I’ll do my best to answer them (or get the info for you).
UPDATE: Zune in action:
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Does it support .ogg? No? No good for me then.
I think this thing is pretty sweet. And being able to send pics back and forth is something kids will love. It is a little blocky but not bad considering it has wifi in it. But I am very concerned with battery life. cant be good. Overall I say Zune looks like a sweet thing but won’t seriously hurt Ipod I doubt.
Microsoft should have mailed you the Zune or should have introduced it regionally in meetings, which you could have driven to. By paying for your flight and hotel, Microsoft lost its credibility; as though it had just zipped up its pants and handed you a “lemon” Sno-Cone. Can we really trust your telling us that it tastes great? Your description doesn’t sound critical in the least.
You can’t say stereogum’s “whored out” to M$, but it’s hardly an objective analysis. It’s just the same as sending out CD promo’s to music mags, except this is more like “let’s lure the bloggers into our nests!”. I dont exactly fancy getting BSOD’s while listening to my music either… All this will do is benifit Apple and the consumer, as Apple will be forced to lower prices and improve, whilst the Zune will burn out in it’s 3rd reincarnation. Mind you, I like the idea of the whole marketplace thing, but they should let you keep the music, at a limit. I’m more likely to buy a cd of a band or an artist after downloading 3-5 tracks than just word of mouth. Something most people do, and the RIAA and their circus act of suing anyone who hasn’t payed to hear a song will understand. Whats next, suing people who are forced to listen to twats playing their processed shit they call “music” on their phones too loud? Gah. I’m sticking with my iPod thanks.
Dudes, the hate? Kinda weird. You can’t fault the Sterogum folks for trying to make a little money. Really. Folks gotta eat and we all “whore” ourselves out to someone or something… but it’s a living.
Yes, it read like a press release and YES the MS guys DO sound like Shooter McGavin, but can we have a semi-serious conversation about this? Better Stereogum & MYKB than the clueless journalismos over at Time, Newsweek, et al.
My question? How many posts in here are MS plants? More than a few it seems… and to them I say nice try kiddies!! Did you learn nothing young Jedis?
3 days, 3 plays? Arbitrary, restricting and marketing all rolled into 1! Brown? Uh, oh ok… did you guys leave that as the last decision and make it at 4 am? Wee WiFi!!! There goes my battery! (Hey, how about someone building that better mousetrap?) Web 2.0? HA! Just like fashion folks: fluid and gone the moment big biz buys in. Built in Radio? I have better taste than radio! What do you think my iPods are? DUDE.FM mofo’s! (now I do get that folks want this, but from what I can tell just for the NPR) Zune a bad word in Hebrew? HAHAHAHAHAHA… f@#king Hilarious. need I go on?
Will it “succeed”… probably a bit, but time will tell. All the problems folks have with their iPods? I promise they’ll have them with the ‘Zune’ (saying that w/ Hebrew accent). it’ll be an uphill battle & MS has a ton of cash to throw down that well so we’ll see… he who hath gets kids, he who hath gets (a little chaos/complexity theory for you there)
Oh and most folks don’t know how to really use their iPods to their full extent anyways…
man, fuck those of you whining about journalistic integrity and selling out. that shit is tired. enough already.
i’d take a free trip to seattle in a heartbeat without a second thought.
plus, the zune info is totally relevant and appreciated (by me at least). even so, i’m sticking with my trusty discman for the time being.
Blogs = advertising. Doesn’t matter if it’s in a ‘Premium Blogad’ in the top right corner, an MP3 that some hip indie label wants us to hear or a plane ride (OOOOOOO! Decadent!) to look at a product only a handful of people will really care about.
I just googled ‘blog paragon journalistic integrity’ and nothing came up – weird.
Hi,
Bill Gates here, I’m glad my new iZune has everyone talking. I like a mass debate.
Personally speaking I don’t really like music, but I like to beat everyone’s asses at everything.
By the way, I just bought the whole internet- not just stereogum, neat huh?
It’s mine, all mine!
Good day.
Bill Gates
PS: I own you.
There is supposed to be a difference between content and advertising. That’s why the blogads are listed as such. I think the point we’re establishing here is perhaps everything posted here, whether a review of an MP3 player, or a band to watch, should be taken with a grain of salt, especially since the line between information and advertising is being constantly blurred here.
ooo lookie: Stereogum quoted by the BBC!
http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/technology/5348674.stm
If you’re put in a room with a “Zune” and you get to use it, you can review it. The above is not a review, it’s a disguised press release, as commented. Was the author told to not even attempt a “first look” criticism? So I’ll give a shot. It’s ugly, too big; the subscription model is a failure for music; comparisons to MySpace, XM, etc. are all taken out of context. Sharing in iTunes is done with playlists, and it works well. No problem listening to others’ music, and corporate servers are doing it every day. 3″ screen won’t be big vs iPod in six months; and it’s too fricking big, clunky, heavy looking, competing with fifth, sixth gen. And iPods work because of iTunes and iTMS, now iTS, and a review or press release of “Zune” that doesn’t bring in the other two components is just…twisted or worthless. Oh, yeah, iTunes is seventh gen. Good luck, MS. Don’t waste your money.
Thx for the info.
The problem I see with subscription services is that they easily become outdated. What if, for example, I have illegally downloaded music on my Zune 1 and can’t upgrade to Zune 2 (the service) because of that? What if a technological glitch screws up my subcription? I LOSE ALL MY MUSIC.
Other features seem ok. Not crazy about the design. Agree that 3 plays over the wi-fi network is not enough.
And people: Stereogum openly admitted they took Microsoft’s invitation to review the Zune before the article began. I am sure they weighed the integrity pros and cons beforehand, and tried to honestly assess the product anyway. No, I do not work for Microsoft. I’ll stick with iPod until Zune 2 or later.
What I wonder is how would it work with your PC. One of the things I like the best about my iPod is actually iTunes. It makes it easy and clutterfree for me to play my music at home. What does this system have? I have a Mac at home so I would never be able to get this anyway.
From Boingboing.net today:
“Microsoft’s “iPod-killing” Zune player won’t play music that’s locked up with Microsoft’s own anti-copying software. Music and movies sold through Napster 2.0, Rhapsody, Yahoo! Unlimited, Movielink and Cinemanow won’t play on the Zune, even though these services are marketed in conjunction with Microsoft’s “Plays for Sure” (AKA Plays for Shit) program. “
Hi,
Bill Gates here,
Just wondering what you all look like naked, seeing as I OWN YOU.
Peace out, slaves, and don’t forget to pick up a Zune with your groceries tomorrow.
Bill x
I can’t say much for the Zune until I get to look at one in my hands for myself, but who on earth doesn’t think brown is cool? That is the most wonderufl hue of any pmp to date. Who ever came up with that gets an A+ (and hopefully, I guess, a raise, too).
The design is actually pretty cool considering it comes from Microshit but this mac vs. windows thing is so old. Guess what Bill, I have a Mac at home and a PC at work and I can use my ipod with both so why should I care about what u r selling?
Fer sure Apple is working on a wireless device, but I would love to see an apple pda/ipod cross someday.
“We’re into Web 2.0. The YouTubes, the MySpaces, the user generated content, the creators. We want to facilitate that.”
Yeah – they’re into killing them off. Is the Zune team just ignorant of what the rest of Microsoft is up to – or are they lying through their teeth?
“I think that a lot of you who are on your fourth iPods or whatever must treat them like shit because mine is still going strong. And now that the new iterations have no moving parts? I think they are going last quite a while. I wouldn’t look to Microsoft (360 anyone?) for reliability!”
Amen. Five iPods here – no problems. My 3rd Gen still works perfectly.
And Microsoft…reliable? I’m so stunned I can’t even laugh at that.
P.S. Brown = “Indie,” dumbasses! I thought you liked “Indie.” OK, well, that’s what Team Zune thought.
Furthermore.. re journalistic integrity, I can’t believe anyone thinks that still exists.I don’t have a problem with stereogum shilling for Microshit. At all. It’s no different from Perez over at Perezhilton getting invited to all the scintillating parties he covers for our reading pleasure.
I went to journo school. How to write a story straight from a press release is one of the first things they taught us.
Don’t see myself buying one of these babies…but thanks for an intelligent, well-written, comprehensive review.
Sad that Microsoft actually think this too little, tool late Zune will do something other than fail.
Stereogum = ZuneLounge
Thanks for the GOOD review (despite the haters). Mac blogs have been wishing for wifi for a while, and people mock MS for beating them to it? A little hypocritical. I like that at least one company will give me a chance to sample friends’ music without having to plug in while they play it for me.
Personally, I like the appearance. It looks like an iPod with some trim, a bigger screen, and a better GUI. I agree that brown is bizzare, but the Black is pretty sweet. I’ll consider upgrading to that.
going wireless is not an option actually for Microsoft cause the next upgrade for the iPods will definitely have wireless capabilities. Problem with Microsoft’s Zune is that it needs ‘an iTunes like of service for the iPod’. If it can somehow integrate iTunes and actually get people to buy music through iTunes and then copy them to the Zune, then i think half the battle is won. As for movie or video downloads for that matter, Microsoft has got as much chance as Apple to succeed.
Another thing that come to my mind:
why not have the Zune ability to connect to the Web wirelessly ? It would be ‘ultra cool’ to listen to ‘streamed radio’ from such sites as Yahoo etc and listen it ‘real time’ on the Zune as opposed to downloading the music and then copying it to the Zune.
And one more thing:
The zune has got a nice screen. Perhaps in the future Microsoft would upgrade it to include a video input port ? Why ? Microsoft would then get someone to build a portable gaming console sans screen but with all hardware ability to play games. Think of it as a PSP or DS without screens. We would then connect the rig to the Zune via the video port to output all the graphics to the Zune and then play games on it ! That would be cool. Anyway that’s my 2 cents worth of opinions.
* 12 hour battery life is way to short
* WIFI is good only if it can connect to internet while I travel on the road
* Need document viewer
* Touch screen …..
Bottom line: PDA+100G at $250 is great
More from boingboing on this piece of technoshit:
“The new Microsoft Zune player (their soi-dissant “iPod Killer”) applies DRM to all the files you move onto it, even the Creative Commons-licened music. The problem is that CC licenses prohibit this. What’s more, CC licenses are machine-readable and could, theoretically, be detected by Microsoft, if they cared enough about copyright to ensure that they were adhering to the license policies set out by creators.
There currently isn’t a way to sniff out what you are sending, so we wrap it all up in DRM. We can?t tell if you are sending a song from a known band or your own home recording so we default to the safety of encoding. “
I just cant understand why so many people are having a go at Stereogum…all they did, was bring u informaition, and you are are angry that they accepted a flight from microsoft. If you wrote one of those comments like that think to yourself, “would i accept a free flight?” its free, and its a trip. Id accept a trip like that; who cares who is paying. The journalism in this article is good; it is purely to tell people about the Zune, so how about comments relate more to ‘zune’ then to what you think of stereogum. if u dont like them, dont use the site, simple!
So… am I still the only one who listens to cassettes on an original Sony Walkman? Sure, my Glass Tiger and Journey tapes are a little worn out, and there’s no shuffle mode (unless you count my old Middle School mixtapes). But at least I don’t have to worry about “upgrades” or “Linux support” or “Digital Rights Management”. Portable tape players are TOTALLY the future.
It’s seems like people are using this as a means to vent about the current state of the blog world. Not long ago it was the bloggers pushing boundaries, saying fuck you corporations we have power in numbers with our independent voice online. Making posts purely because that’s what they were interested in, or at least wanted to tell others about. Then a select few blogs attracted enough viewers to distance themself from the other also-rans. With the realistic ability to make some side money from ads on their blogs many put them up, no big deal. But now blogs are at the next step, they’re so big that the owners can live off the money from revenues. It’s a little dissapointing what has happened to blogs, from being one of the first ways to reach a global audience no matter who you are, but like anything, they have evolved. So if you’re really that upset about this post, you could always move on to one of the other 10,000 blogs out there that don’t have advertisements.
Stereogum has jumped the shark.
Keep collecting those frequent-flier miles Scott. You lost one of your daily readers here.
First the color: It looks like dropped out the back of a cow.
Last, the name: Zune? Maybe the thing should be called Zover.
(As in itZover)
“I just cant understand why so many people are having a go at Stereogum…all they did, was bring u informaition, and you are are angry that they accepted a flight from microsoft.”
Is Stereogum going to review new iPods in such extreme detail from now on? How about Toshiba, or Creative players? Sony?
Idolator was right…
Do we really want another catalyst device/temptation [Treo] that satisfies neurotic urges to fidget? I’ll pull out that badboy to check for potential cool samples everytime I spot a dude with weird bangs and a bad attitude within 50 feet of me.
I’ll be carrying my blackberry and zune to the pharmacy to fill my increased Aderol prescription.
Best case scenario: “to zune” a term of endearment involving scaning a PMP within a designated distance of another person- de facto declaring that person culturally/socially relevant.
Good Lord, those of you who think a brown electronics device is “cool” need to time warp back to the early 80s and have at it–everything was brown then. It was bad then, ITS BAD NOW. Sadly enough I’m sure you won’t be able to jack your Zune up to that lovely brown Commodore 64 of yours and lovingly print out those lovely Zune pictures on your dot matrix printer. . . . .. . . .. .
X X O O
Miss Vicious Vixen (I-Love-the-80s-while-snuffed-out-on-Coke) Mission Stardust
BOO
WHAT? No click wheel? That?s the feature that makes the ipod such an user friendly player – it?s easy to use, intuitive, responsive and fast. MS will have to do something amazing to match that experience without it. It would be a hard sell otherwise for me. I?d rather wait for a second version of Zune.
(and I am not an Apple die-hard? I just choose what I like best).
Yes, I have not seen it yet. My opinion is based simply in what I’ve read. It may change once I see it – and the only Apple product I have is an ipod.
Speaking of Apple, they should start moving more to consumer electronics area. I’d like to see Apple stereos, Apple TVs… bringing these closer to real software applications with killer UIs and simple to use. E.g. air tunes.
not even going to bother with the rest of the comments.
all of you bitching about stereogum falling out or whatever for doing this review and saying you just deleted stereogum from your favourites, you dont deserve stereogum anyway. you guys do realize this is a music blog trying to deliver to you the latest in music? and zune is an mp3 device developed by microsoft, the strongest tech company in north america?
stereogum’s here to deliver you news, and that’s what he did. and i didn’t see any of you bitching when stereogum did a whole thing about apple.
it’s a great review. thanks for taking the pain to get on a 7 hour flight to seatle to get this info to us, scott.
It’s not a great review. A great review would have said: “It has DRM. It is shit.”
No one made any money out of MS and all you winers have obviously never had to fly anywhere for *WORK*. FFS get over it and grow up.
But if you really want a sneak peak at one of these or the battery life then get a Toshiba Gigabeat S series, cause that is basically what this is.
As usual, this Stereogum post and it’s comments have been both educational and entertaining. Keep up the good work SG!
>>Is Stereogum going to review new iPods in such extreme detail from now on?
Might want to see this, Billy K (linked in the beginning of this review).
http://www.stereogum.com/archives/003356.html
Seens they already did.
If the Zune was already on the market I wouldn’t be cynical about this “blog.” However, it’s isn’t and I am. This was a transparent attempt to steal some of apple’s thunder with their new generation of iPods. “Whore” sounds like the right word.
Well, not developing the software to enable Zune to work with OS X means I can’t have one, even if I wanted… not a smart move when they need all the customers they can get; but then again we all know an iPod works much better with OS X than Windows, and Zune probably wouldn’t convert many OS X/iPod users anyway.
I see no use for the Wi-Fi features, and the community that Microsoft hopes to build from it; I never understood the MySpace movement; if I want to interact with my friends I’ll go see them, ring them, email them, IM them… not leave a message on a webpage, and forums are a much better way of connecting to like minded people. Saying Microsoft wants to be a part of all that crap really puts me off what could be a good feature… but I won’t lose any sleep over not having it.
I like my radio; I even spent a year working in radio, but I’d rather it be a low cost add-on (like the Apple remote) than built in, increasing the devices size and weight… but there have been worse crimes :p
Personalizing the interface: excellent; I don’t see why Apple didn’t include this option with the first iPod Photo, but on the Zune? Anything to make it luck prettier is a bonus, but I doubt it will change the fact the Zune is pretty harsh on the eyes. I know it’s not much different to the iPod, with the minimal buttons, and wheel formation under the screen, but it just doesn’t look right. The wheel buttons look tacky, and the lack of markings doesn’t help the user one bit. The black border around the screen/wheel makes it look cheap and old fashioned, and why are the two extra buttons in a different style to the others? I think they need to pay their designers a bit more next time.
If I recall correctly (and I do), everyone poo-poohed the iPod when it launched. It’s refreshing to know that, six years later, uninformed opinion is alive and well
My official position: Interesting. Let’s see how it does in the market.
Will the Zune come preloaded with anti-virus software? Or, will it be a “hit reboot” every few minutes like the rest of Microsoft’s products?
Whether Zune does well or not will depend, in no small part, to the media hype, Microsoft’s ability to produce a quality (competitive) Zune ecosystem, and the public’s perception of differentialtion between Zune and iPod.
As of now, the over 75% of the public has spoken, LOUDLY and Repeatedly, about the type of MP3 player it wants. Its called an iPod. No radio. No subscribtion service. 2.5″ color screen is OK. Price points from $79 to $349. Capacity from 1GB to 80GB.
The public has also spoken about the way they want to download music and videos. That’s, now, called the iTunes Store. In the US and the other 21 countries where the store is available, it is the #1 legal download site.
It remains to be seen if enough of the public will be as enamored with Microsoft’s Zune vision.
Microsoft Zune (F#@K in Hebrew) I am not one to say if something will flop or not. I agree that the music sharing thing is kinda’ cool but knowing people who deal with Microsoft they will find someway to hack this thing and share music more than just to play it three times. I mean it’s a Microsoft product. Can you say DLL hell and corruption. I can see artist having a problem with this thing in the long run if it really kicks off. To have a Microsoft product capable of communicating with another is just a bad idea. I don’t want to have a network with a Microsoft product. I just don’t… No!
I half-expected an overblown UI on Zune, in the device and in the online store.
So far, from what I’ve seen, Microsoft has learned to keep it clean and simple.
How applish of them – they’ve learned what works for iPod, and added Wi-Fi, FM, and larger screen.
iPod will dominate for a while yet, but I think Zune brings something real and interesting to make it eventually a two-player market.
- frabgod
http://www.Zunerama.com
c’mon guys some of you are ipod diehards. Ipod sucks. It can’t even transfer music files from ipod to the pc unless you have a specialized software whereas other mp3 players such as creative, mpio can transfer music files to and fro functioning as a flash drive. The point of ipod ruling the mp3 player is more hype. MP3 formats still rule the market and not the aac format. Ipod is fast becoming obsolescent. I hope zune could do justice without limiting the capacity to transfer mp3 files to and fro. MP3 rules and not aac or wma.
Gosh, some of these comments are ridiculous! Some of you just take this iPod vs Microsoft stuff too seriously.
Having said that, I really don’t think Zune stands a real chance for mass market success. A few simple reasons account for this …
1. Microsoft, a company which produces software with relative success, has a tendency to want to muscle in with competing products in other markets, often spending millions of dollars and gaining very little other than the ability to say “we offer something for that market too.” But do they develop killer products? Is Microsoft’s own core Windows market very content with Windows and very loyal to the Microsoft brand itself? Not really, when many die-hard Microsoft Windows users I know are just as happy to own an Apple iPod or shun MS’s XBOX 360 for a Sony PS2 & PSP.
2. Microsoft preaches openness and freedom from controlling formats, but has never practiced what it preaches. The Windows Media format itself is a closed format – it’s just that because 95% of the world have Windows Media Player on their Windows PC that it APPEARS to be open. (And as for Windows media file format quality?? I say Apple’s cross-platform free-to-use QuickTime media offering wins hands-down!) Being dominant is Microsoft’s greatest weakness, in my opinion, as the company rarely takes any risks on its own. When has Microsoft last been the FIRST to take a risk with an entirely NEW device in the marketplace? Since DOS itself all those years ago, Microsoft’s strategy has been to copy other company’s successes with poorly researched “me too” products with very little innovation. And remember, it was a fatal mistake on Apple?s behalf that was mostly responsible for Microsoft?s success with DOS and Windows.
3. Independent research says it time and time again: People want to OWN their music, not rent it. That’s what the spirit of the iPod is all about. Carrying the music you OWN with you wherever you are. Are people really willing to trust yet another company who is hoping that in a moment of weakness, the greed of thinking having access to unlimited artists at once beats the ability to own forever just the music one likes? Are people REALLY willing to commit to pay for music every month, and lose all access to it if Microsoft’s high ambitions turn out to be over-hyped and the company’s strategy focusses elsewhere in years to come? (Where?s mycokemusic today?) The strength of the iTunes store at present is, I think, that people get to keep what they buy and they know they can at least burn tracks they buy to CD with reasonable audio quality if all else fails. The quality of tracks from the iTMS isn’t excellent, but it’s good enough for the majority to take a risk, knowing that should Apple abandon the iTMS one day, they still have something left that they own and can burn to CD. Plus, the iTunes Store is cross-compatible with Macs and PCs, unlike Microsoft’s Zune offerings that keep people tied to Windows only. Now I ask you, who is preaching openness and who is actually practicing it?
4. Apple’s iPod offerings are in market maturity, offering Apple the advantages of increased brand loyalty and trust (people who buy one iPod are more likely to buy another), high market share and the company?s ability to further innovate in software and hardware technologies already established on a solid base. While many people hate DRM, most people think Apple’s DRM policies are fair enough. And besides the ad-supported free music business models recently in the news there really hasn’t been anything out there that has been a true alternative.
5. I think Microsoft’s Zune will cause an initial media flurry as with the crop of products the company released in other established markets over the past few years. And there will be those who jump ship to these products, in the belief that big companies are seemingly on their side and it’s better to go with the biggest company because the risks of product failure is smaller. That may, to an extent, be true. But, I think people who opt for this way of thinking shouldn’t expect the products they buy to be the most innovative or having the biggest concern for end-user satisfaction. This is because history constantly shows companies who get too big become elephants in a sense, often lacking the agility and energy to remain innovative. Buy a Zune if you must, if you’re happy with what it offers you for the foreseeable future. But if you want a product that will continue to lead in innovating the market with newer technologies, Apple’s next iPod is a safer bet. It may cost more, but you’ll be paying extra for a better product overall.
It all depends on what people want their products to be for them and how loyal they are to the brands of the companies that produce the products ?
Apple iPod (high brand loyalty associated with innovation, risk factor moderate as iTunes is cross-platform and tracks can be burned to CD, research shows people prefer owning music)
Microsoft Zune (brand perceived as ‘me too’ with unimaginative products outside core markets, people don’t like renting music, “open format” company spin can be challenged in practice, Microsoft brand is way un-cool in perception because it rarely produces killer innovative products and is often willing to sacrifice product design quality for dominant market share and control, produces ‘me too’ products that are okay for some people who seek no more)
There’s nothing weak about it, check out the side by side stats and comparison. Zune is ahead by margin
I read from bbc website that Zune players will be able to store music ripped from CDs stored in iTunes. Is this true?
Amrit, of all the writeups I’ve done research on, yours the best and the comments that followed were awesome.
Thanks!
I’ve had a video mp3 player for years now – it’s called a pocket pc and it does far more than Zune or any iPod to date. I guess I just don’t get all the hype over such limited trendy products.
To drop a bucket into an empty well. Dudley.
To drop a bucket into an empty well. Dudley.
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Classical singer Russell Watson postpones his forthcoming UK tour after undergoing brain surgery…
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First off, Zune marketplace works like Xbox Live marketplace, you use points not dollars, you purchase a set amount of points and then buy music or whatever, 79points = 99cents…. $5 gets you 400points i think. Microsoft has already stated that they want there system to be used for all digital media and they are going to do whatever to get to that end.We all know that if gates had his way mp3s would not exist, instead WMA would be the standard, and i dont think that has changed, I would love to know if the new zune supports it and when and how they are going to phase it out.
This all seems to be Microsofts way of getting a piece of a pie they had know idea was this profitable . may they stumble just as bad with this as with MSN music store.