Zune=Not impressive or innovative at all

Ok I was looking at the zune today, and I realized that it is not, in any way impressive. Its like a mix of current iPod features, and the new features that everyone on here talked about in the future iPods section

Current iPod features:
Photo and video capabilities
Rectangular shape
White and black colors (also brown but how grosss is that)
wheel (what a rip off of ipod)
wheel and screen placement very similar to ipod
uses iTunes

Features discussed on here
horizontal orientation
wireless sharing

Bigger screen means better photo and video. I've seen it, it's better in that regard.

Rectangular shape - Yeah, let's design a hexagonal MP3 player... And make the screen a circle while we're at it.

Brown is the best Zune color, and from the ads I've seen, their flagship.

The wheel is just a D-Pad. No scrolling. Not a ripoff.

Screen on top. Controls on bottom. YOU'RE RIGHT! That is just like an iPod. And cellphones. And laptops. And the rare universal remote with a screen. And every other mainstream technology product from the last hundred years.

The Zune doesn't use iTunes. It's software is worse. This is the one point we agree upon.

And the new stuff. Is new. And, it's the primary aspect of the Zune that Microsoft is counting on to make it popular. If these forums gave Microsoft their ideas, good for them. Go buy a Zune since it has the features we wanted in a new iPod before the iPod itself does. And, for what it's worth, you forgot FM radio.

Edit: Baggss - In my opinion, it's the best looking DAP next to the iPod. As far as size goes, I'm used to my 60 gig iPod Photo, so the Zune doesn't really faze me.

i saw the zune at mejier and it is so clunky and big..the black and blue tint does look good though!

i saw the zune at mejier and it is so clunky and big..the black and blue tint does look good though!

I left that blue tint around the edges out of my earlier post as I thought it may have just been the lighting in the stores. I did notice it though and found it sort of odd. It must be the material they used to make the outer shell. Now if it glowed, that would be cool.

I played with a working Zune at Target today. The interface looked better than any DAP I've seen, and it was easy enough to use. I was constantly trying to scroll the d-pad, though! The big screen made it very readable for me (a big problem with my 4G). The exterior was completely boxed in some sort of security shell, so I couldn't really see what it was like.

Its strange that they've distributed non-functional demo models, though. Target had one of those, too.

It seems like every time someone comes out with a DAP, people rip on it for having common features and a screen over the controls (like every other DAP, but it will be called "copying the iPod"). Get over it! If you like your iPod, that's great...it doesn't mean you have to rip on the competition for having the same features (many of which pre-date the iPod!).

If you want to rip on it, rip on it for the software! ;)

Are Microsoft pushing this player outside of North America? I've no seen no advertisements here at all.

it's only for release in US - europe is slated for sometime mid 2007 apparently and in Aus.....who knows!!

there's baby steps and bad planning - not sure which this falls into right now!

neb,
If we ask Jackonicko nicely perhaps he'll stick his Zune in the post (Ooooer Matron...) and we can play with it (fnurr fnurr) then post it on to the next interested 'lounger'. Will it work on W98?....

it's only for release in US - europe is slated for sometime mid 2007 apparently and in Aus.....who knows!!

there's baby steps and bad planning - not sure which this falls into right now!

I heard '08 for Australia.

out 08 release..by then ipods will be 200gb, bluetooth and everything u need!

I think the real strongpoint is the interface, and 99% of that is directly copied from the Toshiba Gigabeat S, which IMO looks a whole lot better. And instead of being larger, it's smaller than the iPod. It's also cheaper than the iPod.. you can find the 30GB model for $200-ish online.

Check it out.

http://reviews.cnet.com/Toshiba_Gigabeat_S_MES30VW_30GB_white/4505-6499_7-31660763.html

Is still think that microsoft looked inside the box for the zune. Instead of coming out with shocking features no one excpected, they simply improved upon what wa already on the market.

So you're arguing that it's bad, but also that it's an improvement? I guess I'm just confused about what point you're trying to make.

I think the real strongpoint is the interface, and 99% of that is directly copied from the Toshiba Gigabeat S, which IMO looks a whole lot better. And instead of being larger, it's smaller than the iPod. It's also cheaper than the iPod.. you can find the 30GB model for $200-ish online.

Check it out.

http://reviews.cnet.com/Toshiba_Gigabeat_S_MES30VW_30GB_white/4505-6499_7-31660763.html

The Gigabeat is the Zune's predecessor much like the Power Bookis the Macbook Pro's only they didn't brand it Micro$oft. So there really isn't anything wrong with the fact that they copied the Gigabeat, because it's the same people.

The Gigabeat is the Zune's predecessor much like the Power Bookis the Macbook Pro's only they didn't brand it Micro$oft. So there really isn't anything wrong with the fact that they copied the Gigabeat, because it's the same people.

I know that.. I'm just saying that they didn't do anything new with the interface that hasn't already been done in some form before.

I also think the Gigabeat looks a lot better than the Zune.. and it's scratch resistant at the same time. If the S model was out when I was purchasing my mp3 player I probably would have went with it instead of my current iPod. (I was considering the older Gigabeat and the iPod)

Josh

Did anyone else notice that on the back bottom of the Zune it says: "Hello from Redmond"?

You have my address...

Hmm, anagrams....

FART HOLE SMELT LO....

Could it be because this is where the Zune launch party was held and where Bill Gates appeared?

No idea. I find it difficult to understand anything now a days :)

Then you have a 80GB Zune that's the same thickness as the 80GB iPod. It's still a little longer than the iPod, tho.

I don't see how this is possible. As is, the Zune is .6 inches thick. The 80gb iPod is .55 inches... Changing out the hard drive won't make it thinner as I'm sure just changing hard drives doesn't change the thickness of the case. That .05 inches won't change (though likely negligible).

It would also be well over $500.

or about as much as the 1st gen 5GB iPod was. ;)

They are actually selling the 80GB HDD for $240.00, which would make your total purchase, with a $233.00 Zune from amazon.com, just under $500.00 with tax. Still more than the $350.00 80GB iPod, but isn't brown worth it? :D

courtesy of iPodMods (http://www.ipodmods.com/shop/zune-repair-guides.html)

well, I guess there would be a 0.05" difference....worthy of an outcry when the larger player is 30GB, but not when both have the same capacity. A difference of 0.05" is hard to see even looking at them side by side.....

.05 in is || or so wide. (really a little less)

Yes, but not the SAME thickness as the 80GB is all I'm saying.

You're really going to argue over 5/100th of an inch?
That's the thickness of 10 ordinary sheets of paper.

I had the chance to play with a working Zune today. The store had all 3 colors and I have to admit, the brown one does look like a turd. The blue ring around the edge looks especially crappy with the brown, no pun intended. I thought the plastic casing looked rather cheap, more like a toy than a $250 electronics device. I kept wondering what would happen if I bounced it off some concrete once or twice. The iPod looks rather fragile with the chrome and the shiney face, but the Zune looks like you chuck it a brick wall 5 or 6 times, although I suspect doing so once would have the same result as if you chucked an iPod at a brick wall.

The interface IS slick, but not enough to to "WOW" me. Navigation was smooth, and one would hope that third parties start making better themes than the 3 lame ones included. It highlighted the difference between it and the iPod and made appreciate the iPods clean and uncluttered background, a lesson I have learned with my Palm Treo 700P recently too. I always sort of thought a background image on my iPod or Palm would look cool, but after trying it on my Treo and on the Zune, I'm glad the iPod doesn't have it. In short, the background on the Zune didn't endear it me and simply, again IMHO, made it look more cluttered.

I don't see the up and down scrolling as any more intuitive than the iPods scroll wheel, but I don't find it any less intuitive either, it would just require some getting used to after an iPod. I found my self continually trying to scroll it though. I don't like turning it sideways to watch video, I found it somewhat uncomfortable as the ergonomics of the grip change and the control buttons are now turned the other way around and you have to know where they they are or you end up searching for the right one either randomly or by turning the unit upright. That would take some getting used to as well. That's likely not a huge show stopper, but something that could be overcome by having a virtual touch screen interface that would reorientate the buttons when you move the unit between positions. From a design standpoint it sucks, as the user interface is different depending on how you hold it. The screen color was nice, but not any nicer, IMHO, than my iPods screen and I didn't see the larger screen as a real bonus, again because of the ergonomics of holding the unit sideway.

On as side note, a buddy of mine was with me. He also has an iPod that he recently purchased. He was looking at one of them and I asked him what he though, he said he thought the Zune was nice but still said he was happy with his iPod. I asked him why and he said he really liked his iPod because there were a TON of accessories for it, everything he could imagine. His next comment was what sort of made me stop and thing. He said that this was the same reason he had not yet switched to a Mac. I asked him what he meant and he said that he was still using Windows because there was just so much stuff for it. Everywhere you go, there are Windows programs and games but you have to go to certain stores to find anything for a Mac. Now as a long time Mac user my initial thought was, yeah but a lot of that Windows software is crap to begin with. I didn't say it though (which IS odd for me), as he had wandered over to a 20 inch iMac and started playing with it.

His comment got me to thinking and made me wonder if maybe, just maybe, Apple had "out Microsofted" Microsoft in the DAP market? I mean, there are going to be some who find the Zune an excellent player, and there are many fans of Creative and Sandisk, among others, here at iLounge, but if an average guy (my friend) simply thinks that the best thing to go with is the one that has "the most stuff" can MS or Creative or anyone really catch up? Does the iPod have the momentum to simply remain the standard because of so much 3rd party support? Sure there are cases for Creative products, just like there are for the Zune, but how many get made will be directly related to how many units sell. If Creative sold more, there would be more "stuff" for it. The same is true for the Zune. Now to be honest, I'm not sure if I believe that Apple really has "out Miscrosofted" Microsoft in the DAP market, but being a long time Mac user and an early iPod adopter, I had never really looked at this from my friends point of view. Zune sales over the upcoming Christmas season and the next year or so will tell us more, especially when Apple releases "the next big thing".

BTW, the store I was in said they have had the Zunes for a couple of weeks and have sold exactly 2.

I've been spending some time over the past couple of days looking into new MP3 players. The 20GB on my 4G is just killing me; anytime I want to add something I have to delete something else!

Testing the Zune really had me interested in a D-pad, but an mere 10GB extra is not what I'm looking for. So I looked into the 60GB Toshiba Gigabeat S, which I understand is basically a Zune (internally). I checked the mygigabeat forum on the S series.

All I can say is "wow". The main topic of discussion seems to be the manner in which their Gigabeat died (mostly a neverending string of battery problems). If the Zune is anything like that piece of junk, you guys will have a lot more to rejoice about in the coming months!

How much is the 60GB Gigabeat compared to the, I suppose you'd have to say 80GB ipod, since they deleted the 60GB?The Gigabeat is $72 less on Amazon. ($260 vs $332). It would be quite a deal if it was reliable.

I had the chance to play with a working Zune today. The store had all 3 colors and I have to admit, the brown one does look like a turd. The blue ring around the edge looks especially crappy with the brown, no pun intended.

I thought the double shot effect for the brown Zune was yellow or green, and the Black one was blue??:confused:

Here is a review from extremetech.com...never heard of them before...

Linky ( http://www.extremetech.com/article2/0,1697,2061973,00.asp)