Microsoft just needs to learn how to advertise...they ignore the apple ads bashing vista and they do nothing to push the Zune...i know people that think if they dont buy an ipod there music wont play...thats right the world out side giz is scary and backwards...in all seriousness if you want to sell your product you have to advertise and Microsoft does not do that well...by the by I am a big Microsoft fanboy...I just think the do a terrible job of informing people of their products..

shakes

That's their plan?

LMMacAO!!!

MINI Driver

I was debating between either a 16 GB Flash Zune, or a new Nano. I finally decided to stick with the Zune. My 30 GB's battery is simply unacceptable, and I need to upgrade. The 80/120 is overkill for how much memory I need, and they're too bulky. I think a 16 GB Flash will do just fine... Can't wait to pick one up soon :D

hyewarrior

The Zune is a great music player. No doubt about it. They need an ipod Touch type device to really make us go "Woah".

Unknown2U

hmmm... by the time these babies got the buying power..
i think ipod will already got their hands on the zune's proudly wifi-sharing thingy :)

y not try to focus on other countries/area that hasn't been tentacle-raped
by apple... i think they still exists at least they can call it zune-country :P

zchen

I was 2 seconds from buying a Zune 80 but then Apple dropped the price of the iPod touch. I picked up the last generation for $279, which is only $30 more than the Zune. I know, I know, it only has 16 GB compared to 80, but 16 GB is more than I even need. I only have about 11 GB of music on it.

However, I'm probably an exception. Most people want as much space as possible, and between HDD players I would have chosen the Zune hands down. So there's hope for Microsoft. I don't think Apple's going to cut too much more into their own profit margins.

coketown

I've seen babies stick their hands in their own shit so this report does not surprise me.

I kid I kid, the zune is a fine mp3 player

thechansen

Babies will gladly waddle through their own throwup. So...uh..yeah

Kaiser-Machead on the Edge

@ZetaCrossfire: OMG there's a baby commenting on the Giz!!

Guy_Whitey_Corngood

<3 my 80 gb zune

ZetaCrossfire

@shakes: That's one thing Apple can do right: advertise. Not saying that their ads aren't misleading at all (sick of Mac fanboys spitting that hogwash out constantly — "it just works!").

Kymeira

Are you serious? What more does the Zune need to do, shoot laser beams? I mean, it does what an iPod does (not the touch stuff, the squircle feels pretty good for control), but it has a better interface for navigation. Why does the article have to be written in this biased tone?

Sohn was on the right track, if Zune and iPod were coming out at the same time with no previous history or grip on the market, then the Zune I think would be the preferred choice of many. So if all the features mentioned were just gravy, then the iPod must be dry indeed.

Yet such a big deal was made of the iPod nano going back to thin and moving its album cover art from the side. I mean seriously.

burnblue

the music sharing feature is kind of cool - and I agree, it won't be long until Apple sticks it on the iPod.

Let's face, just because MS is generally lame - doesn't mean every idea they come up with has to be.

tidybowl

Nothing can make us go Waoh! anymore. It's just like the internet....same boring stuff. Everything has been thought of. Until the iPod or Zune can make me breakfast and read me my RSS feeds, then any new features are blah.

slaughter33

"only one groundbreaking feature in the last two years: WiFi access. Everything else-social networking, FM radio, song identification-is like gravy on a filling, but ultimately boring, plate of mashed potatoes."

Wow, but the iTunes 8 GeniusBar feature has knocked our pants off? and what 'features' are added to iPod nano and classic?

VasiS

Did he really say that? Oh wait. That is possible. I mean they can sell that POS at a loss forever without feeling the financial burden. Eventually Apple will run out of new stuff, and Zune will sell super cheap. They have plenty of cash to burn every quarter guaranteed. So... yeah now you see why there is some truth in that.

Ken_Darrow

The only thing that's stopped me from buying a zune is their DRM policy. The idea of being able to transfer songs to other devices or zunes with wifi is sweet. Having a 3 play max even on user created songs when transfered is BS though.

Oh and the fact you can only use the zune media player when hooked up to your computer instead of winamp or media player of VLC or anything I want....

All I want is a small, light portable hard drive which plays music and video and can transfer files with no BS. Too much to ask?

(I realize I might be complaining about things which could have changed. I looked into buying one about 6 months ago and never looked back.)

RyaninCalgary

@burnblue: exactly. how much more can zune possibly have? their new firmware has FM tagging, that's freaking sweet.

AlexLand

yeah... it may take Microsoft 10-15 years to figure out how to design the damn thing so it looks decent

Babies! Hang on! Plz don't get an iPod before you're 10!

Raidah

First of all... babies choose everything. I actually think that a baby would choose a set of plastic colored car keys over a Zune. Shows what babies know!

Second, it's a good thing that babies have all that money to buy these things, huh?

Third, to everyone saying "the Zune is better, iPod sucks!!!", that may be true, but it's all Microsoft's fault for not being as good of advertisers as Apple. It doesn't matter if the Zune was actually better or 10x better than the iPod, they don't have the incredible advertising that Apple does.

Lastly, I've used a Zune and thought it was pretty horrible compared to an iPod... so could this possibly be my OPINION coming into play? Something that would make me think the iPod is clearly superior and yall think the Zune is superior? Yea... possibly so. I'll just look at the sales figures to see which is better.

ttech10

Stupid babies need the MOST attention!

strider_mt2k

@strider_mt2k: "Kids love that water"

Kaiser-Machead on the Edge

@RyaninCalgary: I head people kvetch about the 3 play max, but is that really something that worries you? The song doesn't disappear after that, so if its a free track, it'll still help you remember to google and grab it later on. The Zune-to-Zune sharing really isn't core functionality.

As for having to use the Zune software -- you only HAVE to use it for syncing. If you want to use Winamp or WMP or Mediamonkey or whatnot to play and manage your music, go right ahead. Zune will watch the folders and read the metadata just fine for those times when you want to sync. That said, the Zune software is actually pretty darn nice, and will only get nicer with 3.0 on Tuesday. It's still weak for video use, but it's an excellent music organizer.

typoink

@RyaninCalgary: Isn't it obvious they'd have to lock it down? If they offered open access to all MP3's, then you'd have everyone swapping songs, legitimate or not, and there goes a decline in overall sales of both the CD medium and digital MP3's.

The record companies would probably pull their content out from the Zune Marketplace to voice their frustration, etc. Which would kill the Zune Pass subscription business model. In the end, MS would sell many Zune's, but not make much overall revenue.

I do agree on the the fact that you need to use Zune Player is lame, but such is the case with Apple. Best go with Sandisk/iriver for that. But their point is to make a platform that works with their models. How many Sandisk/Insignia/Sony/iriver players can you name out of memory right now? Probably not too many, since they release quite a few variants that no one really cares. MS/Apple releases a model and stands behind it in limited quantities.

Gurrchan

It took me one minute to notice the zune in the picture, damn baby...

unkpku