The Digital Home Video: Do we really need a Zune?

Microsoft dropped the price of the Zune and I can't help but wonder if anyone really cares. I don't.

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[KevLeviathan]

I'd have to disagree with a few points - the Zune is not only a fair bit cheaper than the iPod, but it is also more feature rich than the iPod (excluding Touch / iPhone). For somebody looking for a great little flash player, the Zune might be the best on the market. Their social integration features and Zune Pass is really fantastic.

Although I do agree that the iPod is so firmly glued ontop of it's little pedestal that nobody will be knocking it off for a long time.

[noevalley]

Zune made the initial mistake of coming to market near the price of an Ipod. That was their opening, to come to market under the IPOD's and compete both on price & features. Now MSFT has wasted a couple of product cycles . I think the Zune can still prosper , perhaps outside the USA. They will need to come up with some innovations. I wouldn't hold my breath. If i were Zune i would cut the prices on the low end ZunePods .. Maybe forge an alliance with the phone companies that compete against IPHONE. Buy and phone and get a zune too..

[G_Slade]

Im currently in the market for a high capacity player that can play lossless audio. So basically thats either the ipod classic or the zune. I think the zune is better, it has a greater functionality with the radio and wi-fi. They both force you to use their own software, which is a bad thing in my mind. Iriver got it spot on years ago with the IHP-120, just drag and drop like adding files to an external hard drive, why this hasnt been adopted as the standard i dont know. The zune also integrates with my xbox 360.
the both look cool, the battery life is roughly the same on each. If only microsoft sold the zune in the UK. But as they dont, im forced to become a drone in apples empire.
once you take a bite out of the poisoned apple, its not long before your working on a macbook, watching tv on your apple tv and talking to your friends on your iphone about how great apple is.

[marcobw]

I just bought a new Zune 120 and it kicks iPod's #$%!!! I'm living Apple free now and life is good!

[aztec92154]

Its not tough to live Apple free - its tough (if not impossible for most techies) to live Microsoft free.

[tipoo_]

If they drop the price on the 80 or 120, i will certainly snap one up.

[QuinlansMamaMia]

I respectfully disagree on several points. Currently, the Zune line is competitively priced with the iPod line, and the Zune offers a number of features that the iPod does not. The Zune features FM radio, wi-fi, social integration, XBox integration, a user-friendly store that does not resemble a spreadsheet, the ability to link to multiple computers, free upgrades for all-gen owners.

As a consumer who has owned and enjoyed both an iPod and a Zune (and I wonder if reviewers can make the same claims), I assure you that the Zune is a competitive product.

[ducttape36]

heres my issue, the zune beats the ipod classic hands down. there is no question. they ahve the same price, they have the same capacity, but the zune has more features. period. sure itunes has the largest store, but who cares? if i want to find rare artists ill look on ebay for used cds. aside from extremely obscure artists, zune and itunes have roughly the same selection. but zune does have an unlimited subscription service that lets you keep 10 songs a month forever.
when you start talking about the ipod touch, thats not a device that makes music a priority. it has less capacity than a hard disk player but still all the bulk. as an mp3 player, it is the worst of both worlds. the reason its so successful is because of all the other ************. so really i see it more as a pda in that regard. saying people dont care about zune is the same as saying people dont care about music players, since zunes have more options for music lovers (subscription, radio, etc). people care about these al-in-one devices now.