Comments on: 120GB Zune coming to a store near you

The device, which was just recently confirmed to be in the works by Microsoft, has popped up on a store shelf in Atlanta.

[David Dudley]

As nice as the features argument is, it simply does not equal sales. A Creative Labs player also feature for feature is better on paper than the iPod, yet it still garners very meager market share versus the iPod. Even if the Zune has 1,000 more features, users only use very few of them and again, even though the new Zune has 120gb, often times load very little music on their portable music players. The 120gb Zune is fine for the small part of market - the few people who push the storage limits of their devices, but again, that is a small part of the market. The average consumer cares about a few simple core aspects it seems: 1. is the device cool in the minds of their friends, 2. is the device good looking, 3. is the device easy to use. There are other contextual things that customers care about, such as the surrounding ecosystem (eg: accessories, speakers, stereos, car integration, etc.), but for the most part, the core aspects are what makes a product sell. If you think that the average consumer knows what xvid vs divx vs WMA is, you're highly mistaken.

[kksing]

Fully agree.

This is where Creative lost the MP3 player wars to iPod. While Apple made the thing look good (bugger the technical stuff like battery life, etc), Creative made a techno-geek's device, big, chunky & loaded with features.

Frankly, I believe that the challenge to iPod will not come from Microsoft or Creative. Apple's bogeyman will be Sony, if they ever feel inclined to move into this market in a big way. Before Apple, Sony had long mastered the art of form over features (look at their old Walkman/Discman lines, & their current Vaio notebooks). In fact, their current Walkman line of PMPs look really good and sexy and are one of those who can make the iPod look just a bit dowdy.

If they decide to move more aggressively in this area and, say, open a SonyMusic shop & pull their catalogs from iTunes, you would think they would really give iPods a real run for their money. However, I doubt it. The future is in convergence devices (MP3 player, mobile phone, web device) and with higher market penetration, I believe PMP is a sunset industry. I won't be surprised if this is one of the reason Apple made the iPhone.

[imxianx]

i love my zune. i have a ton of stuff on it. movies. music. i put all the music i want on it and i can download music from it to my computer. ive dropped it more times i want to admit and never had a problem. oh and i have a first gen zune. its amazing but they have this amazing thing where you can make the old one act like a newer version. i think they call this "updating" its very useful. it means i dont have to go spend hundreds of dollars to everytime they make a new gen. oh and my 30 gig cost way less than any ipod. but then again, apple has to spend all that money to make things shiny and make pretty commercials.
btw, i think archos is awesome. and if you buy the adapter that makes it a portable dvr, then you never are bound to any tv show times.
its funny how apple people are blinded by the white. if you like apple, then great, but why do you have a problem with anyone else.

[AndrésB]

What is a "Zune" again?

[ev61]

I really like Zunes, too bad my receiver, car stereo and clock radio are all designed for ipods...

[CrashPad63]

The cord for the Ipod on your car stero should work with the Zune.

[trkwkr179]

Sweet, I'm gonna' wait till after the 9th to see what the new ipod lineup is. Then, which is what I expect to do, I'm gonna get the new Zune 120!!!! Screw Cowon also!!! Only Sony, if they release a player w/a 3" or better screen + maxing @32gb, could sway me in their direction. Well, Samsung w/the P3 & 32gb would do the trick also!!!

[bronzemedal97]

What's wrong with Cowon... not popular enough for ya?

[bajanx]

Zune rocks! Much better player than the iPod. After seeing my 80 in action already 3 guys at my job have converted and another is on the fence. Audio Quality is also superior to iPod which is one of the reasons they are switching also. Oh and it doesn't hurt that we all own the Xbox 360, itergrates well. Other than the touch the iPOD gets owned by the Zune. HANDSDOWN! My2cents.PS Zune rated best player for Podcasting, got to be a kick in IPOD's ballz.

[bronzemedal97]

My GOD, the Apple fanboys are out in droves.

[Randum311]

so, does this mean if you bought a 80gb a few weeks ago, you can upgrade to the 120gb?

[onlyauser]

Zunes are fine but boring...it is a player folks...iPods are fin but boring...I have both

Both work fine and pretty much do the same thing just fine.

It is kind of like how it would be with either McCain or Obama as president. They both cover the same walls the only difference is they are different colors of wall paper. Once they get in the Oval Office or your pocket all of them pretty much do the same thing.

[MarcusOLT]

WOW a 120GB Zune and I don?t even want my Zune 80GB and let me tell you why.

The Zune is actually a great device. Except that the software is soooo clunky. I am actually afraid to sync my songs because it takes sooo long. I am not sure why people complain about iTunes because iTunes is beyond very user friendly & very customizable. I actually wish they kept the Zune 1.0 software & felt the 2G upgrade just wasn?t needed. Or they could have just let people use Windows Media Player as a syncing alternative. Adding album art is probably one of the biggest hassles and it?s a pain the software doesn?t automatically look for album art like iTunes. Also syncing songs can take forever. I have movies that i sync as well & after it took so long to sync songs i decided to not even bother syncing my movies. When I first got my Zune I had to leave it for almost 10 hours before it synced all my content but after it took so long I decided to not port over all my movies. Which is such a shame because i have all these free GBs now that i can never use.

If someone out there works for MSFT, please hear my CRYS and REDESIGN the ZUNE software so it?s exactly like iTunes but the MSFT touch!!!!!

MSFT is just such a MESS lately. They even messed up Windows Mobile 6.1. Nobody even wants to use the Windows User Interface.

MSFT you gotta listen if you wanna be in the MP3 market. Please listen to the consumers.

[hnavp66]

I had the same experience with my video transfers, however, the file format you use makes all the difference (MSFT I had to find this out by accident!). I started using the WMV format for video and the files transferred nearly instantly (it's much faster). Previously I was using MP4 which was screamingly slow). Go WMV and watch your Zune update in a couple of minutes (if that long). Video tools such as from AVS Media (google it) make conversion a snap. There are also free alternatives on download.com, though make sure you read the comments and/or review if you go free.

For music the MP3's transfer no problem on Zune. Adding Alburm art is much easier these days and if your file is named correctly (say, if you download your MP3s from file sharing sometimes they have funky naming schemes), the Zune will find your album, but you can also use a search tool built into the new Zune software that makes finding the precise album pretty easy.

Also, I agree with Mobile 6.1. In fact, I'm ready to move on to Blackberry or Palm to get away from it. Alarms that go off randomly. Sometimes the phone rings, sometimes not. Lame.

[kboateng]

The zune does have better features than the Ipod...I don't know when it became cool to be like everyone else and all look the same rocking a product that's only as good as the name brand. Let's be serious here...the Ipod has not offered anything decent in terms of features since its inception. And if you want to mention the Iphone lets not forget they not only stole the idea from LG's Prada but it's been plagued with issues and looks just like the Touch so no one can tell the difference. To top it off it is on a horrible network! I love my zune and will get the 120gb version as well, and I love my Verizon Wireless where I can actually make calls and expect it to last. Blackberry Storm is on the way Apple clones, not to mention the Diamond and Pro from HTC!

[rcrusoe]

You have a much better chance of seeing a UFO, than a Zune in the wild.

This is just another case of straightening the deck chairs on the Titanic.

[CrashPad63]

So your saying youve seen several million UFO,s? Just keep saying I believe, maybe David Duchovny will come to visit you.

[WoodrowCall]

All these Apple fanboys wondering why people are buying the Zune sound just like the bully they always talk about, Microsoft. I have a Zune and love it. How would the market benefit from only selling one brand of product? Capitalism always works better with competitors, so why hate on something just because you don't have one? You guys have fun buying 99 cent songs, I'll get all I want, and really great podcasting, for $15/month and be totally happy.

[blinker_flewid]

After going through 6, yes 6 ipod nano's I went and got myself an 8gig zune. I love it. The software is great and the device itself is sleek and stable. I won't bash the ipod, people stick to what they like, but after my ordeal I won't be going back to ipod ever.

[danskpeber]

I've never understood the Apple fanboys and girls. Apple does such a good marketing job at making you think that they are this underground company that is "sticking it to the man". Wake up, they are the man. They have good products, but so do a lot of other companies. I personally prefer my Zune over my iPod but who really cares about that but me. If you love Apple and your iPods that's great but I don't get the need to bash other products.

[biggarthomas]

Try an iPod Touch and forget about Zune. Who cares about 120 GB. I have a touch and an iPhone. Using the app "Simplify Media" I carry my whole library of 14,000 track wherever I go in a 16GB device. Check it out!

[monkeyfun14]

Yeah the thing I fail to understand is why buy both?

Tbh I will never buy any of Apple proprietary garbage.

[canberra_photographer]

Wow, the packaging and the way the Zune is presented when you open the box, it reminds me of another companies music and telephony devices. A company that came up with this sleek, new style of packaging. Where does Microsoft get its ideas from?

[monkeyfun14]

So were crying over similar packaging now is this really what the world has come to?

To cry about boxes?

[Impackt]

I've tried out a Zune once and fell in love with it. I already sold my iPod and plan on buying a Zune soon.

The only thing that sucks about it is the PC software it uses. I honestly think iTunes wins in that department...but I'm sure Microsoft has something new coming our way.

[eccles1214]

I don't own an iPod -- it doesn't have the features I want. But I love iTunes; I have it running on my PowerBook and my Dell. Same software on both machines makes syncing my playlists easier. Now why can't Microsoft make software that does this.

[tony07304]

Oh sexy... I want to buy one right now!

[hnavp66]

I have a Zune. Love it. Wife has the 8GB I have the 80. Version 2.0 much better than 1.0.

What I like best is I can use any number of different formats. The cords are fairly standard and cheap and I can throw in downloaded MP3's whether they were bought or not. Apple, as a closed system is simply too expensive for someone like me that wants video I've ripped from my own DVD's or downloaded from Youtube (which you don't pay a premium for on the Zune), Music from any source (though not itunes) and operates easily with windows computers (which I have).

With respect to the so-called sex appeal factor, this is nonsense. Usually the unit is in your pocket or otherwise hid. If you're walking around with it hanging out you're begging to have it stolen (no threat for anyone to steal my Zune).

I think the IPODs are attractive, but in the end, charged a premium and didn't have all the Zune features (back when Zune had video and IPOD didn't) so I stayed with it. I still have myZune 1.0 with the updated software. No battery or video issues like IPOD had. So far, this is a rare bug free product from MS and a relatively inexpensive deal.