Comments on: Teen survey makes Microsoft's Zune seem futile

Piper Jaffray's biannual Teen Survey is out and when it comes to MP3 players, things look very good for Apple and bleak for Microsoft and Sony.

[iroq321]

the zune is great, i own one. you can play games with other zune-ers wirelessly, send music to other zune-ers wirelessly, sync music wirelessly and the best of all, the software is SO EASY to use! gotta love it.

[jec20721]

The Zune is Microsoft garbage, just like the Dell mp3 players. The iPod isn't really garbage, but it definitely doesn't deserve the number of sales it has. The sound quality sucks, and itunes (software and drm files) is a b*tch. Plus I hate Apple even more than I hate Msoft. BUT, I'd much rather use Windows Media Player--the best software (or least bad) Micrsoft has ever made.

I've had two Sony mp3 players, and a Sandisk. My original 20gb NW-HD1Sony sucked because of the ATRAC3 garbage, Sonic stage software, and its extremely high price. These factors are what doomed Sony to play second fiddle to Apple in the first place. The Sony 8gb flash player, I have now is excellent--the sound quality is amazing, the headphones are terrific, the controls are perfect, I can easily sync my songs with WMP, and it can play VIRTUALLY ANY music or video file, directly or through conversion.

I was actually planning (very reluctantly) on getting a 16gb ipod touch, since I need more space and I wanted Wi-Fi and a touch screen, but then Sony announced an even better competitor (nw-x) to be released this summer. WHY couldn't Sony have released these great products earlier when the ipod was "just another mp3 player"?!? It's really hard to play catch up when you're so far behind...

[paulimusmaximus]

What's really funny is I still use my Sony Clie as my MP3 player, which you can probably do more with than the newest touchscreen mp3 players (granted, it's getting old and they don't make much new software for it). But lets see, I got it 7 years ago, it has a touch screen, wi-fi, great sound, I can play games on it, surf the web, plus I can expand it with memory sticks. Plus I only paid $200 for it.

The point is, it seems weird that sony is finally coming out with a touch screen mp3 player, since they've obviously had the technology for a really long time.

[AaronCT123]

Maybe if the Zune were available in more than 2 countries and was actually advertised, it'd be a tad more successful? That being said, it seems like the Zune has gained a percentage point from the last time I read anything.

[abundantsnotbob]

Hey, Zune did better than all the other brands put together. I like my Zune better than any iPod except the iPod touch. The iPod touch cost alot more, has alot less memory, doesn't sound as good, doesn't have an FM radio, and uses itunes instead of the Zune marketplace.

[craig.knapp1]

I am a 47 year old male and have only owned a Coby MP3 player which allows me to play a multitude of formats with no DRM from Rips of CDs I purchased (as allowed by the Millennium act), and a Cowon O2PMP media player which plays a variety of AUDIO formats such as: MP3/2/1, WMA, ASF, AC3, FLAC, OGG, M4A, MATROSKA(MKA), TTA, APE, MPC, WV, WAV; usingAudio Codecs; MPEG1 Layer 1/2/3, WMA, AC3, AAC, FLAC, OGG Vorbis, OGG FLAC, APPLE Lossless, True Audio, Monkey Audio, MusePack, WavPack, G.726, PCM and VIDEO including: AVI, WMV, ASF, MP4, MATROSKA(MKV), OGM, MPG/MPEG, DAT, MTV, using Video Codecs; DivX 3.11/4/5/6, Xvid, MPEG-4 SP/ASP, WMV 9/8/7, H.264, M-JPEG, MPEG 1.

The audio is superb with a built in EQ, and video files can be up to 740x480, many other players cannot "downscale' these larger frames and must be used at 320x240 or other settings which do not look good when hooked up to a 52" Flat Screen TV.

Why would I consider other products that are crippled by format and DRM limitations?

[ikramerica--2008]

First, how are these other products crippled?

Second, if you get your content legally, like you claim, you don't need all those other formats? How often are any of those formats you mentioned used to distribute legally available content?

[pithenumber]

@ikramerica
if he is a big anime fan that downloads fansubs, mkv is useful, other than that I don't see much use other than bragging to a bunch of geeks

@craig
"crippled" eh?
prove it

[3ollie]

I own a Zune....I actually like my Zune, a lot....but yes, Zune has problems competing in the marketplace......nobody knows what 'zune' is....if you hold one in your hand, you'd guess 'zune' is the greek word for 'brick'....its all over the place as far as price goes, which means it cant dominate less expensive brands that offer similar capacity and features (such as the Sansa, which I also own and love and is about 1/10 the mass of my zune), and its high-end models, well, if you're going to pay that much for an mp3 player, you're probaby gonna say '***' and pay a bit extra for the added features of an ipod touch (which i think is the greek word for 'heroin')........

[jdtenis]

Yes Zune is being gaining market share compared to others but ofcourse we all know that apple ipod is the leading since it was the most successful mp3 for many years. I think in many ways zune is better to at least the ipod classic....The Ipod touch is better because the functionality as well as the touch screen that makes it more wanted. With smaller mp3s as the ipod nano i think this one is better than the zune since it looks nicer. Overall i think zune should be in a better position but i think sometimes is hard since most of the people just buy for what they hear even if they dont really know what it is, how it works or anything....In this case i think is lack of microsoft not to advertise in a more efficient way zune mp3 players....I own the first zune 30gb.... and i love it, its been great since the beginning and looks really cool, just kind of big now but what ever....Since that day i've seen maybe one commercial of zune on TV or public places....most of the comercial just see if if i look for it or something like that.....Im a person that is really interested in tech stuff and i havent seen anything about zune.....so how the heck does microsoft expect to get even more market share if they dont really show the zune device.....It takes time and if they want to get more into the market and fight against apple they need to invest more in advertising its products since this is a brand new market since just a couple of years ago.....LOVE ZUNE but microsoft can do a better job....

[Stasco]

These are the same kids that put that nasty guido axe crap on and wear messenger bags instead of normal backpacks. Teens are morons, that's just biology. Most of them will grow out of it and buy reasonable music devices some day.

[webterractive]

Well iPod's didn't kill the Zune, the Zune just joined the game a little too late. It's like pogs in the age of iPods. They're both the same type of player, the Zune does the same as the iPod plays MP3 and WMA, WAV, the iPod does it's own proprietary formats MP4, MP3, WAV. Zune store is horrible and there is much left to be desired in the unit itself. There isn't a browser, apps, or anything else they've could've at least added chat or something seeing that it can connect to other Zunes wirelessly.

[webterractive]

With the advent of the iPhone I don't know why people would even purchase an iPod. I use my Curve 8900 with an 8GB card since I lost my 16GB iPhone, but my iPod Touch 1st Gen. is now tucked away in it's box waiting to see the light of day.

[pithenumber]

maybe I don't like paying for the cell phone contract

[ptrckgry]

When was this survey taken? I would think that it was before Apple's announcment of increasing the price of popular downloads to $1.29. I wonder if that will make a difference when teens choose an MP3 player? I own both and find both to be outstanding, but that 30 cent hike per song really bites. Yeah, I know some songs will decrease in price...but seemingly not the ones I want to download. Guess I'll be using the Zune more.

[ikramerica--2008]

And Amazon and Walmart soon followed. Zune store will see an increase in the subscription price soon enough. There is no money to be made at that price point...

[sting7k]

The iPhone service plan needs to be much cheaper. I don't know a lot of parents who want to spend that kind of money on a cell phone plan for their kids. It's probably more likely their parents would get them an iPod Touch and stay with the "regular" phones.

Also it's not just the Zune that is doomed, it's every body. I see all the other MP3 players at the stores but it is only the iPod that I ever see moving off the shelves.

[seven7dust]

look up the iPod touch
they are great for games/education/internet/email as well !
a killer device at bargain price !

[ikramerica--2008]

true, because why own another product when you can just use your phone? Seriously, iPod has ease of use down. Everything else has more hoops to jump through, and at that point, why not just put your music on your phone and add a memory stick? That's what I do with my Sony phone. Works fine for me until the iPhone Gen3 arrives this summer with 32GB.

[zblank0]

idk if this matters or not, but i have alot of people come into our store and say there looking for an ipod, but there actually looking for a mp3 player. i think Ipod has become very Generic also. Ipod meaning any Mp3 player. also alot of people already have an ipod, so why would you switch. I have a Zune and wont switch just cause it would be a hassle

[TCrimson05]

No need for everyone to get defensive. It's one survey. You go to the ocean and scoop some water into a bucket...no fish. Does that mean no fish in the ocean? Not everyone feels this way. But Ipod and everything else aside....yeah...the Zune isn't gonna be able to stay much longer. It's like the "Circuit City" of MP3 players. Yeah it's a little different but, Best Buy is better. (just my 2 cents) I wonder why they didn't have Samsung on here? Only company with that even has quality stuff that can even stand toe to toe with Apple is Sammy. You guys seen the P3?

[ikramerica--2008]

that's silly. fish avoid buckets. teens don't avoid surveys. or if they did, then the survey would say "we tried to poll 600 kids, but they all ran away."

[ThatIsWhatSheSaid]

Any information on the actual sample? 600 students of what ages and where? I mean did they survey 600 high school students in the San Jose area? Of course 92% of them have mp3 players, and of course they are iPods. The article doesn't even specify what the 92% is. Of all of America? Of the world? Of Maryland? You can't do a national survey with 600 samples. You just can't. Most reputable market research companies opt for at least 2000 samples if they are producing data representative of the entire nation.

And again, what is so wrong with the data? Microsoft has increased its market share with the Zune up until now, so why would it be doomed? Just because it isn't taking down the iPod doesn't mean it's a failure.

I agree with most. - another misleading title from Carnoy, and another poorly-researched article.

[gsaulmon]

My 18 yo just recently received a Zune for her birthday. She loves the device and has indicated she will "never own an Ipod again." She likes the ease of use, the FM radio, and other features the Zune provides.
Think they should check their figures again. I own an Ipod, and it is being used as a portable hard drive. I use my Sansa for my MP3 player......sorry Apple, just not impressed.

[chapibol]

predicting Zune's end based on a Survey of just 600 teens? come on give me a break!

[black_burn]

Again, this poll shows that teens don't know what they want. Someone should chose for they, since several other mp3 players are way superior than iPod.
What could you expect if this market segment gets its information from tiger beat?

[ikramerica--2008]

that's true. give it as a gift, and they'll use it, might like it better. but teens covet things, and the iPod Touch and iPhone are what they covet most, because they aren't just MP3 players, but they do so much more.

[WebBuddha]

600 person survey! Wow that's really conclusive. Although if you watch television or movies you'd also think that 95% of the world uses Macs. Of course the opposite is true, but it's the perception that matters to sheeple.

This does seem like a pretty useless, out of nowhere, had nothing better to write about, very Engadget.com-esque type article. Kinda strange.

[Buick107]

Yet again another example that our schools are failing! Raising sheep instead of independent logical thinkers.