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The Ancient One · Sep 4, 2007, 10:03 PM

Sounds like they've thrown in the towel.

� Microsoft exec: Zune gets a B-; Xbox profitability; Windows Mobile’s future | Between the Lines | ZDNet.com

Simon · Sep 5, 2007, 04:32 AM

Originally Posted by The Ancient One

Sounds like they've thrown in the towel.

Not quite. Here's their next try: Zune price dropped to $200 ahead of Apple event

ajprice · Sep 5, 2007, 03:56 PM

so who is getting a Zune now?

.

$249 for an 80Gb classic or $199 for a 30Gb Zune. Just think of the extra $50 as a dollar a gig, hehe

.

Kerrigan · Sep 19, 2007, 11:44 AM

Are you guys ready for the "squircle"?

slugslugslug · Oct 1, 2007, 11:47 PM

There are whispers that we'll see the Squircle tomorrow.. Who's friggin' stoked?!?

gangaspeed · Oct 3, 2007, 04:15 PM

Well the new ones are out and look "OK" that's about it though.

Simon · Oct 4, 2007, 12:59 AM

No more sh!t-brick. And I was soooo gonna buy one.

At least I can get a cover to make my iPod look like the sh!t-brick-pod: Hide-a-Pod iPod protection

slugslugslug · Oct 4, 2007, 12:31 PM

I always thought the brown/green color combo was kinda nice. But there were obviously a ton of other shortcomings that have been discussed ad nauseum here.

Also, I was joking about being excited for the new generation, but it does seem to have its upsides. It's not the friggin' brick it used to be (though apparently they're still selling the 1st-gen, unchanged; WTF?). They've removed the 3-day part of the squirting restriction. Still 3 plays, but whatevs, it's not like you'd really expect them to just let people share songs willy-nilly and there isn't a mechanism in place to really know the creator's intent w/r/t sharing. Interestingly, old Zunes get a firmware update that'll give 'em feature parity with the next gen (though I'm a little confused about this, since the new one has a touch sensitive control). And there's Wi-fi syncing, which folks have been asking for on the iPhone & touch. There seem to be some other interesting aspects regarding sharing playlists and whatnot.

OTOH, I don't think Wi-fi syncing is really a killer feature. It'd be nice now and then, but I think even the folks clamoring for it on Apple's devices can live without it. And then there's the whole point of having to commit yourself to a still-pretty-new DRM scheme from the people who were plugging PlaysForSure as the best way forward just over a year ago.

This is of course irrelevant to me; even if I wanted one, I couldn't use it with Mac OS X. But overall, this thing does actually seem to have a lot more promise than its predecessor. I still think they'll be running a distant second to Apple for the next few years, but they may make some inroads in making the whole hardware/software/content ecosystem suck less. Zune might wind up being the Betamax of the aughts, but it'll at least keep Apple on its toes for a bit.

terryshaw09 · Oct 5, 2007, 11:38 AM

im really not a fan of either Zune or iPod but Apple's Technology is way ahead of Microsoft's when it comes to portable audio. Alot of people have claimed to have "ipod killer's" but they never succeed.

terryshaw09 · Nov 29, 2007, 11:54 PM

I just got an Archos 605 WiFi.... Man this thing is WAYYYYYYYYY Better than an I-POD or Zune, first of all the LCD is bigger and better, it plays all kids of Video formats and can send the Video to your TV and record Video too!!!, plays Music ofcourse (oldskool) and I can surf the Net from my PALM!!! This is the REAL DEAL I-POD KILLER!!!!

icruise · Nov 30, 2007, 01:08 AM

Well, good luck with that...

Simon · Nov 30, 2007, 04:43 AM

Originally Posted by terryshaw09

... yada yada... This is the REAL DEAL I-POD KILLER!!!!

HELL YEAH! THIS IS IT. FINALLY THE REAL IPOD KILLER! I JUST RAN OVER MY IPOD WITH AN EXPLORER TO GET READY FOR THAT ARCHOS. THANKS FORT THE TIP!

Do you have a tip on how to replace my MAC too? This IMAC is slow as hell. I called MAC but they couldn't help. They suck!

imitchellg5 · Mar 9, 2008, 08:46 PM

Originally Posted by Simon

Do you have a tip on how to replace my MAC too? This IMAC is slow as hell. I called MAC but they couldn't help. They suck!

That's because you spelled I-POD wrong and Bill knows it when you do. and MACs are for RETARTS anyway.

Sherman Homan · Mar 9, 2008, 09:07 PM

...and for zombies!

imitchellg5 · Mar 9, 2008, 09:31 PM

Well, it's a sticky so not like it's bringing it to the top.

analogue SPRINKLES · Jul 21, 2008, 02:36 PM

MS offered to send me one for free. I wrote them back and said it wasn't worth the trouble of me finding someone who would buy it off me.

Simon · Jul 21, 2008, 02:43 PM

Originally Posted by analogue SPRINKLES

MS offered to send me one for free. I wrote them back and said it wasn't worth the trouble of me finding someone who would buy it off me.

You could have at least donated it to charity.

Oh no wait, that actually wouldn't have been very charitable.

analogue SPRINKLES · Jul 23, 2008, 06:52 PM

Well... can we close this thread now?

http://www.engadget.com/2008/07/23/z...er-up-tattoos/

Simon · Jul 24, 2008, 02:51 AM

Agreed.

Randman · Jul 24, 2008, 03:32 AM

Why was this even a sticky to begin with?

Simon · Jul 24, 2008, 04:01 AM

So that not every new Zune article spawned another thread.

analogue SPRINKLES · Jul 25, 2008, 12:55 PM

Originally Posted by Simon

So that not every new Zune article spawned another thread.

There was the possibility of more than one?

Simon · Jul 26, 2008, 03:54 AM

Every new Zune was gonna be the iPod killer, right?

lamewing · Sep 16, 2008, 01:23 PM

I find is interesting to see so much fanboyism here. Supposed iPod killer here, there, everywhere. The simple fact is that there is only going to be one iPod killer and that is Apple's hubris. I may not happen today, next month, or next year. I might take a decade. This is what killed the Walkman. Sony's refusal to put out a digital audio player when the market was young killed off any attempt to fight Apple. I had my 5GB iPod for three years before anyone even really paid attention to it. At that time CD players and even minidisc recorders were more recognizeable..heh.
No one put up a fight in time and therefore Apple took the market by default. Sony refusal was based off of their hubris and fear regarding the new paradigm. It cost them. Apple has been doing well so far, but they could easily loose customer support if they don't keep up. The latest release is a prime example. The iPod updates were lackluster at best. The nano design is similar to the Zune and Sony Walkmans. It was the design they should have used last year. Shake for shuffle...meh.
Of course Apple has a great supporter....MS and its Zune. No joke. MS seems to be trying to sabotage is own product. Two years and three software iterations and they still cannot support Unicode!!! Even a $50.00 knock off can display kanji, hangul and chinese. Grrrrrr. Bad bad bad MS. Of course MS has no problem spending $10 million on Jerry Seinfeld, but they cannot add FOUR FILES to the Zune OS???
Overall I don't care for the Touch as I would rather have a full-fledged tablet from Apple versus a crippled wannabe. The Nano is nice, but is is no different than the Walkman or Zune. I would switch to the Zune if they would only support unicode. As it is I will sell the Touch and keep the Nano as my needs are very simple.

43skidoo · Nov 9, 2008, 04:50 PM

My dad bought a Zune...I just about killed him over it. I have an iPod, and while I like it, I'd rather have an Archos. Archos was my first MP3 player, and it was the best, by far.

ajprice · Jan 23, 2009, 01:04 PM

http://www.engadget.com/2009/01/23/m...-zune-revenue/

Zune platform revenue decreased $100 million, or 54% compared to the same quarter last year, due to falling device sales.... Xbox 360 and PC platform revenue increased six percent to $135 million. Meanwhile, Apple saw a three percent increase in iPod sales over the same period

Thats gotta hurt!

ajprice · May 15, 2009, 07:25 AM

Zune HD positioned to take on Apple, Sony, Nintendo and Google?

Zune HD rumours. A combo of a Mylo, PSP and iPod touch, with NXE style media player/game console software interface. But no phone capability.

Will be interesting to see how this pans out, linking it in with the Xbox system might be what Zune needs to get popular, and a combo of the two does at least sound good. This is all rumour though and I'll reserve judgement until there's something real.

Simon · May 15, 2009, 07:34 AM

I could in principle see the Zune work as a gamer device.

Two options to make it popular: Make sure it's compatible with iTS apps or make it compatible with (certain) Xbox apps. The first is never going to happen and I doubt the second is feasible given the performance differences.

ajprice · May 15, 2009, 07:48 AM

I think it would be 'certain' Xbox apps. I can't see it doing full on 360 games, but versions of XBLA games might be doable, maybe even Xbox Originals if the thing has a lot of storage.

Simon · May 27, 2009, 02:41 AM

Zune HD officially announced. Ships in fall 2009.

It looks like a real MS-knockoff. From what I can tell the only "novelties" are radio (meh), HD output (alhough I'm pretty sure MS means 720p) and the OLED display (which the iPod touch might get before the Zune HD is launched). Oh, and it will run Windows CE.

Does it strike anybody else that the cut off 'e' in the PR image is typical for a lack of care when it comes to details? To me that pretty much sums up the difference between Apple and MS.

Spheric Harlot · May 28, 2009, 05:52 PM

OMG it's not an advertising gaffe:

In Ballmer's own hands, no less.

Simon · May 29, 2009, 07:05 AM

Video demo of the Zune HD here.

It is surprisingly small (think iPod nano rather than iPod touch). And I like how quickly the UI reacts to the accelerometer. Much faster than my iPhone.

http://gizmodo.com/5272228/zune-hd-h...and-video-tour

Maflynn · May 29, 2009, 07:30 AM

It certainly appears that MS got it right and designed a great device. While its not out in the wild, so no one can truly play with it, by all accounts it appears to be a striking design, the UI doesn't seem to suck and its a great size.

Spheric Harlot · May 29, 2009, 08:04 AM

Nice timing.

Release a device that's actually nice, steal some of the iPhone's thunder, and do so too late for Apple to be able to react.

Simon · May 29, 2009, 10:08 AM

Apple won't be able to react in time with the 2009 iPhone. But I expect them to react with the iPods. If they release iPods in September/October they should be able beat the Zune HD. I'm mainly thinking about stuff like OLED display, HD output. The software side is well covered with OS 3.0 and the app store.

DavoMrMac · Oct 3, 2009, 11:05 AM

Does this thing have ANY way of working with the Mac yet? That would be a good move.

Or making it available outside the US, that would make MS sense too!

msuper69 · Oct 3, 2009, 11:58 AM

I've always thought that Craig Ferguson's comment about the Zune was so funny:

"Apparently, the Zune zucked".

YouTube video here: YouTube - iPhone spanks Microsoft

ajprice · Mar 15, 2011, 09:23 AM

R.I.P Zune hardware, may your ghost haunt us in the software of Windows phones... Microsoft Is Said to Stop Releasing New Models of the Zune - Bloomberg