Comments on: Zune Success: Competing With the iPod

By: Barry

Barry — Fri, 30 Nov 2007 17:15:11 +0000

Zune Reviews: http://www.cnn.com/2007/TECH/ptech/11/23/zune/index.html“ title=”http://www.cnn.com/2007/TECH/ptech/11/23/zune/index.html“ target=”_blank” ref=”nofollow”>http://www.cnn.com/2007/TECH/ptech/11/23/zune/inde…

http://reviews.cnet.com/mp3-players/zune-second-generation-80gb/4505-6490_7-32638989.html“ title=”http://reviews.cnet.com/mp3-players/zune-second-generation-80gb/4505-6490_7-32638989.html“ target=”_blank” ref=”nofollow”>http://reviews.cnet.com/mp3-players/zune-second-ge…

http://www.pcmag.com/article2/0,2704,2214740,00.asp“ title=”http://www.pcmag.com/article2/0,2704,2214740,00.asp“ target=”_blank” ref=”nofollow”>http://www.pcmag.com/article2/0,2704,2214740,00.as…

http://www.laptopmag.com/Review/Microsoft-Zune-80GB-and-Zune-Marketplace-Software-V-2-1.htm“ title=”http://www.laptopmag.com/Review/Microsoft-Zune-80GB-and-Zune-Marketplace-Software-V-2-1.htm“ target=”_blank” ref=”nofollow”>http://www.laptopmag.com/Review/Microsoft-Zune-80G…

http://www.pcworld.com/article/id,139474/article.html“ title=”http://www.pcworld.com/article/id,139474/article.html“ target=”_blank” ref=”nofollow”>http://www.pcworld.com/article/id,139474/article.h…

Looks like a winner to me!

By: TechFreak

TechFreak — Fri, 30 Nov 2007 15:08:21 +0000

Wow I am suprised by the Apple fanatics in here. You blam Rob for being biased, then completely throw your credibility out the window with zealot-like behavior in favor of the iPod. Did you miss the praises Rob has given to the iPod? Did it just skirt over your little brains?

"The iPod has been a huge embarrassment for Microsoft"

This article seems pretty unbiased to me.

By: Paul M.

Paul M. — Fri, 30 Nov 2007 13:37:02 +0000

The author has clearly a bias. He likes Microsoft. The Zune is just playing catch up to the iPod. They do not innovate. the iPhone/iPod touch is an innovating product because of its use of a revolutionary user interface. It is a disruptive technology, it makes everybody rethink about what a phone, media player or portable computer is. Microsoft tries to market useless features as send a song to another zune or automatic wireless sync (in fact you need to be plugged in to do this). Look around you and see how many people have a zune. Most people never heard of it. ipod is in the dictionary!

By: Ian Bell

Ian Bell — Fri, 30 Nov 2007 07:59:19 +0000

I just purchsed my 80GB Zune off the Zune Collections website, and I am pretty excited about it. I like the Zune over the iPod because it has a bigger screen, FM tuner, and support for more video formats. The Touch is way too expensive and the iPod Classic has a smaller screen and support only for Apple video codecs.

The iPod is not for everyone Doog. The new Zunes are good products, read the reviews out there on the web and you will see.

I only with the Zune had a built-in equalizer. Why MS removed that is beyond me.

By: doog

doog — Thu, 29 Nov 2007 16:13:37 +0000

Oh, man. So much to comment on!

It is remarkably easy to sell out something when you do not make many of them in the first place. My guess is that the 80 Gig Zunes are selling out to some Microsoft fanboys in numbers so small that there are probably entire Apple stores that sell more iPods than all of the 80 GB Zunes that have sold so far.

Don't get me wrong – competition for Apple will only be a good thing. But I really, really doubt that Apple is having any problem selling iPods this holiday season. Here is an article saying that Apple is selling out supply:

http://money.cnn.com/2007/11/27/news/companies/apple_monday.ap/?postversion=2007112710“ title=”http://money.cnn.com/2007/11/27/news/companies/apple_monday.ap/?postversion=2007112710“ target=”_blank” ref=”nofollow”>http://money.cnn.com/2007/11/27/news/companies/app…

My guess is that Apple selling out supply makes the Zune 80 GB sellout look like a firefly compared to the iPod sun. It'll be interesting to see numbers when they finally come, though.

Funny you should mention video compression time, because I read a report that mentioned that he quit transcoding a 222 MB video file for the Zune after two hours because it wasn't done.

“If Microsoft keeps up with this rate of improvement…”

Let's see – they go from pretty bad to about as good as a Nano in one generation. To keep up with this rate of improvement it will have to be insanely better than a Touch or iPhone by the next gen. Somehow, I doubt that this will happen.

Don't piss off Microsoft because a focused Microsoft can be frightening? Why, then, would they not focus instead on improving Vista, which would has far more potential for profit?

If the Zune is strong where the iPod is weak, why not mention that there are far, far more areas where the iPod is strong and the Zune is weak?