Why the Zune wasn't called Xpod

That and Apple has all "pod" name copyrighted..it's why they are going after anything and anyone with a pod in there name(Ask your sister, Engadget)

Ive heard quite a few complaints about the Zune name, I don't understand, am I one of the few who actually think it is a great name?

The fact is that it would have hurt sales if they called it the MSPod or Microsoft Music Player or WINDOWSBOX or anything like that. Keeping the Zune's identity far away from Windows is a good move.

BUT. . . It will still fail to make much of a dent in iPod sales. Nobody yet has figured out that what makes the iPod such a popular item is not the "coolness" or the "style" or the fact that it plays music and video. It's iTunes and the ease of use.

iTunes is the only option on the Internet for subscribing to a TV series (like, say, The Daily Show) and having it downloaded to your computer, and transferred to your portable player (iPod) automatically, with no conversion, no fuss, no work on the user's part. It just works.

Sure, you could get a Zen, and do a bittorrent (which is technically not legal, and requires a search and a LOT more time to download), and then use some program to encode the video in a Zen-friendly format, and then drag and drop the video into your player. . . But who in the adult world has the time for that kind of activity when there's a simpler, more direct option available?

As for music-- Again, who wants to download, drag-n-drop, and manage it manually when you can have it all done for you?

Finally, good luck finding 3rd party accessories for the Zune. Unless it's a hit, they won't materialize in the quantities we see now for the iPod.

I understand some people just hate Apple and the iPod as a matter of seeming cool or trendy (it's cool to hate the thing everybody likes, right?) so the Zune WILL sell, but the market penetration just won't equal that of iPod.

iPod killer? More like an iPod mosquito bite.

so is Apple going to sue all the scientists for coming up with "sauropods"?

ZUNE sux its just Microsux trying to put a dent on market they didn't even help built. and they think with money they can get anything.
XBOX= sux and was late to the party.
ZUNE= late
and alot of suff from them.
why can't M$ just start something inovative and then we can talk. all they do is penetrate markets and try to monopolize. guess what aint happening with the xbox or zune. playstation will stay on top and ipod will stay on top and Microsux can kiss my ass.

I agree with #3. My friend said it best when he wanted OSX because he was sick of all of the advanced maintainance windows needed. Sure it made him feel l337, but damn, when you have no time it doesn't matter.

Novacharged = 5 year old that needs to get a life.

#3. The reason why the ipod is so popular is definetly not iTunes, they did a study and found that less than 50%(i dont remember the exact number) of people with ipods do not use iTunes.
But i really do want to know why it is so popular with the lack of features. The zune looks boring as well. I cant wait for ipods to catch up with technology or the real ipod killer to come out :-/

"The reason why the ipod is so popular is definetly not iTunes, they did a study and found that less than 50% (i dont remember the exact number) of people with ipods do not use iTunes."

You're full of crap, Bob.

Back to the topic at hand, Steve Ballmer is a complete r-tard. Microsoft + Ballmer ≠ devices consumers love.

You're full of crap, Silver.

http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/technology/5350258.stm

http://tech.yahoo.com/blogs/raskin/1650


Just read it there im not making this stuff up. i still wonder what really makes it so popular

The XBox was named so because it means DirectXBox, correct? That's what Alex St. John said about it at PAX.

That study showed that 50% of users didn't use the iTunes STORE. Big difference.

Gotta love it when someone gets their ass handed to them by way of a hyperlink eh Silver?

I'd be surprised to find out if any less than 99% of Ipod owners used the itunes software. My gf got one and it was with great reluctance that I let her install that piss-poor piece of software on my hand built baby.

The frigging things don't seem to support drag and drop through windows and the best alternative I could find was an awkward to use plug-in for winamp that was too dificult for her to use. It seems if you want to put music on the thing, it's I-way or the highway.

Skipjimroo are you paying attention? it's bob and rcholbert who gets their ass handed to them by way of a hyperlink (their own links) and not silver. as silver pointed out to bob and rcholbert it's the itunes STORE not the itunes SOFTWARE that is not being used by the majority of ipod owners.

reading comprehension is a wonderful thing... but damn, i hate agreeing with someone who uses the term "r-tard"

I personally love iTunes, but hate the iPod. I've had two iPods break on me already right after the warranty expired. I'm actually looking forward to something potentially more reliable.

Asses handed abound! Skipjim, rcholbert, et al seem to be confusing the 'iTunes Music Store' with the actual iTunes software, which you need to use to manage music on your iPod - you don't need to use Apple's online music store at all if you only want to encode CDs or play MP3s from 'somewhere,' and I'll leave it at that.

Corpse put it best when he said "I understand some people just hate Apple and the iPod as a matter of seeming cool or trendy (it's cool to hate the thing everybody likes, right?) so the Zune WILL sell, but the market penetration just won't equal that of iPod," and I agree. Seems like every little website like Joystiq has it's share of guys who just NEED to post 'the iPod sucks,' which is like saying 'TELEVISION SUCKS,' such a ridiculous thing to say, because it's a simply an extremely functional music player and everyone who bothers with these things likes music.

Calling an iPod 'trendy' is stupid, we're not talking about UGG boots here, we're talking about listening to audio, and that will never go out of style. Neither will functionality, another thing Apple is better at than Microsoft: the combination of iTunes and the iPod has verrrrry little wrong with it, unless you just don't happen to like Apple, or you don't like seeing white headphones... So just say that instead. You can buy different-colored headphones and secretly enjoy the extremely smooth taste of the iPod by keeping it hidden in your jacket, we won't tell.

You can complain about batteries needing replacement in two to three years, but Apple has it figured out: no one really keeps their music player much longer than that this early in the evolution of digital audio players, it's the same way with digital cameras and phones right now - the technology changes rapidly enough that you don't really get upset when you buy a new one three years down the line.

Zune? Well, some promising features (if you actually know someone else with a Zune), a nice large screen, and the onscreen-interface looks cool, enough to keep the Apple haters smitten, although to be honest, everything people complain about with Apple's iPod has been mimicked by Microsoft on the Zune, but on an inferior level: Zune's (enclosed) battery life is shorter, it's physically larger, it's 'scroll' wheel isn't a scrolling wheel at all, it's not 'Plays For Sure,' it uses a new proprietary Microsoft DRM, the online store is likely not going to be up to snuff with Apple's for a while... And worst of all for Gates and family, anything Microsoft tries to make unique about the Zune (wifi, larger screen, subscription-based model) can be imitated by Apple within a few months if they want, so Microsoft is gonna take a loss on this one.

The way I see it, buying a Zune is like getting all the things WRONG and ANNOYING with an iPod (vertical business model, closed system) but WITHOUT all of the refinements and accessories. If you're upset by the iPod and Apple, this thing really should upset you too.

"why can't M$ just start something inovative and then we can talk. all they do is penetrate markets and try to monopolize. guess what aint happening with the xbox or zune. playstation will stay on top and ipod will stay on top and Microsux can kiss my ass."

hahahaha. my god. sony fanboys not only hate XBOX now but they also hate MS' new media player as well. WOW. You people need to get a fucking life. Seriously. I'm just growing so damn tired of all the bullshit that you guys, the Nintendo, and even MS fanboys peddle out that I can't take it anymore. Do you even realize how hypocritical your statement was?

MS just penetrates markets and tries to monopolize? Do you have any fucking clue how sony entered the console market? They had nothing to do with video games prior to PS1. Sega, Nintendo and Atari built this fucking market from the ground up, and Sony walks in out of nowhere, enters a market that they in no way helped create and almost literally monopolizes the marketplace. You really must be like 12 years old or something. I'm guessing PS1 or PS2 was the first console you ever owned. You forget that there were video games before Sony. If it weren't for Nintendo/Sega/Atari, Sony and MS wouldn't even have a home console market to sell their products in. Such foolish comments from such an uninformed person.

Good god.

Now on to the Zune. No innovation? But PS3 is? With it's obviously stolen from Nintendo motion controls and it's obviously copied from XBL online serice? Have you even looked into this thing? I could care less if Sony or Philips or any company was making this thing. It's capabilities are FAR beyond anything that an iPod can do. You do realize that it is WiFi enabled and allows you to transfer songs wirelessly from one Zune to another right? How can you not call that innovative for a handheld media device? and that's only the beginning of that this thing is capable of. Nevermind that though, you likely won't even bother because you are so attached to sony that you hate everything MS does. For absolutely no reason at all.

Literally, what reason do YOU yourself have for hating MS? I'd like to know. Don't bring me the same old super evil corporation that just wants to control the world BS. You think sony or any other multi billion dollar corporation doesn't want the same fucking thing? I ask you, bring me a vaild reason that doesn't also apply to your beloved sony or whoever you support.

xPod, maybe?

#3
I have to disagree with you. iPod's are like designer jeans (at least with the people I know); it's simply more "cool" to have an iPod opposed to any other brand. Many people first bought an iPod not even knowing what an mp3 was, simply because it was "cool". The current success of the iPod is not based (entirely) upon its features.

I... don't understand why anyone would by the zune anyway. I has wifi, but doesn't use it properly. It's not tied to a current online store, (Definantly not iTunes, because of stupid DRM, and not even their own DRMed sites), but makes a whole new one. It's just not a compelling device for any thinking person.

I'll keep my now ancient archos av420. It was before the ipod. before the video ipod and zune and still out preforms all of them. Why download your shows when you can get them directly from your TV, hardware encode them (similar codec to xvid or divx) and replay the videos back later either on the av420's screen or back on your TV with it looking identical to what it did when you recorded it in the first place.

Its only a music player? Okay, there goes anychance of me purchasing, I'll stick with Ipod. I know it can transfer music between other Zunes, but how is that any better to the Ipod, my phone can do that, and so can many other peoples, so what if it is slower, still does the job.

There better be other reasons to purchase a Zune.

"Gotta love it when someone gets their ass handed to them by way of a hyperlink eh Silver?" - Skipjimroo

Hey Skipjimroo, think, then type. iTunes ≠ iTunes Music Store. I'll bet 99% of iPod owners use iTunes, whether or not they buy songs from the iTunes Music Store. I use iTunes. I don't buy songs from the iTunes Music Store.

(This was already clarified by other posters as well, but how could I resist responding to Skippy?)

Man, having just re-read last nights attempt at a post on my part I can see why I come across so badly.

"Gotta love it when someone gets their ass handed to them by way of a hyperlink eh Silver?"

...Was an attempt to be ironic but clearly you can't post in an ironic tone. Had it been any other time than almost 2am in the morning without the presence of 90mg or morphine floating around in my system I might have reached that conclusion by myself.

It would have been better put as:
"Gotta love it when someone attempts and fails to hand you your ass by way of a hyperlink eh Silver"

Appologies all round but amidst the paragraphs of crap I wrote my point seems to have been lost ie:

There doesn't seem to be a decent alternative way to put music on your Ipod other than through way of the Itunes software (not Itunes music store) thusly they seem to have a bit of a monopoly with regard to what software you use to fill the thing with your downloaded/ ripped/ found under your bed digital content.

*phew* is the egg off my face yet? I'm not retarded, just perpetually drugged up.

I think that the Zune will fail because its trying to penetrate a market that's already saturated

Between the Handheld market, dominated by Nintendo, with Sony filling all the needs not met by Nintendo, and the Mp3 market, dominated by Apple and supplemented by ReignComm

hell, it'll even have to compete with the Palm Treo...
While it may be a satisfactory product (Me an apple hater, Linux ftw)It's just too late to the party to make a difference, offering nothing the competition doesn't (and less in some cases)

While it is true that iTunes is the only way to get music onto your iPod, iTunes itself makes Apple no money. I download iTunes, I use up Apple's bandwidth. They spend money to update it, I download it again, and use up Apple's bandwidth. All the while, I avoid their store until I get freebies (like $15 in Mountain Dew codes from two years ago I saved up), download some songs, burn them to a CD, rip them back and put them on a competing MP3 player. Mountain Dew paid Apple $15, and Apple spent $70 on me.

So, wonderful, someone has to get iTunes to put music on their iPod. Doesn't do Apple any good, only if they buy the iPod and use iTunes to buy music. Until then, Apple is aiming for the monopoly on wasting money on proprietary software management.

Funny though, I never heard anyone complain about the lack of a way to organize the Xbox 360 hard drive or PS2 memory card without having to go through the 360 or PS2's interface.

I bought a ZEN. It allows me to copy music from Ipods using Line-In, I can record radio stations, and I can record lectures/outragous happenings with a built in mic. Also, it cost less then a Nano, even at the time it was released. Now I can buy a replacemnt for $70 if it breaks. Also, I can change the battery at my own leasure. I usually have a few Ni-MH batteries in my backpack, which comes in handy during road trips.

"Man, having just re-read last nights attempt at a post on my part I can see why I come across so badly." - Skipjimroo

Ah, no harm no foul, Skip. And thus my apologies for the bitter retort. :)

Okay, guys, here's the skinny on Zune:

Software that's somewhere between equivalent to slightly better than iTunes for managing your music AND pictures AND videos. Main difference is that the software will automatically look at your My Music, My Pictures, and My Videos file and set everything up so that if you want to, you can download those to your Zune.

An online retail store so that you can download music and videos for effectively the same price as from Apple - it's already been beta tested and works.

Wireless to wireless sharing - say I have a Zune and you want a song I have on mine - all I have to do is beam it to you (Beam Your Beats) and you click accept - boom, it's on your Zune. You are then allowed to listen to that song up to 3 times over a period of 3 days. Then if you want you can flag it for your own decision to purchase - and if you don't, then you can just delete it.

The Zune will play MP3, AAC, and WMA files for music, MPEG videos (NOT Divx or AVI files, so dig out your converter programs), and of course JPEG pictures.

You can set the background picture AND individual Zune name to whatever you want. That means that when you're sending tunes, you can call your Zune BillsZune, BustaZune, Movemytunes, or whatever the heck you want - that's the name that will appear when you're sharing tunes.

Also note that even though it looks like a wheel on the front, it's actually a D-Pad with an active center button.

You also get a built-in FM radio tuner, too.

http://money.cnn.com/2006/09/28/technology/bc.tech.microsoft.zune.reut/index.htm

Yes, it will lose money this holiday season. That's a given. Apple currently owns 95% of the MP3 player market in this price range. Microsoft is again in this for the long haul - and as we all know, has the deep pockets to afford losses while they build market share.

LT,

I'm not sure where you're getting your numbers from. I know Apple's profit margin for iTunes purchases are slim, but there are a lot people with iPods, so economies of scale then become profitable. Even considering people like you who apparently have enough patience for breaking through DRM. Good for you and your hobby, but most people like the streamlined vertical business model. Even if they donit make money on this particular deal, the mindshare they now enjoy means they could sell Apple bake pie and people would eat it up.

But the analogy doesn't quite work between music and games saves. Game developers presumably sign up for a console and its proprietary formats. Your Metallica albums seem like they should just be music and work on any device you own. For the analogy to work, games and their related data would have to be written on universal code so that they work on all consoles. They would then be not optimized to work on any. Of course we know that DRM for music on the other hand, is not for any optimality concerns, it just for the BMG farms to keep their hens in the house.

I for one would have ENJOYED it being called the Microsoft Entertainment System!

Hey, Bob, what's that that you just bought? It's a MES!

Buh-dum-cha!

Dsub the sony mylo can do the same fucking thing. and there is no reason for me to listen to you because your also a fanboy bitch

i have no idea why people are still on M$ side because that company makes the crappiest products ever. and there is no reason for me to spend 300 or more on an OS that crashes so often. if mac didn't suck and had more games thats what i would use.

@Anonymouse Rep
Zune will play Mpeg-4 aka divx/xvid/avi

@ Novacharged

Your trying to start something your can't finish.
Dsub is right about everything he commented on. Stop talking your little kid bs. The only thing I own Sony is the PSP because the consoles are rushed out the door with trash hardware.

LOL @ fanboys. I thoroughly enjoy plenty of MS things, I can't get enough of my 360, I like the new WMP, IE7 looks nice, but still won't be as secure as FF, The Zune looks like a great start into a market owned by Apple. I've spent countless hours with my Sony PS2, my Walkman from 1988 is still going strong, even though I really don't need it anymore. I still have my first Sony Cd player, and it works fine. I still have my NES, and still play it often. All are trying to do the same thing with different methods, trying to have a good foothold in the market. They NEED competition. The Ipod is nice, but does have a crappy battery life as far as video goes. That's why I like the Creative Zen Vision: M. Everyone in a given market wants money, but also needs competition, competition is good for the competitors, and the consumers. If you don't understand this... I'm talking to YOU Novacharged... go read up on basic economics and the principals of business.