zune
douchebagatron
Custom member title Join Date: 2003-12-20 Member: 24581Members, Constellation, Reinforced - Shadow
Custom member title Join Date: 2003-12-20 Member: 24581Members, Constellation, Reinforced - Shadow
in Off-Topic
<div class="IPBDescription">i think i want</div>so ive been looking into the zune. im not really positive about it though. it seems pretty cool.
from what ive been told its got:
<b>
longer battery life than ipod</b> supposedly long enough to watch 3 full length movies on it
<b>wifi to get music from other zunes</b> a zune pr rep told me it was bluetooth but ive always heard it referred to as wifi, which kinda makes me curious if it can access the internet or anything. ive also read that music recieved from other zunes can only be listened to 3 times, but still its kinda cool that you can get stuff to try out, then see if you want to get it for keeps later
<b>larger screen than ipod</b> 3 inch screen
<b>way thick shock absorbing rubber outside</b> also a scratch resistant screen
<b>cheaper than an ipod</b> costs 200 for a 30gb zune, which is the same for a 4 gb ipod nano
so some downside are
<b>its too big</b> but thas not really a deal for me at all
<b>no one has them</b> which kinda is because i cant connect to zunes that no one owns
<b>its microsoft</b> but thats not a big deal to me either, but it sounds like a lot of people use that argument against it.
anyone else have anything to add?
from what ive been told its got:
<b>
longer battery life than ipod</b> supposedly long enough to watch 3 full length movies on it
<b>wifi to get music from other zunes</b> a zune pr rep told me it was bluetooth but ive always heard it referred to as wifi, which kinda makes me curious if it can access the internet or anything. ive also read that music recieved from other zunes can only be listened to 3 times, but still its kinda cool that you can get stuff to try out, then see if you want to get it for keeps later
<b>larger screen than ipod</b> 3 inch screen
<b>way thick shock absorbing rubber outside</b> also a scratch resistant screen
<b>cheaper than an ipod</b> costs 200 for a 30gb zune, which is the same for a 4 gb ipod nano
so some downside are
<b>its too big</b> but thas not really a deal for me at all
<b>no one has them</b> which kinda is because i cant connect to zunes that no one owns
<b>its microsoft</b> but thats not a big deal to me either, but it sounds like a lot of people use that argument against it.
anyone else have anything to add?
Comments
For one, the interface is much, much better. None of this wheel crap. I've gotten into an argument with a friend who loves the iPod's interface, specifically scrolling through songs.
Me: To scroll through songs, I could just hold down the down button.
Him: But the wheel is easier to use!
Me: How is moving my thumb in a circle easier than holding down a button?
Him: Well, holding down the button gets annoying after a while.
Me: <img src="style_emoticons/<#EMO_DIR#>/confused-fix.gif" style="vertical-align:middle" emoid="???" border="0" alt="confused-fix.gif" />
Also, bigger screen than the iPod. And it has a built in radio. And I'm sure that the wifi will be cool once someone hacks it to run a web browser or something.
Of course, I love it when iPod fanboys complain about the Zune's song sharing. "You can only listen to it three times or within three days!" Well, it retains songs longer than the iPod's wireless sharing... which is zero times or zero days.
Edit: Oh, and I guess if you're an idiot you can also say it sucks because it's from MiKKKro$ucks.
Also, customizable wall papers, which is kind of cool.
The only real problem I've heard of is that the syncing software is kind of buggy and clunky.
Edit: Oh, and if you're an idiot, I guess you could also say that it sucks because it's from MiKKKro$uck$.
I'd trade it anyday for the Zune.
Despite being Micro######ware, its actually pretty awesome. Built in radio, pretty interface, better video playback, better battery life, replaceable batteries, bigger screen, and more formats(including the ever awesome .FLAC)- its just a superior player.
Sigh. But I will say: The nice part of the wheel is I can instantly go through a list uber quick. It has its awesomeness...that the iPhone does the best.
For one, the interface is much, much better. None of this wheel crap. I've gotten into an argument with a friend who loves the iPod's interface, specifically scrolling through songs.
Me: To scroll through songs, I could just hold down the down button.
Him: But the wheel is easier to use!
Me: How is moving my thumb in a circle easier than holding down a button?
Him: Well, holding down the button gets annoying after a while.
Me: <img src="style_emoticons/<#EMO_DIR#>/confused-fix.gif" style="vertical-align:middle" emoid="???" border="0" alt="confused-fix.gif" />
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The scroll wheel allows you to control the speed of the scrolling, a button does not. That's a pretty important feature to most people, it seems (myself included). It's just like the scrollwheel on your mouse. Imagine if you had to browse websites with two buttons (up, down) instead of a scrollwheel. Wouldn't you find that frustrating? If you want to get some idea of what what it'd be like, try using the arrow keys to scroll through websites for a while.
-Battery lasts long enough on my iPod (note: I'm not saying I'm saying that's the case for everyone, but I don't need to watch 3 movies before a recharge)
-Why the hell I would want an FM radio when I'm filled with mp3's is beyond me (note: I live in a country where the radio is beyond crap, which might not be the case for everyone)
-WiFi: Well that could be nice I'm sure, but then again read above. And if a friend wants to show me something, it's not a hard task to switch earphones, and there's no player restrictions.
-Formats accepted can be a pain, but I already had many mp3's and couldn't be bothered to reconvert all my CD's to an OGG format or whatever. (note: obviously if you don't have mp3's and AAC, the iPod would be a poor choice unless you have a lot of courage and time)
-I don't watch movies, but I do have some silly clips on my iPod. I must admit the screen is tiny, but if you're looking for a video player it's quite a known fact that the iPod Video isn't what you're looking for. For music however, screen is large enough.
-The pricetag is high, but then again you don't buy one every day. What's really expensive on the iPod is the accessories you'd be tempted to buy. I myself bought a refurbished iPod so it was actually cheap. Students also get a discount. It's also not true that Apple is excessively abusive with pricing; other brands sometimes do just as badly, but don't even have accessories such as special speakers (that you're not forced to buy) or a fancy dock (again, no purchase necessary) that make the iPod look like a luxury item. That said, they used to add in a pleather case, an AC adapter, and a dock in their packaging, and they don't do anymore. I've been deceived by that, but I already had an AC adapter so I'm not bothered by this. But it IS annoying to not be able to charge on the move.
-I don't use the iTunes shop, but it is the largest provider of payable music downloads, and it's iPod only. Not that it's a good thing, but it's something to consider. (Boycott if you want, it's not as if it would change anything)
I'm sure there's more I could say, but I can't figure it right now. Zune's probably a good player as well, but it's larger. Would you want something that's small and fits in your pocket, or something large and that lets you watch movies on the go? (I'm not saying that the iPod is the smallest player around, you might want to look elsewhere as well, but the iPods are small and easy to use, contrarily to say Samsung's players which are small but painful to use, I just couldn't be bothered to spend hours on researching the perfect player and I just decided that out of the few I've tested, the iPod was my favorite)
The scroll wheel allows you to control the speed of the scrolling, a button does not.
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It's not like it stays the same speed. If you hold it, it starts going faster.
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Stuff
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So your argument boils down to, "Sure the Zune has more features, and sure it's cheaper, but it is BIGGER"?
It's not like it stays the same speed. If you hold it, it starts going faster.
So your argument boils down to, "Sure the Zune has more features, and sure it's cheaper, but it is BIGGER"?
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I'm not defending the iPod nor attacking the Zune. If you're fine with having a big multiplayer whatever platform in your pocket because it plays fancy movies, then why not go for the Zune? It's like saying the PSP is better than the DS because it can play UMD films. Sure, features are nice but it all comes down to what you're expecting to do with it. Don't get an iPod if you want to watch series in the train, but why get something with a radio when radio quality sucks and you have plenty of music according to your taste in your pocket?
Sure tech stuff looks all neat and stuff, but it's getting so damn redundant, you get phones with PDA, mp3, camera, and who knows what else in your left pocket, then in your right pocket your Archos with a camera, video recorder, mp3, and voice recording, and if you're travelling, a PC with a media player, a webcam, and much more. I just want a music player, and I don't want it to be all technology, I want it to play music.
And as you said, holding a button <b>starts</b> making the menu go faster. With the iPod, one quick stroke with your thumb and you can select the first letter of the artist/song/whatever and it's very easy afterwards.
edit:
And the iPod itself isn't that much more expensive compared to other products from, for example, Cowon or Creative.
A 30 GB iPod costs 280 Euros
The Creative Zen Vision 270 euros.
The Cowon iAudio X5L 30Go costs 380 Euros
Zunes can't even be bought on this side of the Atlantic I think (not in France at least)
I bought my 60 GB model for 335 Euros (refurbished). Back then, the Creative Zen cost 400 Euros I think.
The 30 gig iPod is $250
The 30 Gig Zune is $250
The 30 Gig Zen is $250
That being said.
THEY ARE ALL RIP OFFS.
Personally I can't stand MP3 players, the price is simply not justified in my mind.
I can buy a $20 CD player (that plays MP3s) and carry around a few CDs with me. Sure, It isn't NEARLY as much music as a 30 Gig player can hold, but it is no great problem to swap CDs every so often. and if I am going some where that I need that much music? Well I bring a CD binder then.
so they can play video. On tiny farken screens.
The only thing I am tempted by are things like Archos. Big screens, good storage, good play back compatibility.
horrible price.
So meh <img src="style_emoticons/<#EMO_DIR#>/tounge.gif" style="vertical-align:middle" emoid=":p" border="0" alt="tounge.gif" />
Sure if you have large amounts of dispossible income, MP3 players are great. But I have other things I think I get more of a reward from buying.
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longer battery life than ipod</b> supposedly long enough to watch 3 full length movies on it<!--QuoteEnd--></div><!--QuoteEEnd-->
My zune doesn't seem to have that battery life, but maybe I have an early model with a crappy battery. Mine seems to go dead after about 4 hours of music.
<!--quoteo--><div class='quotetop'>QUOTE</div><div class='quotemain'><!--quotec--><b>wifi to get music from other zunes</b> a zune pr rep told me it was bluetooth but ive always heard it referred to as wifi, which kinda makes me curious if it can access the internet or anything. ive also read that music recieved from other zunes can only be listened to 3 times, but still its kinda cool that you can get stuff to try out, then see if you want to get it for keeps later<!--QuoteEnd--></div><!--QuoteEEnd-->
never used this feature, probably never will.
<!--quoteo--><div class='quotetop'>QUOTE</div><div class='quotemain'><!--quotec--><b>larger screen than ipod</b> 3 inch screen<!--QuoteEnd--></div><!--QuoteEEnd-->
I like the big screen, and the video quality is awesome... but I never watch any videos on it anyway.
<!--quoteo--><div class='quotetop'>QUOTE</div><div class='quotemain'><!--quotec--><b>way thick shock absorbing rubber outside</b> also a scratch resistant screen<!--QuoteEnd--></div><!--QuoteEEnd-->
it definitely seems more durable than the ipod, though I've never dropped it so far.
<!--quoteo--><div class='quotetop'>QUOTE</div><div class='quotemain'><!--quotec--><b>its too big</b> but thas not really a deal for me at all<!--QuoteEnd--></div><!--QuoteEEnd-->
the size certainly doesn't bother me, though I mostly use it in the car. even when I don't, it fits in my pocket just fine.
All in all, I'm happy with it as a music player. I had an iPod before it, and I really don't prefer one over the other. I expected to love it more than the iPod, since they released it with the hopes that it might be an 'iPod killer' - but it really wasn't noticably better. I like the hold-down buttons over the swirly thumb ring, but I like the iPod's menus slightly better than the Zune's. I also love the look of the zune <img src="style_emoticons/<#EMO_DIR#>/tounge.gif" style="vertical-align:middle" emoid=":p" border="0" alt="tounge.gif" /> the brown with green tint makes it look all sophisticated <img src="style_emoticons/<#EMO_DIR#>/biggrin-fix.gif" style="vertical-align:middle" emoid=":D" border="0" alt="biggrin-fix.gif" /> all in all, if you're in the market for a music player in this price range, you wouldn't be going wrong with a Zune, IMO.
As for the CD player comment someone made, I like having my entire music library with me, on the chance I might change my mind on what I want to hear at the moment. I've got over 25 gigs of music on my player - that would be an extremely excessive amount of CDs to carry around at one moment. Not only that, but the CD player itself is large in comparison to any current MP3 player. Sure, I could take a CD player around, but then I only have a minuscule amount of my music collection with me on a bigger device - and if I want to take more of my collection with me, I have to carry around discs that are wider (and therefore harder to put in a pocket) than any current MP3 player. Sure, the price is nice, but the convenience and portability makes the price of a smaller MP3 player worthwhile to me.
Zen Vision M.
Get.
would be one of my major concerns having bought a lot of ipod accessories (mainly wall charging kit/car charger/fm transmitter) and would like to be able to use them on other devices (you can switch out the ipod docking cable attached so that's not a problem).
Is the zune a usb device? Can you charge it and listen at the same time?
would be one of my major concerns having bought a lot of ipod accessories (mainly wall charging kit/car charger/fm transmitter) and would like to be able to use them on other devices (you can switch out the ipod docking cable attached so that's not a problem).
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well, it's USB, but I don't think iPod accessories fit it. it comes with its own USB cable to connect it to the computer though, which is the only way to charge it out of the box. I did think it was stingy of them to not include at least a wall charger as well. if your car FM adapter fits into the headphone jack, it should fit into the zune too, but the chargey part probably wouldn't fit into the zune chargy part <img src="style_emoticons/<#EMO_DIR#>/sad-fix.gif" style="vertical-align:middle" emoid=":(" border="0" alt="sad-fix.gif" /> it's sad too because they look so similar - the zune and ipod data ports...
well, it's USB, but I don't think iPod accessories fit it. it comes with its own USB cable to connect it to the computer though, which is the only way to charge it out of the box. I did think it was stingy of them to not include at least a wall charger as well. if your car FM adapter fits into the headphone jack, it should fit into the zune too, but the chargey part probably wouldn't fit into the zune chargy part <img src="style_emoticons/<#EMO_DIR#>/sad-fix.gif" style="vertical-align:middle" emoid=":(" border="0" alt="sad-fix.gif" /> it's sad too because they look so similar - the zune and ipod data ports...
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The chargers I use have usb ports on them, so you can plug the ipod docking cable into them or the zune usb cable. What I mean is, if I plug my ipod into a wall charger, since it's not connected to a PC all it does is stop using the battery to operate, it runs off whatever power source you plug it into. You can still listen to music. I wonder if the zune also makes that distinction between pluging into a computer as a device or just charging off of a wall or car lighter.
e/ also the reason i'd get a zune is that the docking port on my ipod doesn't want to connect to my computer any more (or any other computer) Anyone know of a way of paying to get it replaced? (I assume it's attached to the mainboard so that might to too expensive and not worth it) I have to wriggle the cable around for ages till it finally connects. oh and it's a 2gb first gen nano
I got an iLame..err..Pod a couple years back. 20 gigger..Worked fine..then I updated the software..it became a 300 dollar paper weight for several weeks til I found out a way to fix it...which was to take it on it's side and tap it against something hard. It worked, but it took forever for iTunes to load, was a hassle, my iPod started to skip a lot and just caused me so many issues.
I bought a Zune shortly after they came out.
AND I LOVE IT SOOOO MUCH!
10gigs more than my iPod, so 30 gigs total.
Music
Pictures
Video
Radio Am/Fm and it adjust to your location in the world by you changing the setting.
Wireless drains battery, but that's worthless and I don't use it.
Zune music upload program loads up quicker for me
My rating of an iPod = 4
My rating of a Zune = 9
I almost made a video of me using my iPod as a baseball, but I still have it and haven't gotten around to it. Might as well sell it for like 50$.
More of a reason why Microsoft > Apple!
One thing to consider (you may or may not care) there's a "zune tax" when you buy a zune, meaning part of the profits go the the companies behind the RIAA (Universal, EMI, Sony, etc...) when you buy one because they assume you will pirate music. It doesn't make the pirated music legal of course, they just like taking money out of you pocket.
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I thought that was a joke at first but.. that's just such bs. I mean yes, they are 100% right, no doubt people will have pirated music on their mp3 players but it just seems equally immoral to have people pay for it before hand. Tried as an egg for a chicken :P
More of a reason why Microsoft > Apple!
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Actually, it proves Toshiba+MS > Apple. Toshiba makes the hardware for the Zune, as a matter of fact, they sell it as the Gigabeat S.
They both are more or less the same thing though, and they both use a version of Windows Mobile. All MS did was make an OS that they already had work for use in a portable audio player.
One thing to consider (you may or may not care) there's a "zune tax" when you buy a zune, meaning part of the profits go the the companies behind the RIAA (Universal, EMI, Sony, etc...) when you buy one because they assume you will pirate music. It doesn't make the pirated music legal of course, they just like taking money out of you pocket.
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I'm pretty sure this "tax" is included in any data storage device ranging, even CD's, USB keys, and Hard Drives. At least it is like that in France.
I can't say with 100% certainty that the all stuff you mentioned isn't taxed here in the US that way, but I know the iPod isn't (in the US, it is in Canada due to recently passed legislation).
One thing to consider (you may or may not care) there's a "zune tax" when you buy a zune, meaning part of the profits go the the companies behind the RIAA (Universal, EMI, Sony, etc...) when you buy one because they assume you will pirate music. It doesn't make the pirated music legal of course, they just like taking money out of you pocket.
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I remember what you are talking about, and I thought it did not go through.
For reference:
MS had a deal going with some of the major record labels saying they would do profit sharing with them b/c the Zune was obviously for pirates (yah, the logic is lacking). The choke hold that the labels had on MS was that they said "do this, or we will not let you sell our songs. However I thought that this deal did not go through...
This is DIFFERENT then the Pirate Tax that is on blank media in countries out side of the USA (Canada, france? and any one else).
But still, I was finally able to see one in use. First time for me.