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Microsoft Launches the Zune
Doug-W writes to mention an Engadget post about Microsoft's launch of the Zune. From the article: "Not a lot of surprises in the specs department, but they've confirmed the basics we've known for a while, like WiFi, 30GB of HDD, built-in FM, a 3-inch screen and the basic music, pictures and video playback. They also finally let slip the screen res -- an unsurprising QVGA -- and some better news on the codec front: the Zune supports h.264, MP3, AAC and WMA. As for ballyhoo, wireless Zune-to-Zune sharing is where the real action is at, and it works pretty much like we've been hearing: you can share a full-length track with a friend, and they've got three times to listen to it over a three day period, after which they can flag the song for purchase on the Zune Marketplace -- unless they're an unlimited 'Zune Pass' subscriber, of course."
the brown Zune look with the blue screen of death?
Here's a hint on all these ad-hoc wireless networks. We also have another ad-hoc wireless network. We call it air, and it can transmit vibrations from one person to another! Seriously, I've had my DS for awhile, and I've never suddenly found a person to play wireless with. Unless you have bells and whistles going off to indicate another person is around (and I'm not going to sit around at a "looking for" screen), it's a solitary thing.
And slapping on the usual DRM shackles won't change this. Most likely, make it much worse and harder to stick to the general public.
Is it just me or is Zune a terrible name?
"Technology.....the knack of so arranging the world that we don't have to experience it." Max Firsch
Brown? Seriously? It's meant to be a cutting-edge, fetishistic techno-gadget, and they offer it in fucking brown?
Steve Jobs: "Here's our new iPod Nano! It's available in black, white, silver and shiny green and pink!"
Steve Ballmer: "Oh yeah? Well, here's Zune! It's available in black, white and this stylish turd-brown!"
Steve Jobs: "Brown, huh? You got it in beige as well? Or tweed? How about a nice Argyle pattern?"
Steve Ballmer: "Fuck YOOOOOUUUU!" [throws chair]
Good ol' MS. Always as stylish and tasteful as ever.
You must think in Russian.
... and neither are mentioned, as far as I can see:
... as well...
Price & battery-life
Bit of a pity that:
"The Zune-to-Zune sharing feature may not be available for all songs on your device, and works only between Zune devices within wireless range of each other. This feature allows recipients to play full-length sample tracks up to three times in three days. Recipients cannot resend music that they have received via the sharing feature."
Simon.
Physicists get Hadrons!
Me...for one. I think it's pretty sweet.
One thing that we're all still wondering is how will people control the thing? I haven't seen one explanation for how the center "wheel" (if that's what it is) works. I think we'd all like to see a screenshot of the menu/control systems...
What about the Zune is so revolutionary that it makes a person not want to buy an ipod or throw away their current mp3 player for the Zune.
Klingon Software is not released, it escapes, inflicting terrible damage onto the enemy as it does
Although it sounds good, do people hate microsoft so much (thanks to windows) that it will not be a success compared to the more-respected apple?
I think that your assumptions are a bit off. I don't know any non-geeks who could care less about Microsoft. Besides, why would they hate Windows? Windows 2000/XP is cheap, easy to use, and works.
That point aside, I'll be buying one because I don't want to give Apple one red cent, and I've been waiting for a good one to come out.
Is this really a launch? Can they be purchased today?? No? Then this isn't really a launch then is it? I can order a new Nano and it will be here in a few days to a day. Zune's probably ain't going ot show up until November.....
Gorkman
...the rest of the world that isn't so maliciously bent on overly criticizing every single idea that comes out of Redmond. The people who just care about the music and not all this bitter debate about who's "better" than who (as if the entire world are experts on quality).
People who want to see something new, not (unlike a certain other company that made product announcements this week) the same old crap with more storage, a smoke-and-mirrors attempt at gapless playback, different colors (again), and an idea that's already been done for years, and a still-overly-restrictive DRM system.
Alright you simply have to explain this one.
You'd rather give money to Microsoft over Apple.
All of Slashdot is pulling up a chair, make it a good one!
Mac OS X and Windows XP working side by side to fight back the night.
Because it will decimate every other mp3 player brand besides apple, I wonder if this isn't a play to destroy the concept of owning your music entirely.
.doc.
Yes, I know they claim to play an mp3, but the devil is in the details. As in they will likely make it very inconvenient to use mp3's. Kind of like how easy it is to open may formats in MSWORD, but very difficult to use anything other than
The thing I'm interested in seeing is the wireless sharing. I don't think the average mp3 player consumer -wants- sharing, but I'd be very interested in them proving me wrong.
What's even more interesting will be the first virus transferred from zune-to-zune.
It's microsoft. It had to be said.
http://www.maxineudall.com/2010/02/should-economists-be-sued-for-malpractice.html
One thing that we're all still wondering is how will people control the thing? I haven't seen one explanation for how the center "wheel" (if that's what it is) works.
I think it was confirmed a while back (via an FCC filing or something) that it's not actually a wheel, just four buttons arranged to look like a wheel. The clickwheel without the wheel part.
Makes sense, as Apple does have a patent on the clickwheel design, and I was wondering how MS was going to get around it when I saw this. Simple enough; the wheel is not a wheel.
If they only renamed it the "Wii" it could be on Slashdot three times a day.
It may not be earthshaking news, but there's a lot of people who care - every person who owns MS stock. Microsoft has to keep pursuing new markets and Zune, like it or not, is one of their plays to get into a new market and keep the money flowing. (Of course, if they insist on losing money like they are with Xbox, that story may change.)
Microsoft's markets are largely saturated and under increasing pressure from FOSS and other products. And that's not a good story to tell investors. Microsoft hasn't had a killer product for a while and it's a company that thrives on growth. They need new brands badly because the ones they have are aging, and old brands, while good in financial and insurance markets, are not so good in consumer and high tech markets.
"It's real and we can touch it, so least we know where we stand." - Jack Burton
That is the stupidest feature I have ever heard of. Did they do any market research that led them to believe this was something people actually *wanted*? And that it worked the way they would want it to work?
...and he can listen to it for three days before it self-destructs?
So let me get this straight... if I have a Zune... and my friend has a Zune...
I can send them a track. Presuming the units sync up, and wireless works, and the phase of the moon is correct, because wireless is still basically tin-can-and-string at times...
Lame. Useless. Unless my friend and I both decided to take a risk and go out and get one of these doohickies each, how would this situation ever come up? Even if you find another Zune owner, what are the chances he also shares you musical interests?
It's a strange world -- let's keep it that way
The idea behind h.264 is to use more computing power (or more likely in this case dedicated ASIC) to give a better picture for your size bitsream--at any resolution. QVGA is nice because it is 4:3, and is thus more compatible than the huge array of widescreen ratios. 320x240 is a pretty well recognized standard--you'll see a lot of video recorded natively at this resolution.
Gapless playback?
As of yesterday, it's a must have
Summation 2
It's not widescreen. It's the exact same resolution as the iPod with video - 4:3, QVGA (320x240). They've just turned the screen sideways and made it 3" diag instead of 2.5".
so all players that support mp3 should also support it.
If anyone is wondering what the box art will look like, here it is
Summation 2
How can something that is functionally equivalent to an iPod be, in any way, the "next big thing?"
And no, I don't consider zune's wireless sharing to be even the "next little thing." It's like trying to take on Kimberly Clark (maker of Kleenax) by selling your own brand of facial tissue. Sure, you can make money, you might even take some of their market share, but you will never be Kleenax. You have to find a new niche if you want to be the next big thing.
Repetition does not transform a lie into the truth. - FDR
> Although it sounds good, do people hate microsoft so much (thanks to windows) that it will not be
> a success compared to the more-respected apple?
I'm still waiting for a portable player that meets my, admittedly demandinging, feature checklist. Doesn't look like Zune is in the running.
1. Must be able to run Rockbox. No vendor, especially Microsoft, is going to release a perfected firmware first try or even tenth try, and will move on to the next product long before the bugs are squashed and certainly before I am ready to buy a new unit. At least with something like Rockbox I could fix a really annoying bug myself if all else failed.
2. Must be able to support a wide range of codecs I am interested in and am able to rip to. MP3 is of course a given, but FLAC is important to me, especially on a HDD based player. OGG would be nice, but wouldn't be a deal breaker. I understand why many don't do it, nobody is doing it in a DSP yet so software only playback eats CPU and battery. AAC and WMA can exist, although I won't be using either of them. Video on a 2-3 inch screen is of zero interest for me, but if it doesn't bloat the physical size or kill battery life I'm neutral on it.
3. Must have a user replacable battery. Period, full stop.
Democrat delenda est
...the white model. The happy couple are frollicking in ... the east river of New York City. That's the Manhattan bridge in the background, and they're esentially right below and slightly west of the Brooklyn Bridge.
I have walked/jogged/biked/fled from that area thousands of times and it is *not* anywhere you want to put your feet in the water...the water itself is unbelievably polluted, and unless the pic is doctored, or somebody spent a month cleaning up the area, the dude is walking on broken glass, rusted everything, and stuff that can't be identified, and maybe that's for the best.
I'm not sure what to message to take from the pic: "Take a life threatening chance: buy a Zune!" comes to mind.
1st will likely be a means of sharing over wireless without the self-destruct "feature".
Probably shortly to follow, either a firmware update that adds more codecs, or a software app that transcodes to whatever Windows format is being used for video on that platform.
Next, a web-browser that can take you to various pages you have saved as favorites.
Finally, complete Linux port.
Any other good ideas?
There is no mod option "-1: Disagree" for a reason. "Overrated" is not an acceptable substitute. Post something instead.
The radio reception is usually horrible on anything that relies on using the headphone wires as an antenna. Unless you have an incredibly powerful signal I wouldn't bank on it.
If they can solve the reception issues with a sensitive receiver then the radio aspect should be a winner. Probably won't be much different than my iRiver H340 reception. I wish them luck, they'll need it.
I'm skepticle that even with their big name, big money and improved features they are way too late to the market.
God: When you do things right, people won't be sure you've done anything at all.
Wireless. More space than a Nomad. Lame.
You must think in Russian.
I find it amazing that, according to their press photos, The Zune's 320 x 240 screen is so amazing that it can display what appears to be five times the number of pixels it actually has.
Someone give those ClearType guys a raise!
Not to bust your bubble, but all MS has done is just regurgitated an portable player. The bigger screen is nice but it will also eat up your battery life too. Apple might have only given a little bit better screen with brightness and higher resolution, but at least they gave a much better battery life, both devices have yet to be tested in that area yet but we don't even know what the Zune can do yet.
Ad-hoc wireless sounds nice, but I'm sure its going to have a major bug that everyone is going to exploit to either keep the music or its going to f up and people can't trade the songs. And its Windows only probably. So everyone that hates MS now and is looking to switch to something else are not going to buy this device. Plus its going to be XP or Vista only and cut out everyone that doesn't upgrade.
This device even looks like the iPod large screen photo that came out like a year ago as a fake design, with the addition of the two buttons on either side of the click wheel. No very inventive there, plus the size of 30Gigs is just small, way to small.
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Assuming you can get the wireless networking to even work (with Microsoft's ad-hoc networking history that is NOT a given) how long do you think it will be before the first Zune virus appears?
Also, since the thing supports MP3 and AAC and uses USB to connect, why won't Microsoft support the Mac? It should be trivial to do, and it would eliminate so many complaints about it being a "closed" system. Obviously iPod supports Windows for the market share, but Apple can legitimately claim that they have the only product that supports Mac and Windows.
I've got $20 that says only protected, purchased WMV's (or w/e they're called) will share. It's just a brazen way to drive people to purchase from the Zune store; they have no interest in sharing everything. Of course, they'll tell you that they only allow that kind of sharing to keep from "confusing" customers with shared files that can't be purchased. Thanks for the assistance, MS.
They've already hinted at it, saying that only "certain" files can be shared.
Repetition does not transform a lie into the truth. - FDR
Personally, I'd wait to see how it pans out before buying. First off, what kind of battery life is this going to have? With wi-fi and everything, I can't see how it'll be very good at all.
Second, what about the accessories? Right now, my iPod can be fully controlled from my Pioneer car stereo through their interface (and it charges the iPod for you too). Think they'll offer the same for Zune players? What about all the other iPod-related devices that have cropped up like clock radios with iPod docks, voice recorder add-ons, and digital camera storage adapters?
Because there are only four people who care?
Why yes, I AM a rocket scientist!
Well the *photos* do look nice. But nobody have seen the device in wild so they can be as well 3DStudio renders. :) Typical for MS they announce something like it is real - Zune is unreal as for now. Where can I get one? Where can I read independent review of one? Etc. Etc. Etc.
It does not even has branding on it. Just the look of it is not sufficient for branding - look of iPod is a brand itself, this looks like an iPod clone.
Actually I am used to MS strategies like announcing LongHorn with all WinFS and great stuff that just yet still is not here. So I take this announcement like usual. I will think that this is anything worth looking at when I actually can touch one.
Also I have some concerns, especially with:
1. The interface. Those *three* photos look nice but they do not tell anything about how the device works? Is it easy to use? I've used MS PDA (PocketPC) and it was horrible. I am with Palm now which is somewhat less horrible - so I don't se MS mobile products as quite easy to use or reliable.
2. Those ad-hoc wifi networks - how it is going to work? I've used MS PDA with wifi and it was pain. Actually wifi is quite painfull as for now (especially in MS arrangement). So how they are going to wifify those devices? IMHO wifi is not quite good for establishing such semi-PAN networks - BlueTooth is. But wifi - it is a hog on battery for sure.
So conluding - this is not something real. These are few photos even without branding (forget specs, pricing, performance and so on). So it is nothing actually - just to say "hey wait (like few months... or years) and we will have something like iPod is right now!", "don't buy iPod right now - wait (like months... years) for our mythic device" etc.
Quite unfair but at least in this market we know who rocks with launches that are real launches for real existing products and services...
Who told you that? There are plenty:
FLAC players
Vorbis players
FLAC - Free Lossless Audio Codec
Engadget recently interviewed an MS Corporate VP regarding the Zune and how Microsoft explains the lack of supporting "Plays For Sure". The resulting statements from this Microsoft Exec are truly worrisome:
Full Article Here"
E: "PlaysForSure was the thrust of Microsoft's strategy until the announcement of the Zune. How does PlaysForSure fit into Microsoft's strategy going forward?"
MS: "...There's another class of consumers that just want to get digital media, and they just want to be able to go to one store and have it all..."
E: "Wasn't that the point of PlaysForSure?"
MS: "...Zune says there is no choice; you get a Zune device, you hook it up to the Zune service, and it just works."
Yikes! I thought the iPod was evil because Apple didn't give me a choice...now it seems no choice is just what the doctor ordered! How stupid does Microsoft think we are?
I only came here to do two things; kick some ass, and drink some beer...looks like we're almost out of beer.
Yep, just like the tabs they call 'Ribbens' in Office 2007
I can't buy one (not that I would if I could). I can't find anything but a presskit on Microsoft's website. There's no Zune website. There's no mention of pricing, nor when the things will be available.
All I see here is a half-assed response to Apple's new iPod product launch a couple days ago.
Absurdity: A statement or belief manifestly inconsistent with one's own opinion. -- Ambrose Bierce
I did a double take over H.264 at first, but maybe Microsoft have realised that they have to support these formats or end up with a dead duck that no-one wants.
The whole "Zune-to-Zune" sharing thing seems like a gimmick. I also have a Nintendo DS, and I've never kept it in "Standby mode" and met anybody. I have arranged with friends to play against them, but it was always planned. Unless a large number of people own Zunes and there are a sizable number of people within the range of the Zune wi-fi thing, there's a slim chance you'll happen to bump into someone and listen to the song that will change your life. If you go through the trouble of meeting up with someone to listen to their music, just put the album on a flash-drive or a portable hard drive. Maybe it will make ignorent consumers think "Hey, this is the same P2P thing that Napster got busted for. I am so "on the edge!"", which might result in sales numbers. But hey, competition is good for the iPod. I'm interested to see how it will do (After all, the iPod isn't exactly 'feature heavy' either).
Makes sense, as Apple does have a patent on the clickwheel design, and I was wondering how MS was going to get around it when I saw this. Simple enough; the wheel is not a wheel.
You know what else Apple has? Something I haven't seen mentioned in the first 120 comments on this post?
The Dock connector.
Apple's trump card, the 30-pin dock connector and it's communications scheme is par of their defense against other players stealing marketshare.
Want to plug your iPod into your new car? Next model year (which starts, ah in a few weeks), you'll be be able to buy a car from any of roughly 3/4 of the world's automakers that has a built-in iPod dock. The offerings this year aren't bad, either.
I see the requisite oval connector shape on the Zune (since they just couldn't stop at copying Apple's buttons and wheel look), but it's unclear what kind of dock connector they're using. If Apple has an exclusive deal with AMP, you can pretty much write the Zune off (as well as for other reasons, like the "what were they thinking?" color choices of white, black...and brown).
So, to sum up:
Apple has convinced everyone and their brother to put a dock connector in cars, boomboxes, camera connectors, etc. ad infinitum.
Zune does not have a dock connector, and can't use any iPod accessories, including those that come with a "Steering" wheel.
Theese people knocked the snot out of Kleenax.
I only came here to do two things; kick some ass, and drink some beer...looks like we're almost out of beer.
You must be out of your freaking mind.
Apple controls 80% of the portable media player market and has shipped over 60M devices while Microsoft hasn't even set a price for the Zune (their SECOND attempt after the failed PlaysForSure campaign) and you are saying they are the leaders in digital media?
I only came here to do two things; kick some ass, and drink some beer...looks like we're almost out of beer.
Dude, read the specs. Its 320x240. The screen is 3" as opposed to the iPod's 2.5".
And no, I don't consider zune's wireless sharing to be even the "next little thing." It's like trying to take on Kimberly Clark (maker of Kleenax) by selling your own brand of facial tissue. Sure, you can make money, you might even take some of their market share, but you will never be Kleenax. You have to find a new niche if you want to be the next big thing.
I'd say wireless sharing is much more of a big thing than any other development in mp3 players in the last 5 years, if done right. You know damn well that if Apple does it, people will be going nuts around here.
Caveat: the "play it 3 times" thing isn't the right way.
...by most consumers, I'd bet.
This just doesn't look like an iPod killer to me.
Physically, it looks cheap.
Feature-wise, there's nothing compelling. The wireless feature seems not well thought out and is so limited I doubt most buyers would have that as the top reason to purchase.
And, without a distribution system like iTunes, why would an iPod owner or even a 1st time buyer choose a Zune?
Some others have made points about accessories. That's a good question; what's available from MS? 3rd party support? Retailers signed up to give over shelf space?
Repair policy!
My wife had the screen on her iPod Mini crack while under warranty. Had a brand new unit from Apple in 72 hours. I bought a Shuffle like day one and it malfunctioned about 8 months out. Apple shipped me a new one and I returned the old one...in the same box...at their cost. Got the Shuffle in 48 hours! I opened both cases on the Apple site in about a minute with no hassle whatsoever.
What will Microsoft offer? Do they have the equivalent of AppleCare?
If they (MS) were smart, they'd have made the wireless work for an optional headset. No cords or dongles hanging from your player. Extra bucks for the "upgrade" from earplugs. Maybe they should let the Xbox marketing folks loose on this.
No...I don't think Steve Jobs will lose any sleep...or money...over Zune.
I am my own gestalt.
Choosing such an unstylish colour can mean only one thing: Microsoft have finally discovered the brown note.
"I tried the Zune, but it gave me the sh*ts - so I bought an iPod instead."
"People" don't hate Microsoft, geek's do. Plenty of geek's hate apple too... I for one can tell you I'm sick of their BS itunes and DRM. And I can also tell you they were an immediate turnoff after the first 3 ipods I purchased all died within 2 weeks (1G ipods).
Contrary to popular belief, most of the working world loves Microsoft. Windows has been stable since 2k was released. Outlook and Office have always gotten the job done except in the most obscure cases. You're definitely viewing the world through rose-colored glasses, most people have no animosity whatsoever towards MS. They just know they make "teh windows".
...there's the FM radio remote. I want AM radio. I use an iPod to get away from the crap on the FM dial, the real content (traffic, news, talk) on radio is on the AM band.
Supporting more file types is irrelevant to me. I want it to support THE FILE TYPES I USE.
I don't have any WMA media. I do have iTunes Fairplay media. It doesn't support that.
Further, all these "Features" are typical MS lies - the file sharing won't work with all media, It may have a screen that is 0.5" larger but will it play movie content? Are you sure?
It doesn't even support MICROSOFT'S VERY OWN "PLAYS FOR SURE" DRM!!!!
I only came here to do two things; kick some ass, and drink some beer...looks like we're almost out of beer.
Funny, if MS had that you'd be screaming anti-competitive practice...
If they didn't there would be plenty of people who would not consider a Zune because it would mean having to rerip large CD collections that are already in AAC format. Apple avoids this same thing by giving iTunes the ability to convert WMA files to AAC format. Microsoft's solution is better becuase you don't lose audio quality from transcoding to another lossy format.
Supportting H.264 has to do with the video iPod having the same format/resolution. There are many programs available that will convert DVD's and other computer video file formats to mpeg or H.264 at the resolution the iPod can support. Microsoft can now make use directly from this work being done for the iPod's benefit instead of having start an uphill popularity effort to get others to write the apps on their own accord. They could release a utility themselves, but that might cause some legal snafus they don't want to get involved with about ripping DVD's.
This is a good thing for consumers as it helps establish de facto standardized (non-proprietary) formats that can be used on a variety of players.
That's not the only color it's available but personally I applaud MS for releasing turd brown as an option. Now if they do a special "Ween Edition" turd brown - it'll be the perfect player to enjoy the brown sound on, especially if it has "Poop Ship Destroyer" engraved on it.
Sometimes my arms bend back.
Something wierd I found out when doing digital video work...widescreen has nothing to do with resolution, it has to do with pixel aspect ratio. quoting side and top screen sizes can tell you if something is widescreen. Resolution and diagonal size cannot.
Digital video off of DV cams on SD res comes in at 720 x 480, no matter if you turn on the widescreen mode or not. The widescreen mode changes the pixel aspect ratio to 1:1.2 which is what we see in video as "widescreen".
All that being said, if widescreen on computers is so widely misunderstood, what good would having a widescreen device be if noone understands how to properly make media for it?
FLAC playback is unnecessary when you can just convert to WAV or AIFF. Amusing that it's a requirement of yours, since nothing eats the battery more than constant HD access, which your giant FLAC files will do.
It doesn't mean much now, it's built for the future.
No, a widescreen would be.... wide.
This is the same 4:3 aspect ratio that the iPod has. What exactly about it is widescreen to you?
FiGZ.COM - A waste of perfectly good web space
"Plus its going to be XP or Vista only and cut out everyone that doesn't upgrade."
Yeah, unlike all those neat new iPod games and radio that work on my 4th gen photo iPod. oh, wait, Apple screwed people once again and decided that backwards compatibility wasn't going to sell more iPods. Seriously, a radio requires a 5h gen ipod? By the way, that's not a click-wheel, it's an 4-way rocker button which in my opinion is much better than the click wheel.
By the way, how many people do you honestly believe are using Windows 95/98? How many of these people do you honestly think are the likely target audience for this device? Let me give you a hint, it's between 1 and -1.
yeah, there may be some of that sneaky code protected by the DMCA involved? i know some of the after market adapter boxes that make your car's head unit basically think it is talking to a CD changer will display info like track name. i would assume there is some licensing deal going on there? if that is the case, then i guess Apple might just deny the license to somebody making a Zune-iPod adapter plug. who knows.
i read somewhere today that Microsoft claims it will take the Zune 5 years to catch on. i could be a dick and point out that the iPod's 5 year birthday is not for another month (i had to look this up). who knows what the ipod will be like in 5 years, if it even still exists. when you consider 5 years of advancements JUST in terms of data storage and battery size/life.... yikes.
I forget, is Zune the door keeper or the key master?
------ How can making people laugh lead to bad karma?
You're trying too hard: http://www.amp.com/
They make all kinds of connectors. There's a good chance you have a large number of them in your office or living room and don't even know it.
Earwax colored.
Why yes, I AM a rocket scientist!
Funny, if MS had that you'd be screaming anti-competitive practice...
Give me a break. There is a huge difference between coming out with a proprietary technology that SOLVES A PROBLEM and being able to successfully promote it vs. calling OEMs on the phone and saying "Ship Netscape and Die".
Avoid Missing Ball for High Score
He said technology leader, not market leader
Right, but he said that without having used the Zune. I'm not sure if WiFi sharing feature will be cool, or completely lame - I haven't used it or seen it used. I'm very confused about many aspects of the Zune. For example, it doesn't work with Microsoft's Plays For Sure. Why not? Besides Fair Play, Plays For Sure is the 2nd most popular DRM music solution.
Does it work with FairPlay? If not, and they are coming out with yet another format I'm just not sure that I'd be willing to take a gamble as to whether it would catch on.
Someone mentioned that it supports some huge number of formats, but I can't find a list anywhere. What formats? Does it support Ogg Vorbis?? If it doesn't support Ogg, Fair Play, or Plays Fore Sure, then what am I going to put on it? MP3s? Every player does MP3. WMA? OK, most non-iPods do that, although I'm not totally sure where I get WMA files.
Does it support IPod peripherals? If not, do they have any peripherals lined up for it? Will it work in my car? Can I get a boom box for it?
I don't see how citing one feature iPod doesn't have which sounds like (admittedly without having used said feature) it would not be all that useful makes them a "technology leader".
Avoid Missing Ball for High Score
Yeah, but does it run linux?
"A witty saying proves nothing." -- Voltaire
I did say functionally equivalent EXCEPT for the wifi, which I think is no more of a deal-maker than the FM tuner.
Only time will tell if the wifi is a real deal-maker or a lame non-starter. It's kinda like the FM tuner; not enough people want, need, or use it to make it a deal-maker in a fight between iPod and knockoffs. And, if the wifi is unusably lame or unnecessary, then yes, Zune WILL be functionally equivalent to your Nano, at least for the average buyer. It's the average buyer that makes a company top dog, not a fraction of a niche market.
Repetition does not transform a lie into the truth. - FDR
Most people, even Apple fanboys, have mostly non DRMed MP3 in thei music players, legally obtained (ripping from CDs, but also increasingly from music stores and independent artists that are smalling the coffee, lik emusic).
A player that would not recognize this reality would be dead at birth.
IANAL but write like a drunk one.
You do realize that FLAC is lossless and not uncompressed, right? So that maybe people want FLAC support so they can store more music on their portable player? Even a 60GB player will only fit around 12 albums uncompressed. In FLAC that number at least doubles.
The Farewell Tour II
"Brown's the color of poo." - Christopher Artemis Griffin
"Come on, let's go drink till we can't feel feelings anymore."