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A Hands-On Zune Review
jayintune writes "2old2play.com got the chance to sit down with Microsoft's new media player, the Zune, to give some comments and insight into the players User Interface, Video Playback, Music Sharing, as well as software and setup." From the article: "I had expected the player to be fairly heavy, but after holding the Zune in my hand it was clear that I was wrong. It is not as light as the latest video iPod, but compared to my fourth-generation iPod, the Zune was lighter. The top of the Zune had a clear glass layer while the exterior had a tactile feel to it, nothing like the hard metal and plastic of the iPod devices. The 'skin' of the Zune was a 'rubberized' material that had a smooth seductive feel to it. I found myself unable to stop stroking the device, so much that the demo assistant asked me to put it down."
Um... Yeah. looks a news headlines, again. OK... maybe the author just having a little fun with the reader.
Clicking on the "community" button allowed me to see the other two Zunes nearby. I decided to send them my community member a song. Browsed to my music folder, found to a song and, instead of selecting to play it, I chose to send it. Prompted with a list of Zune's nearby, I chose one and sent it. Watching the other Zune, the user was prompted to download and accepted the request. It took less than 20 seconds to send the whole song which included album art.
Sounds lengthy, but if you're trying to chat up a hot prospect 20 seconds is plenty of time to break the ice.
Upon a successful transfer, the music is wrapped with a digital rights management (DRM) layer which will give the user a three day or three-listen license. I don't know about many of our readers, but I can listen to a song over and over again. Three plays... please!
DRM(!) huhhhhh HUUHHHHH huhhhhh HUUHHHHH Welcome to the dark side I wonder if there's something which allows you to add it to a wishlist to buy later if you decide you like it.
Yes, it is a first-generation product but I really like the direction Microsoft is taking with the Zune.
Clearly the reviewer is happy with DRM. Only one model, Hmm.. So when's the Zune Femto coming out?
A feeling of having made the same mistake before: Deja Foobar
Let me go ahead and burn karma to get this out of the way:
... am I forgetting anything?
He's lying! He's a paid Microsoft shill! There's no way that it's as good as he says! It must be rigged! It's probably the new iPod and he thought it was a MS product! He's brainwashed by the DRM! It doesn't run Linux!
Anyone who makes a statement like that in a review has obviously made their mind up about the device (they WILL love it) before they even saw it. Though I may be wrong, I cant read the article at work to see if he panned it or not.
I say this because I know that I will be stroking my Wii on Nov 19th. Dont try to hide your feelings from your readers if you are reviewing something, some people actually take reviews seriously.
I haven't RTFA, but I'll be damned if I'm going to after that little choice excerpt--this stuff reads like B-rate pr0n narrative!
I left my wallet in El Sigundo!
Microsoft's traditional marketing isn't working well.
y =zune_meme_rerun
Gee? What other ploys can Microsoft try?
Unfortunately, the mental bandwidth already belongs to iPod, it will be hard to dislodge them in favor of Zune.
http://www.realmeme.com/roller/page/realmeme?entr
2 articles; hmm first ditch the Apple iPhone and than stroke the Zune .. something smells fishy here :-)
I think he was told to put it down because it was about to squirt.
What If Microsoft Made A Media Player And No One Cared?
# cat
Damn, my RAM is full of llamas.
The 'skin' of the Zune was a 'rubberized' material that had a smooth seductive feel to it.
Yeah, I remember reading somewhere that Microsoft contracted out to the RealDoll company for that part.
The theory of relativity doesn't work right in Arkansas.
What is the matter with people? Can't they just learn the value of thinking or conversations with complete strangers on long journeys instead of having to be listening to music
What's the matter with people, can't we just go to work without some stranger harassing us in the bus?
iPod or no, walkman or not, I've never seen anyone in the bus or the subway start a conversation with a stranger who wasn't politely trying to end the conversation as fast as possible.
Besidses, some of us can listen to music AND think at the same time. Heck, I can even chew gum and walk on top of that!
You can't take the sky from me...
Zune sounds very much like ziyun which is a Hebrew curse word for f***.
I'll wait until my Zune automatically recieves audio and video ads from stores I enter. Nothing like walking into a Walmart to have my Zune download an add on it's own which then starts to play through my headphones. I can't wait.
I think he did answer that in the review: "Upon a successful transfer, the music is wrapped with a digital rights management (DRM) layer which will give the user a three day or three-listen license." I would imagine that this is as simple as Microsoft somehow tagging the file within the Zune's filesystem (nobody ever said its file management would follow a standard) to prohibit redistribution of the music to other devices, playing more than three times, or playing after three days. Microsoft has complete control over the platform, after all, so I would assume they went about this the "easy way" by doing something like this. It's similar to what Sony did with Minidisc recorders back in the day. Music recorded through an optical or digital source was not encoded differently on a Minidisc, but was "tagged" in the file system to prevent playback of that track through a digital output connection (to prevent redistribution of nearly-perfect digital copies from player to player to player...)
Like I said, I'm not a Microsoft schill or anything, and don't care either way about the Zune or whether or not people will use it / like it / stroke it. I'm just interested in the technology and getting the biggest bang for my buck when I eventually purchase a music player. Competition with Apple's iPod from the Microsoft camp can only mean good things for the consumer, regardless which player they choose to purchase.
Who wrote that article? Borat?
[i]I decided to send them my community member a song. Browsed to my music folder, found to a song and, instead of selecting to play it, I chose to send it.[/i]
That was to a worst two a sentences I ever look, I choose to read.
"Things are more moderner than before- bigger, and yet smaller- it's computers-- San Dimas High School football RULES!"
And the iPod is pretty guldurn brainless, aint it? I mean there are some weird things about the interface and how it works with Window, but all in all ok. If Zune is even the slightest bit harder to use or the slightest bit less seamless then I'm afraid most people will abandon it. Even with the iPod all those PDA like functions - I know anyone who uses them, it's too hard to use. But the real iPod media functions are very simple. If I had to relearn a new UI one that was even a little bit clunkier then I would quickly go back to my iPod.
What's the big deal with cover art and screen savers on music players and phones? Do people honestly watch a screen saver for more than 5 seconds before sticking the gizmo in their pocket? Do people actually look at (or care about) cover art? I've always just picked a playlist, hit "play" and put the device back in my pocket. Cover art I view on my PC, but not the music player.
Same goes for all the hype around the interface? I found the best interface is to create a few playlists on the PC -- which has a real screen and a keyboard -- and move them over. Then, all I really do is pick a playlist which maybe takes 5 seconds in almost any interface. The only other controls I use are volume and stop.
Do people actually spend that much time fucking around with a music player? Isn't is supposed to like, play music? Or is it a form of entertainment unto itself?
Learning HOW to think is more important than learning WHAT to think.
The quote in the summary sounds like the beginning of those first-person porn stories you find in Hustler.
Welll, not necessarily YOU, the reader, but a generalized statement that one could, if one were so inclined, find such lurid tales in the pages of magazines such as Hustler. But one is not necessarily you. Although, you may be one and not even know it.
But that's besides the point. The quote in the summary sounds like the beginning of those first-person porn stories you find in Hustler.
I had expected the player to be fairly heavy, but after holding the Zune in my hand it was clear that I was wrong.
I could sense it somehow, as if the pully-downey force that makes things fall and me very tired was not affecting the Zune as not much as I expected it not too.
It is not as light as the latest video iPod, but compared to my fourth-generation iPod, the Zune was lighter.
Ah ha, thought I. As I go back generations of media player, things get heavier. It was also a tad lighter than a 1952 Bendix steam powered black and white television console, thus adding weight (pun intended!!) to my theory. I plan to compare the Zune to a four ton heiroglyphic slab in Luxor, Egypt when I get the chance.
The top of the Zune had a clear glass layer while the exterior had a tactile feel to it,
Tactile. Definition: Perceptible to the sense of touch; tangible. So, yes, the Zune did in fact exist as far as my sensory apparatty and perceptualtudeness could determine.
The 'skin' of the Zune was a 'rubberized' material that had a smooth seductive feel to it. I found myself unable to stop stroking the device, so much that the demo assistant asked me to put it down."
He then called the police who took me downtown to a jail cell, and that's where I'm writing thie review now.
When I meet a girl in a bar, unless it was the starting subject, talk about music is usually scraping near the bottom of the conversation barrel. Even if music is an important subject, what are the odds that said girl will have dumped her $300 Ipod for a Zune and will be able to recieve your music?
Right on, but it's worse than that. If you do ever meet some kind of rare recorded music groupie, is there any chance in hell they would be impressed by "sharing" a song three times? Like Jobs said, it's much more fun to stick your headphone in her ear.
Where do you meet people who want to trade music anyway!?
Class, work, family reunions, anywhere people meet regularly. In that case, anyone who really cares to share or trade is going to haul their laptop, USB disk or non crippled music player. These people are the music industry's best customers, because having something to share brings prestige and CDs are good hard copy backups.
Friends don't help friends install M$ junk.
2old2play?!! can't stop stroking the zune?!! Eww!!!
I found myself unable to stop stroking the device ...
Wireless pr0n on-the-go, huh?
This is my post. There are many others like it. If you don't like what you read here, go try one of the others.
Here is a blurb from the frontpage of their website:
Yep, and they seem to be pretty good at it too
Toshiba is also giving away Free Ear Buds and Covers along with the Zune. Car Charger and Sync Cable are expected to be provided by Taiwanese giant, FoxConn. Flextronics expected to provide AV Cable. AsKey will provide all the IR and FM parts.