I actually wrote a similar piece, if not a bit more casually. If anyone wants to read it, it's here:http://www.ferretarmy.com/2007/10/03/new-zunes-are-announced-somewhat-underwhelming/.
I like the Zune, to tell the truth. Given that I picked the thing up at $85 shipped, it's not that hard to do so. The software is still pretty buggy and frustrating, but the players themselves aren't bad at all. The upgradeable firmware is a great feature, too, and one of the reasons I'm not so hard on it. I think that if they priced themselves significantly below the iPods, then they have a decent shot at taking some market share while they work on getting something out to go up against the iPod Touch. Unfortunately, that doesn't seem to be the will of M$, but whatever. I'll keep picking them up out of the bargain bin.
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I actually wrote a similar piece, if not a bit more casually. If anyone wants to read it, it's here:http://www.ferretarmy.com/2007/10/03/new-zunes-are-announced-somewhat-underwhelming/. I like the Zune, to tell the truth. Given that I picked the thing up at $85 shipped, it's not that hard to do so. The software is still pretty buggy and frustrating, but the players themselves aren't bad at all. The upgradeable firmware is a great feature, too, and one of the reasons I'm not so hard on it. I think that if they priced themselves significantly below the iPods, then they have a decent shot at taking some market share while they work on getting something out to go up against the iPod Touch. Unfortunately, that doesn't seem to be the will of M$, but whatever. I'll keep picking them up out of the bargain bin.