Insightful Zune Commentary from . . . AppleMatters.com? HUH?

re: Insightful Zune Commentary from . . . AppleMatters.com? HUH?

sgusto — Thu, 13 Aug 2009 12:36:05 GMT

I'd buy a Zune but don't know about it's DRM which I'd prefer not to have to deal with. It's why I won't buy an iPod. If I could do anything I want with it I'd buy it. their marketing should address this.

re: Insightful Zune Commentary from . . . AppleMatters.com? HUH?

Spacemanbob — Thu, 17 Apr 2008 03:04:45 GMT

Please get rid of the pauses between tracks. It is a real killer when I am listening to an album that I know has songs that flow into each other.

Please remove the gaps between songs on the zune.

re: Insightful Zune Commentary from . . . AppleMatters.com? HUH?

Brandt — Fri, 14 Sep 2007 08:26:13 GMT

Yup....You guys need to hold a huge Licencing Summit supporting Open Connectivity and Storage, where a persons' licence is imbedded in the actual audio/video data file itself. Currently...I buy a track from Wal-Mart.com...now then to copy it to my laptop and my Zune...and have a bullet proof backup copy on my externalt drive...I have to download the songs...burn them to an audio cd...delete the original song...rip the audio cd I just made...label the tracks....THEN I can FINALLY copy those tracks to my portable back up HDD, laptop and Zune....WHAT A ROYAL PAIN!!!

re: Insightful Zune Commentary from . . . AppleMatters.com? HUH?

damien — Tue, 24 Jul 2007 03:23:00 GMT

I have a Dell laptop that's about 4 years old & an iMac desktop. I'm looking to replace my cantankerous old Dell with either an HP or a MacBook Pro this winter.

But, even if I don't end up getting a MacBook; it'd still be nice to take my Zune to nearly any computer platform I wanted and play my tunes. For example, I use a Mac at work, so syncing my Zune there would be a no go.

That said, I'm rooting for Mac support. (Even if it's only Intel-based Macs). The more difficult thing is, though, that Zune may have to integrate the software into iLife the way Google did with Picasa (by installing a tiny plug-in).

Yeah.... I know the tiny Mac market-share would be a problem, too. Just my thoughts!

re: Insightful Zune Commentary from . . . AppleMatters.com? HUH?

Daniel — Mon, 19 Mar 2007 17:14:28 GMT

The only thing i wish i had on my current zune is an alarm clock that would allow me to wake up to music or radio. I'm not yet a big fan of consolidating devices, i feel like all in ones (phones that are mp3 players, pdas that take pictures) Usualy sacrifice quality to acheive their goals. I'd say functionality should be added to increase Zune's capability as an Mp3 player, not a do it all device, so i like some of the ideas about being able to access music off the Zune store, through a wireless network and the like. But my big thing, is just an alarm clock! i'd much rather wake up to a good band then buzzzzzzzzzzzzz

re: Insightful Zune Commentary from . . . AppleMatters.com? HUH?

Jonathan — Sat, 20 Jan 2007 01:08:44 GMT

ok i dont have an ipod or a zune but i did use the itunes software alot. mainly because it kept my file organized in folders for me. i really like the zune software mainly because it lets me stream files to my 360 but it would be great if it could keep my music organized like itunes. oh and it would be nice if it worked with the what im listening to software for live messenger. thanx

re: Insightful Zune Commentary from . . . AppleMatters.com? HUH?

JoA0 — Sat, 16 Dec 2006 19:35:30 GMT

Hey!

i had a video iPod for about a year, and some dude stole it. now i got a Zune and it is way better than the iPod. i used to think that the iPod was the best mp3 player, but the Zune prooved me wrong. i am very happy with it and i think u guys should make some more additions.

like adding a camera to the zune. i dont like to walk around with a camera in my poket, but i would love to take pictures of random stuff. so it would be awesome to have a cam on the zune.

also if we could get on myspace with the zune... that would be awesome. and we could take pics and put them on myspace with the same device. i would buy one for every member of my family.

finally you should add AIM to the zune. it wouldnt be hard, we would be able to see letters and we could choose the letters by using the wheel and clicking the center button. and see our buddy list and stuff.

but u should definitley add the camera.

JoAo

re: Insightful Zune Commentary from . . . AppleMatters.com? HUH?

JMajor — Thu, 30 Nov 2006 15:48:11 GMT

I love this comment:

"Realistically, Apple has a huge headstart and we’re thinking in terms of years, not months to make substantial headway."

A Microsoft exec was quoted in an AP article as saying "It's not about the first generation (of Zunes)."

You guys don't get it. You are INCREDIBLY late to this market and you come out with a repackaged Toshiba Gigabeat. You should have been willing to put out an A-MAZING player even if you lost boatloads of money, but Zune is a badly compromised machine. Why should anyone care about Zune 2.0 if the first generation is so bad?

Am I being too harsh? Let's review:

Zune isn't compatible with Playsforsure songs, so loyal consumers have to buy their songs AGAIN to play on Zune. Your DRM scheme favors the record industry, the WiFi feature is also crippled--users can't use it to sync Zune and PC and the 3 song/3 day limit is laughable. Zune weighs a freaking POUND. The battery life is poor. You have 2/3 of the song catalog that iTunes does, and rumors are building that the Beatles will have an exclusive deal with iTunes soon.

Oh, and then there's the groovy MS points system. Apparently you thought it would help you work around exchange rates and different currencies. But again, you thought about yourselves first and your customers second. So we have to buy points in $5 blocks and calculate the MS points-to-local currency exchange rate ourselves. Thanks.

Zune isn't a Web browser that you can try for a coupla days with no real obligation: there are significant and lasting costs involved with purchasing a Zune and buying Zune-only songs. I wouldn't jump on the Zune bandwagon--make that donkey cart--if you gave me a free player. And that won't change with Zune 2.0 whenever that comes out.

When did MS start becoming such a mediocre company anyway?

re: Insightful Zune Commentary from . . . AppleMatters.com? HUH?

Leo Nelson — Wed, 29 Nov 2006 15:04:57 GMT

It'll be really cool to have MSN Direct integration.

re: Insightful Zune Commentary from . . . AppleMatters.com? HUH?

WES PALM BEECH — Tue, 28 Nov 2006 15:59:38 GMT

Why do you guys want to know where Zune can go. How making sure it can stand on itas own two feet. untill you guys ctach up in general you should not be asking these kind of questions.

James Kim from cnet has a few good suggestions.

http://reviews.cnet.com/4520-6450_7-6668855-1.html?tag=cnetfd.ld2

I have a few of my own. Then from there you can start asking questions like this.

Thats like asking a person with one arm and one leg "what kind os track event would you like to participate in? First give them the arms and legs then ask what events they want to participate in.

So I'll give you you my list of arms and legs you guys NEED to implement.

1) Hard Drive Use.

2) Implement the 3x3 play to music bought on the Zune Market place ONLY.

3) Zune Hardwarwe Support for xvid, divx,

MPEG-4, MPEG-2, H.264, windows media center. You dont have to advertise it just support it.

4) Zune Hardware Support for acc, acc lossless, wma loss, and mp3 variable bit rate, wma vbr, and acc vbr.

5)Access to to the Zune Marketplace thru zune thru wifi.

6) Have all windows pc access and control the Zune wirelessly on the same network

7) Larger Hardrive Options

8) Various Zune players, (hint build on what apple and others have done)

9) Throw us a bone now and then. Say we all want, for example, want hard drive option (which we do), tell us that you are working on it and that it will come out. I dont care if you fluff it up a little. just throw us a bone. Calm us savages down.

10) Theres more but you should have a long enough list to start from there. once you guys do these things then you can start thinking about what you can do with these things. Stop thinking about futur use and for the next year concentarte about what people use already.

re: Insightful Zune Commentary from . . . AppleMatters.com? HUH?

Joe72 — Tue, 28 Nov 2006 15:19:29 GMT

Vision:

Sort out DRM. Collaborate with your partners (and competitors) to start a digital ownership registry. Allow DRM interop. Tag devices to an owner so that they can check that the file belongs to you. think about watermarking files so that they can be tracked rather than arcane license checks.

Echoing the points above. use the Zune to cut out the record labels. Plenty of artists would jump at the chance of using viral marketing to spread their work. This could revolutionalize the market.

re: Insightful Zune Commentary from . . . AppleMatters.com? HUH?

Zune MAX — Tue, 28 Nov 2006 02:25:34 GMT

A future Zune should allow me to wake up in the morning to my favorite tunes via my Zune alarm clock. It will hold my daily schedule and personal reminders which I can record in audio/video each evening before and play back at select intervals throughout the day to keep me focused.

It will interface seamlessly with my home entertainment system and contain my entire media collection. Plugging my Zune into my home system powers up my central entertainment system and content is available in each room individually or the entire home synchronized so I can walk around the house and never miss a thing.

When I drive somewhere its the same deal. It interfaces with my car audio/video system and each rider can grab a headset and watch their own movie, music whatever.

Zune is my personal media center and allows me to capture audio/video post it to my blog with my WiFi connection. I can keep a daily video diary using my Zune media center online from anywhere at anytime.

Zune is not only wireless but hands free and responds to voice commands so I can tell Zune to find a song for me on the Zune MarketPlace and it downloads it for me instantly via my Zune Pass subscription from anywhere at anytime.

Zune is an open wireless network and I can share music with any wireless device using the same 3 day 3 day limitations. In the future we will all be affiliates of the Zune MarketPlace and we'll receive credits for referred content sales to other users.

Artists and Musicians will be able to produce and promote their own works over the Zune MarketPlace and anyone can be a producer of music, movies and video games. I can carry around my digital portfolio and share it with anyone I chose to.

All of this is sure to happen in the next 3 years.

re: Insightful Zune Commentary from . . . AppleMatters.com? HUH?

Lucy — Mon, 27 Nov 2006 23:22:58 GMT

The next big thing will be when users go to the market place or any place around the net, they should be able to buy their song in any format they wish. Be it Vorbis Flac Mp3 Wma give them the choice, mp3 is old now and very lossy. The industry needs to focus on quality of sound like blueray and HD-DVD are for films crisper images, it will be crisper sound.

re: Insightful Zune Commentary from . . . AppleMatters.com? HUH?

Jerm — Mon, 27 Nov 2006 17:53:22 GMT

My biggest complaint is playlist. I am constantly changing my playlist around, adding or taking songs out of them. There needs to be a better way to do that, then opening the playlist, putting the song in, saving the playlist, then syncing the Zune. Let me edit the playlist easliy. Also, a total song count would be great (i.e. song 15 of 149).

re: Insightful Zune Commentary from . . . AppleMatters.com? HUH?

montezune-a — Sun, 26 Nov 2006 23:27:13 GMT

how the zune could go from competing with to killing the ipod

microsoft has the right hardware, now they just need to use their imagination little more.

1)60-80gb hd (doesn't really count since its coming soon)

2)none of those dumb song sharing restrictions

3)video sharing

4)wifi used to connect to internet (streaming radio would be great)

5)cellphone-style internet browser through wifi

6)if microsoft could set up a system through which zune users could buy songs etc. through their zunes wifi like cellphones do they could make a killing.

7)wireless sync (how did microsoft not think of this one?)

8)a camera addon thing that clips on to the sync connector at the bottom

9)if a microphone were integrated, and the right software was there, people could wifi-call each other on their zunes

10)this would be really cool, if when a zune goes online you could watch tv on it through a slingbox or something, or if microsoft wanted to make even more money they could wirelessly stream 320x240 subscriber channels and the zune could be a kind of dvr.