So. . . How Has Everybody Been?

Trip Recap

Zune Insider — Sun, 12 Nov 2006 23:36:51 GMT

Sooo. . . How have you beeee'eeeen? I'm back from LA. I was going to draft up a comprehensive review

Alex — Thu, 21 Sep 2006 13:42:31 GMT

Question of the day: I have good confirmation that Apple will be releasing a gorgeous 3.5 inch iPod with all the bells and whistles in about 3 months. Would one get the Zune or wait for the iPod? Hmmm.....

andre — Thu, 14 Sep 2006 12:26:21 GMT

"...andre, do you honestly think MS gives a damn about you and your two player purchase? They have much bigger fish to fry my brother..." sure they do :-) , not to the point where they would send a helicopter to my house or even give me a free zune :-) but i fit one profile thats important to them. in my small circle i have advised at least 8 other people on which DAP to purchase (of course i look bad that DELL has canceled their DAP program) and they did. so if/when i get a zune they will likely follow when their DAP fails. i am an early adopter and these people are vital to the launch of any product. so they don't care about me specifically, but they do care about the type of consumer that i represent. you really do need unpaid product evangelist. people who create websites about your product and etc. furthermore, when you are not the big fish in a sector do your really believe that they can afford to blow off people? yes there are still millions of people who don't have a DAP so the there is still opportunity to sell a lot of DAP...but poor service and a bad attitude will only help people to do what they have been doing..buying iPods. in other related news... thanks once again ceasar for the update. i am grateful that we have a specific date for new info coming out.

Gamesix — Thu, 14 Sep 2006 12:18:30 GMT

Chill out Marlow. He said "wait until Thursday." Today is Thursday. Get w/it.

marlow — Thu, 14 Sep 2006 10:55:28 GMT

go to www.comingzune.com and theres a new animation/ teaser music video up! If ceaser is so 'close knit' within the marketing dept. for zune, why hasn't he announced this yet?!?!?!?!? this is getting ridiculous. MS should have increased the leaks so that the apple conference didnt get so much publicity!!!!! now after a 30GB ipod video will be going for $250 (zune is though to be going for $300 with same capacity) MS has no chance now! If they drop the price to $150 - $180 then they will really be on to something here (as they said they were willing to make a huge loss like they did with xbox!). if not, bye bye zune!

DLF — Wed, 13 Sep 2006 19:57:29 GMT

Please tell me that these pix are not of the device's final form factor, Cesar: http://www.appleinsider.com/article.php?id=1993

crescentdave — Wed, 13 Sep 2006 19:16:28 GMT

Cesar, you write: "Having personally used a variety of different services, I could probably make a case for either/both." I see it a little differently- I don't see how anyone could make a case for either/or. You lose out too much. All the subscription based players offer both. There's no drawback, only gain. I think the social networking aspect of Zune will play big if it's set up right. Try a variant of MySpace meets Urge with a little instant messenger, share the playlists, do the party music via zune wifi or share the love on the road or via laptop. It's "let me share/discover this music that really excites me" and, perhaps,get into collaborative playlist/entertainment. The music junkie as entertainer.

Cesar Menendez — Wed, 13 Sep 2006 19:10:32 GMT

Hey, thanks for all the comments, I love 'em. and I love the enthusiasm and energy around Zune. I only ask one thing: please don't knock each other. Knock me (or Zune) all you want. Trust me, you gotta have a pretty thick skin to launch a blog like this. but I'll throw down the banhammer on you if you get all fight-club w/ each other. Hey, and you can also email me anytime: cesarm(then type the "at" symbol)microsoft.com.

Zune MAX — Wed, 13 Sep 2006 18:38:58 GMT

In all fairness to Cesar I am under the impression that the Zune slipped out just a little to early for them and they were truly ill prepared for it. This device is not geared towards many of us. This device is more styled towards a younger less concerened crowd. I'm sure they needed to keep things quiet until after Apple conference just to make certain they can offer a device that competes. Lets remember that a majority of the information leaked thus far has been just that leaks and most are rumors and assumptions and that of course makes it even worse. Cesar told us long ago he would tell us what he could when he could. He is obviously stuck in a very difficult situation right now. His boss won't let him talk about it and he has a damn cool job to be losing it over a bunch of cry babies squeeling I want it now. Dude gets banged up so bad he can't even post to the blog for fear of being hammered by the press and every putz with internet access. He holds no management title and is just as stuck as the rest of us. He is powerless in a room full of powerful people. Andre, do you honestly think MS gives a damn about you and your two player purchase? They have much bigger fish to fry my brother. You can go buy an iPod and stop jamming Cesar because they really don't care about losing a few whiners. Do any of us think that hammering Cesar will change things? Bigger wheels in motion here than the 50 or so of us commenting on this blog. Microsoft always enters the game late and moves swiftly towards the top. There has been no official announcements on pricing. They can retail it for $250 and give you a $50 in store rebate for all we actually know. Microsoft has a 3-5 year plan in place and a billion cash to burn. $50 per unit is chump change to open the door and they'll gladly eat it to stop Apple. This battle goes back to the foundations of the digital era and it's personal folks. Every move each of them makes is stylized to surpass or suppress the other. Don't let it fool you there is no doubt MS will compete. I'm no fanboy and I'm not here to defend Cesar. I just don't see the sense in smacking him around for something he can't control. Cesar. I bet you regret the title Zune Insider right about now. Keep your job and let the babies cry. Its good for lung development.

Cesar Menendez — Wed, 13 Sep 2006 18:32:33 GMT

I can't imagine, you're absolutely right. Unbearable. Do yourself a favor, put on some headphones and hear my favorite band right now. http://hype.non-standard.net/artist/Tokyo+Police+Club

andre — Wed, 13 Sep 2006 18:00:45 GMT

thanks for responding ceasar! you can't imagine how painful it is to sit at your desk with no music when you are used to it. now i have to hear worthless noise from around the office all day.

Cesar Menendez — Wed, 13 Sep 2006 17:02:02 GMT

Wow, I love the comments on this post. So. . . where to start. You're right, it's about time we had some Zune news! You're also right, you'll see some news from me within the . . . ok fine, tomorrow. Dave, you raise a v. interesting point re: subscription service vs. individual downloads. Having personally used a variety of different services, I could probably make a case for either/both. It's good to remember that it's about more than just a device; it's about the music, service, about an experience, especially a social experience. More later (check the blog tomorrow).

crescentdave — Wed, 13 Sep 2006 16:15:04 GMT

I know y'all are on the outer edge of hip, but you might want to remember that a lot of the target crowd, let's say 14-24, don't have a lot of disposable income and the ability to have subscription music will be key. In addition, there's an increasing number of people who, like with movies, don't see a real need to "own" the majority of music they listen to- if it's that important, they'll drop the .99 from Urge or the .79 from YMU for the full meal deal. I think it's time people started to wake up and smell the red bull- subscription music is going to go over BIG. Naysayers ... enjoy the turbulent wake of being passed by- it's going to reach critical mass within the next 2-4 years. It's inevitable. The ability to instantly gain access to more music than you could EVER play, 24/7/365, is too big to ignore. It won't kill sales, it won't kill the niche markets, it'll just be ubiquitous- like cable/satellite tv. If your MP3 player doesn't allow you to subscribe it's gonna be JUST LIKE no internet access for a computer today-unthinkable.

Gamesix — Wed, 13 Sep 2006 14:11:54 GMT

Great post Zunerama! Hadn't seen that article before. Could've meant November instead of September, though. Who knows. I agree w/the person who said that M$ is in a dungeon preparing to strike in the near future. But by near future I mean a month, month and change...just because folks here (including myself) are salivating over details doesn't mean its "losing steam" or "losing interest." In any event, I'm still excited to see this thing, especially if that report I linked to a ways up is accurate and it will NOT look like the sh*tty Toshiba Gigabeat in the patent filling.

andre — Wed, 13 Sep 2006 11:25:13 GMT

hello...is anyone home?