Daniel Eran Dilger compares the Flash-based Microsoft Zune 8 with the identically-priced Apple iPod nano 8GB in an in-depth report.
Dilger recaps last year’s round one, which left Microsoft lying on the canvas bloodied and battered, “Very few Zunes were actually sold over the last year. Microsoft shipped 1.2 million units to stores over the first eight months, while Apple actually sold over 40 million iPods to customers in the same period. Since June, Microsoft’s retail partners have been working to sell those first million Zunes to consumers at fire sale prices as low as $80. Apple has subsequently sold another ten million iPods, and is on track to sell another 25 million more this winter.”
Dilger conducts an extensive review of iPod nano and Zune hardware, accompanying software, available online stores, and more, and finds, “The Zune is a bad product that deserves to fail. If it does, perhaps Microsoft will get serious about delivering a high quality, competitively priced product next year and introduce it with software that’s a real match for iTunes, not just a sloppy placeholder. In the meantime, perhaps Microsoft will drop the facade of its Zune brand masquerading as a counterculture art brand, because there really isn’t anything counterculture about financing an astroturf campaign in a bid to acquire monopoly control of media playback.”
Full article here.
Haiku: “floc-cin-au-cin-i-
hil-ip-il-if-i-ca-tion:
‘I know lots and lots'”
Brilliant comeback! A real high coup.
Everyone should DIGG this article.
A masterpiece.
“If it does, perhaps Microsoft will get serious about delivering a high quality, competitively priced product next year and introduce it with software that’s a real match for iTunes, not just a sloppy placeholder.”
– MS can’t develop and ship anything of substance in a year. Apple took years to develop the iPod and MS is far behind, even with a Zerox mentality
– high quality M$ product – oxymoron
Walmart carries iPods, too, and they look incredibly nice in comparison to the “new” Zunes right next to them. All I can say about the Zunes is that M$ appears to be slowly gaining on the iPod – the previous generation iPod, that is. The iPod will rule the portable music world for some time to come.
*cry* Daniel, you are so on the ball!
Where is Zune Tang®?
I miss her!
Saw both in Best Buy next to each other yesterday. That was enough to show the painful truth.
Taste. No taste.
Apple entered the digital music player market when players from the likes of iRiver and Creative ruled the land.
Apple offered extremely well designed players with great multi-platform software and the iTunes Store to top it all off. And it ALL just WORKED. THAT’S what sold the iPod to the masses, not Mac user’s (at the time) 3% marketshare.
Apple was hoping to become a major player at some point, but I think that the success of the iPod line exceeded their wildest expectations.
That’s why Apple worked hard and constantly improved and expanded the iPod line. Moves like canceling their best selling players (iPod mini, 2G nano) were bold and, some thought, crazy ideas.
When third parties started offering the huge array of fun, functional and attractive iPod accessories, it really helped to solidify the iPod market.
MIcrosoft, on the other hand, has NEVER learned to compete head to head, feature for feature with ANYone. They don’t know what a level playing field really is or what’s needed in a product to actually compete in such a landscape. Their historic bullying and monopolistic approach to taking over and dominating markets fell flat in the consumer space.
People were just tired of all the promises of Windows and the hassles of what was actually delivered. When their own money was to be spent, they looked elsewhere and found the iPod.
With XBox and Zune and Windows Mobile and Vista we see how MS competes. And MS still doesn’t understand how to do it.
@ Ampar, I eat my hat in honour of your submission!!!
&
@ YoYo, your submission is chocolate sauce to accompany my Haty (hearty) meal!!!!
@DLMeyer
MDN is reporting this because it is Apple-related news – Apple’s most dangerous competitor in a market has failed to achieve 5% of that market … even at fire-sale pricing.
But this MDN not ADN.
You know a product is really, really crap when the reviewer constantly has to say in his review: “but if you think that is awful, wait till I tell you the next thing.”
WHO’S BUYING THESE THINGS!
“WHO’S BUYING THESE THINGS!”
Steve Ballmer’s college interns?
haha, apple fanboys… lol.
To Crabapple: Thanks, mate. Now go eat a Zantac!
http://www.ugo.com/ugo/html/article/?id=18063§ionId=2 Read this one, much more informative and unbiased like your commissioned lap dog wrote.
When are you guys going to get it, Apple has had one hit in the market place. The Ipod, now your worried the Zune is catching and passing you. Lol, Look what happened with Windows versus Apple OS. What 95% windows 3% Apple. And you know what, we as consumers did that.
You know you really deserve Steve Jobs the arrogant SOB doesnt care about anything but his own pocket in the end, and you zombies keep shoving cash into it. He is laughing all the way to the bank.
Mmmmmm, Zantac!
Crash,
Please feel free to kiss all of our asses. Thank you.
I had to laugh at DLMeyer’s comment: “Zune Tang is looking for something witty to say, something that will amuse and outrage us. Unfortunately, he has a life outside MDN.”
Well I don’t know about the rest of you but Zune Tang has been relatively quiet since registration. I don’t know if he/she has a life outside MDN, but the way that article was written and the lack of a reply just may indicate that ZT could be considering the the “just wait and see until I am ressurected and Zunes will rule the world.”
Just keep on waiting, and waiting and waiting.
Man I love this:
“In the meantime, perhaps Microsoft will drop the facade of its Zune brand masquerading as a counterculture art brand, because there really isn’t anything counterculture about financing an astroturf campaign in a bid to acquire monopoly control of media playback.”
Zune aside, their whole marketing campaign is a pathetic joke.
Hey Crash (named after his Window computer…..)
“You know you really deserve *Steve Jobs* the arrogant SOB doesnt care about anything but his own pocket in the end, and you zombies keep shoving cash into it. He is laughing all the way to the bank.”
I think the name you were thinking of was Bill Gates
” width=”19″ height=”19″ alt=”wink” style=”border:0;” />
To a degree – yes. Apple wants to be the media player king – which harness any media playback.
But Apple offers options. iTunes converts AUDIO CD to mp3, aiff, wav, acc – well at least to MP3 and ACC. Which are two formats not OWNED by Apple.
MS owns WMA, WMV where Apple partners the tehnology and uses open-source.
Does this matter? If I were SONY… I wouldn’t deal will the closed system of MS. Too controlling and to much in their favour.
Obviously he didn’t actually try to buy any music for the Zune, otherwise the author would have noted that while Apple simply charges 99 cents per song, Microsoft’s Zune store makes you buy in “points”. One song costs 79 points, which is actually 99 cents when converted from Microsoft’s new proprietary currency to regular US dollars. Additionally, Microsoft only allows users to buy Points in blocks of 100, which means Microsoft gets to earn interest off the extra few unused cents sitting in every Zune user’s account.
I bought a cheap Chinese mp3 player off ebay and it looks just like the Zune. Square corners, fat profile, and it looks so plastic – whatever the material is. Having the Zune screen not put on the letters of the word ‘Podcast’ on it, shows a real lack of design.
Crash … go buy a zune and STFU!
??? floccinaucinihilipilification ???
what the hell does that mean?