I retired from personal blogging in July 2008.
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Posted by Rod in Mobile, Technolust at 12:04 am on Friday, 22 December 2006
Played with a Zune today. It’s Microsoft’s iPod Competitor.
Just a quick look, but loved the big screen. Interface, Design and buttons were very clean. Dunno if it was better or worse than an iPod but it seemed pretty nice.
blog
I don’t reckon it reads that badly. I think your point comes across.
Ran a session last week with thirty high-tech execs from and Apple/Microsoft competitor on the Zune’s out-of-box experience, with them in groups of five or six and six or seven Zunes. Session was due to run 90 minutes; after 60 minutes ONE(1) group had got it going, mostly by refusing all the updates and signups. The others took from 75 minutes to (two (2) of them) could not get software installed (with in one case three BSoD’s on Windows XP, and many, many re-boots). Side by side against an iPod, the unanimous verdict was: (1) fiddly packaging; (2) you have to use the CD, you don’t with an iPod; (3) it looks and feels uglier and clunkier (particularly against the U2 iPod, which a couple of people had); (4) NICE screen; (5) TERRIBLE software; (6) no hope with this iteration, what does the next generation look like?
Overall, none of them could see Microsoft displacing Apple within the next two or three years; further out the big debate was “music” phones versus iPods and third generation Zunes (Windows 3.1…)
Michael
The Zune’s design’s great, and love the bluetooth(?) swapping thing, but I’ve heard some horror stories about the software, and of course it’s Microsoft so welcome to DRM hell and complete incompatibleness with anything else in about 3 years, but hey you’re never going to want to take those mp3’s off the zune right?
BTW you must also try the Wii, I wasn’t sold on it fully until I got my hands on one. Now I’m craving my next chance to play.