Zune is Lame

Hmm, let me try and be nice here. Zune is a viable media player that will need to evolve. Actually, let me try this. Zune is a viable media player with some exciting new features that may challenge the ipod. Forget it. Let’s get straight to the point, Zune is Lame. You mean to tell me that going against the iPod, this is what they came out with?

Exterior design
To me this is a complete disgrace. I know artist on deviant art who can come up with better designs than this in 24 hrs. To top it of they have a Brown version. Just horrendous. You want to see cool device designs, check the work of Isamu Sanada at these links
http://www.apple-style.com/laboratory/pict_06iphone_060801.html

Interface
Nothing spectacular, actually very unimpressive. Ask any seasoned U.I. artist and they will tell you this interface is boring and uninspiring. In fact compare this to windows media center vista and you see what I mean.

Zune Market Place
This whole tight vertical integration is just overrated and a silly excuse if you ask me. You mean to tell me that a company like Microsoft can not update wmp 11 to accommodate all the requirement of Zune?  I guess since wmp 11 is not user friendly we just replace it with another non user friendly client app, which by the way looks like just a rip of wmp 11's core engine.

Marketing
God almighty. What is with all these “Zune” folks. Every webpage, every brochure, even installation dialogs. This is so lame.

Features
Its got wi-fi so you would expect something really great and unique. Psych! Don’t let this music sharing thing they have fool you, it really is not music sharing, actually it is quite dumb if you ask me. I don’t have time to go into details, but watching two msft employees demonstrating it says it all to me.

If you have wi-fi, why on earth doesn’t it have a feature like orb? This would have been the killa feature that could have put ipod to rest because now you can play a gazzilion songs  and videos any time anywhere and never having to snyc your zune to your computer.  And for those that have media center, watch all your recorded tv, heck even stream live tv. This is such a compelling feature for students on campuses blanketed with wi-fi who have more media than they can ever carry at once.

Here is another thought. As big and clunky as this thing is, why is there no A2DP bluetooth support, so that users can have super cool headsets like these.

 

What I would have done

While I know this may sound unpopular, the smartest way to have gone about this was to just build an Open Architecture presentation layer over win mob 5 or win ce  just as windows media center is a presentation layer over windows xp.

Why?

1.From a consumer perspective it won't even matter because if done right like how the media center is built on win xp, the average consumer  wont have a clue what it runs on.

2. for the million or so 3rd party wm5 developers, there will be waves of 3rd party apps/plug-ins that would escalate zune to a level iPod can never reach.  Does firefox's extension eco system ring a bell.

Summary
In Summary, I am not a big fan of Apple. I don't like the iPod and iTunes. I want to see someone compete with them head on. Like a boxing match, you want to see a good fight, but Microsoft has completely stumbled before even entering the ring.

Comments

[Dustin]

I feel ya man, I'm still buying one because the Zune's OS is actually built using CE code. That means a firmware update can further extend the capabilities on the Zune. Streaming media from online or your PC, being able to buy and download songs directly from the device, Xbox Live mobile stat tracking, wireless syncing with your library, adding a headphone/mic set that turns it into a VOIP device, automatic album art downloads for your tracks, easy mapping software (think Google Maps To-Go) and much more.

The device has ALOT of potential and that's why I'm buying one, so I can watch it mature. Waiting for each firmware update will be more and more exciting.

[Alex G]

Using the word `lame` to deliver your point is lame.

> Exterior design
not everybody wants their player to look like an ipod, even fewer want it to be gettign scratched as ipod.

> Interface
I hope you aren't implying that ipod has an `exciting` and `inspiring` interface. How many `seasoned UI artists` have you asked?

> Zune Market Place
The application is only as user friendly as a user is friendly to the application. I hate iTunes. So what?

> Features
Zune is a music player and 99% of people wouldn't care for Orb. I have 6 computers and 3 laptops in my 2 bedroom appartment and even I don't care about Orb.

Yah... firefox extension system rings a bell, but not for an average user. Part of being a gadget freak is realizing that devices are never built for you and that you will never have your perfect gear. Devices are built for mass market and for people representing said market.

[Joe]

I see a dark future for Ipod down the road...

[Travis]

Sounds to me you haven't even used the device...but it's lame...hmm

people who keep supporting microsoft's half ass effort are retarded; there are many good products out theres, hardware and softwares, and all hey can do, are using the silly ms products.

[Dorsey Coe]

I agree, the Zune is Lame. The Zune software is Lame. Microsoft products are Lame. My prediction? Microsoft (not apple) is starting to die. Microsoft will continue to lose market share in the pc industry (to apple, linux and as yet unannounced os's perhaps)

I created a small web presence and used it to make the zune as interesting as I could. here it is http://web.mac.com/dorseycoe

p.s. it is cool to use the word "lame" - "dude" is also a good choice as in; "dude, that's lame."

[BARF]

Zune makes me BARF

[Nate]

The Zune will be awesome if they do with Dustin has said, but I'll hold my money until they actually do it. And brown? What the? How about Red or Blue or any other color. I thought it would be cool to have patterened cases stripes or the like.

[Steven]

I'd buy one if the whole "Zune to Zune" concept wasn't so rigged to make Microsoft even more money. "Buy the song from us! Then send it to your friend so they can buy it, too! Mama always said to share." Using my mom to boost sales? Maybe if they didn't decide to sell a fresh-sewage brown Zune, sales might be a little higher.
" http://www.zune.net/en-us/meetzune/zunetozunesharing.htm "

The Zune isn't all that lame, though. I tried one at Office Depot and it wasn't as bad as I hoped it would be, but I didn't get an urge to buy one. Pretty interesting choice of preloaded music.. I guess they're keeping their word to appeal to all audiences.

Alex G - The word lame is definately the right word to describe Zune in this case. The lack of an Orb-like feature does cripple functionality. Adding it wouldn't hurt, could it? Zune can already send streaming video to an Xbox 360, but I don't have one so that feature is useless. Even if I did have one, 360s can already connect to a home network to share media, so why would I want to load my media onto a Zune, then take it to a 360 to play it? It's almost too lame, but if I do buy a Zune, I could visit a friend with a 360 and play him some of my stuff.

Zune isn't enough to compete with the iPhone due to come out soon.