Written by dgoldring on Wednesday, October 3, 2007

Zune 2: The New Revolution or Too Little Too Late


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Well, today is the day.  Today is the day when we find out whether Microsoft is going to be a playa or a hate-ah.  Today is the day we find out whether the new Zune 2 can hold its own against the Great and Mighty Jobs, or the great, but less mighty Sandisk Sansa, Creative Zen, and others.

In case you are wondering whether the above pictures are real…they are.  I just got an email from our very own Brandon with a link to an article in Slashgear which linked to leaked photos from Zune-online.  Read past the jump to see Slashgear’s thoughts, as well as a few of my own.

 

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So, what did Slashgear think of the new Zune?  I think it is fair to say that they were less than impressed.  In part, they said:

Its nice to see that MS is finally giving the 2nd gen Nano a run for its money, too bad they are a full generation too late. Also, the 80GB Zune, once again, a day late and a dollar short, Apple now has 160GB iPod classics.

In fact, it is fair to say that Slashgear hated everything.  The design, the colors, the controls, heck, I think they even hated the name “Zune”. 

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For my money, I am going to reserve judgment until I have had a better opportunity to check these out at one of the many electronic stores in my area that will soon be stocking the shelves with these things.  In the meantime, however, I do have a few reservations.

While I do think that these appear to be a vast improvement over the original Zune, both in design and in functionality, Microsoft must offer some innovation, something new, if they want to succeed in this area.  That is something which I have never seen in a Zune and, frankly, do not expect here.  To me, the Zune has always been in competition with a 10 year old iPod design.  With Zune 2, it appears as though they are finally getting up to speed, but are still years (which might as well be light years) behind the iPod.  Why is Microsoft only now releasing something which can compete with the iPod Nano?  Apple has had that design for years.  Small thin flash drives have pretty much become the industry standard, a fact which Microsoft is only now recognizing.  With Zune 2, it looks like Microsoft is trying to play catch up but may be only falling further and further behind.

What do you think?  Will the Zune 2 revitalize Microsoft’s stake in the portable media player market? Will it be too little too late?  Can this compete with the latest generation of iPods, such as the Touch, new Nano (fattie) and others?  Or is the Zune completely unsalvageable and ready for the scrap heap of failed devices?

Check out all of the images from Zune-Online.

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More in General | 13 Comments


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13 Comments

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Brandon Steili
Oct 3, 2007

Wasn’t that nice of me? I let someone else get the post up … so I wouldn’t have to rip the new version to pieces before it even launches.

But for fun – I think we need to send some folks out and do on the spot surveys of who knows what a Zune is, When the Zune 2 came out … and who makes it.

I think the Zune is well on it’s way to making the C|Net worst in history list. Microsoft could have and should have done better. But I guess I expect too much from a company that is making a living off of the motto – “More of the same”


PatrickJ
Oct 3, 2007

I disagree. I’ll admit that I don’t think the new Zune announcements have much ‘Wow’ factor. They do not offer any striking new innovations in design or form factor etc., and they certainly don’t have that immediately desirable effect that so much of what Apple brings out does.
But … I think MS is taking some good steps forward on the Zune line here. Extending the range of devices and accessories for them is good, as is adding flash players. New firmware and Zune software is good. Making all the new features available to Zune Gen 1 is very good, and a nice little PR gain for MS right about now.
The ability to wirelessly sync with your PC seems a big plus to me. That’s a very cool new feature.
At this stage, I don’t reckon the Zune needs to be revolutionary. More innovation in future would be great, but I don’t think the Zune is sunk at all. In fact, it’s getting a pretty good reception at quite a few sites today …


dgoldring
Oct 3, 2007

Patrick, I agree that the Zune 2 is a huge step forward for MS from the original Zune. But it still is on par with PMP’s from several years ago. They are waving around this slim flash player like it is brand new, but that has been the growing standard for years.

I am not saying they are sunk. I am saying they have a significant uphill battle. I mean, if you were in the market for a PMP, and you saw on the shelf the Zune 2, new iPod Nano, Sandisk Sansa View, CReative Zen, and others. My question is what feature or features does the Zune have that makes it stand out and take back market share from the others.

Doug


PatrickJ
Oct 3, 2007

I’d say one little chink in the iPod lineup’s armor (and a standout feature for the Zune 2 right now) is 80gb plus very large screen. The iPod Touch offers the big, multi-touch screen, but only 16gb of storage – which is not a lot at all if you’re storing video on the device. The Zune Pass is still a big attraction for me, and the wireless sync with PC seems a great new feature. I’ll admit though that I don’t know the specs of the Zen and Sansa etc products as intimately …


dgoldring
Oct 3, 2007

Yup. 80GB is huge. One question I have on that though would be the size of the device. The original Zune was kind of a brick. The 80GB Zune is not flash based, which means it will be fatter than the Zen and Sansa flash-based players. The question is how much fatter. Hopefully, it has slimmed down considerably from the size of the original.

To be honest, wireless sync dows nothing for me. I know a lot of people have been clamoring for this, but I could really care less about having to plug in to sync. More important to me would be A2DP BT.

Doug
Doug


PatrickJ
Oct 3, 2007

It has slimed down a little compared to Zune 1. See this Gizmodo post for size comparisons (thickness realy not much different to 80gb iPod):
http://gizmodo.com/gadgets/zune/sizemodo-zunes-vs-ipods-306419.php


Aczon
Oct 3, 2007

Why can’t we just get along?

Uncle Bill is sending me 80GB Zune 2…

;)


PatrickJ
Oct 3, 2007

Doug and I get along fine. Don’t mess up our Zen. Oh, wait – it’s your Zen. My Zune will mess up your Zen, coz he’s large and ugly …


dgoldring
Oct 3, 2007

Yeah, this site can only take so much Zen. Maybe we all just need to get a better View so we can get in Touch with our friendlier side. So, site back and enjoy the Zunes. :)

And be careful, that Zune could squash your tiny Zen like a bug.

Doug


Brandon Steili
Oct 3, 2007

Actually … the Zune wouldn’t squash anything. Remember it’s the DRM Squirt of 3 plays death.


Aczon
Oct 3, 2007

Hey Brandon, stop messing with the ZUNE, or else!!!!

;)


Brandon Steili
Oct 4, 2007

Or else what? They’ll release the Zune 3?

“More of the same edition?”

Okay, Okay … at least they aren’t killing off the Zune1 by not giving them the software upgrades.

The Zune still Zucks though.


Eric
Nov 1, 2007

What i don’t understand is what makes an ipod so much more elite than the zune. The ipod does not have many more unique features than the zune. The most important thing is that they should both play music which the zune does quite well and they kept it very simple. Any other feature like wifi and built in radio is only a plus no matter how un-usefull the wifi is now its still something the ipod doesnt have. Not to mention the bigger screen. The ipod has a scroll wheel, but the new zune has something similar and its no big deal. As far as im concerned all ipod has is their name and reputation.

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