[PCWorld]

Post your comments for Some Zunes Expire Along with 2008 here

[tenney67]

I will never switch to IPod, I don't like how you are locked into using Itunes to load music on the player. My wife has a IPod and when I rip a CD to my computer the Zune software has access to it. ITunes doesn't and I have to add each CD directly to ITunes.

[frozen01]

So, in other words, with the Zune, you have to use the Zune software to load it onto your MP3 player.

And with the iPod, you have to use the iTunes software to load it onto your MP3 player.

The only difference is you have to take one small additional step (which only requires you to drag and drop) by moving your music into iTunes. So what?

I've used the Zune, along with a number of other MP3 players (including Rio, SanDisk, and Zen). Sorry, but the iPod beats them all, hands down. It's a clearly superior device, with a smoother interface, access to thousands of games, music, and task management applications (including many free ones in the app store if you have the iPod touch or iPhone), thousands of podcasts, outstanding customer service and product support*, etc... and that's not including the access to real internet, email, weather, stocks, notes, calendar, and other features that you get with the iPod touch and iPhone. The Zune is a video/MP3 player. The iPod is a video/MP3 player, PDA, web browser, and gaming device (and smartphone if you count the iPhone) rolled into one. It seems kind of strange to me that you'd rob yourself of the chance to have a better user experience and more usability (not to mention stability) out of your device just to avoid having to access iTunes once in a while to load your stuff. This seems like a really, really small complaint, especially when compared to the flaws with the Zune mentioned in this very article.

(*About a year after I bought my iPod touch, the "sleep" button was getting spotty. I took it in to a local Apple store and, no questions asked and at no cost to me, they gave me a brand new iPod touch. Took a whole five, ten minutes max. Keep in mind, this was after my warranty had expired, too.)

[hominid]

@tenney67
what are you talking about? are you retarded? did you read the article? does it hurt being 41 and using the grammar of a 14 year old?
sorry for ranting, i'm just tired of the Moron Parade marching through every forum i read.

[LeoneArgento1969]

I agree. Apple Zombies will join the Beta crowd when Jobs croaks. This time Bill Gates wont do CPR for Apple. The Imonopoly is not for me...

[hominid]

@ LeoneArgento1969

... and the Morons come marching 2 by 2, hurrah, hurrah!

did you even read what you wrote before posting? you don't make any sense. at all.

[morelikeadhominem]

@hominid

Unfortunately for you, the one that ends up looking like a moron is the one that keeps throwing insults without actually discussing the topic. Congratulations.

ipods are overpriced and incredibly locked down. Neither the zune or ipod is worth buying, imho. Use a real player that lets you drop mp3s into it and doesn't require a bloated application that takes a good 30 minutes to 'sync' an album to the device.

[frozen01]

Comparing apples to apples (no pun intended, honest) the iPod isn't any more expensive than the Zune. The pricing looks very, very similar to me. Comparing apples to oranges, the iPod touch or iPhone IS more expensive, but gives you way more features for your buck. I know that there are other, less expensive MP3 players out there, but with the problems I've heard with them (from people I personally know and also from ones I used to know myself), I'd rather pay a little bit more and get a device I like that I know will work and will be backed up with really good product support if it doesn't.

Also, I'm not sure how old your computer is, but it really shouldn't take you 30 minutes to sync. Even when I'm synching a half dozen or so hour-long TV shows, along with several applications, it usually doesn't take more than a few minutes. When it's just a song or some photos or other small things, it is over in a few seconds.

With regards to the device being "locked down", I haven't had any problems. I'm guessing you use your device for things other than what I use mine for, though. But any TV show, song, podcast, or photo I've wanted to put on my iPod touch is on there. Games are a different matter, though, but that's like complaining that you can't get a PS3 game to work on an XBox :o

[frozen01]

Um, who are you talking to?

[coastie65]

First, Let's cool the rhetoric, as these posts are getting awful close to personal attacks and that is a No No. Now as for the topic, why am I not surprised. Micro$oft shpuld go back and focus on their roots and leave the gaming and other extraneous products to the companies that know how to make them. Why they insist on trying to compete with an inferior product is beyond me. coastie65

[number6]

There is another article that has basically the same content on PCWorld and it ws posted 9 minutes sooner. Why the redundancy?

[jeprox]

No thanks, I will stick with my Zune.... I will not be one of your St.Eve's blind followers. This is the ONE time that my Zune failed me, and it didn't even affect my 4GB one anyway. You can keep your nose up Jobs' arrogant ass and leave us all alone for we know that inspite of this minor inconvenience, the Zune is a far better product than your iPod. All you have is the "popular notion" that it leads the pack of mp3 players, and nothing else. Even Ford & GMC had that going for them once, and look where they are now. One day iPod owners will realize that they have bought overpriced devices that have less features and less storage compared to a multitude of far superior mp3 players out there, with the Zune ahead of everyone. To all iPod sheep Zune detractors out there, have you really tried a Zune to justify your criticisms of it? Grow up and think for yourself, people! If you must know too, MS is already working on the leap year bug to prevent it from happening again on 2012. We will get that with ALL OUR FREE FIRMWARE UPDATES!!!

[frozen01]

Yes, I have used a Zune before. I find the interface clunky. The Zen has a better user experience than the Zune (if you aren't inclined to buy Apple).
I remember being like you, actually. About 4 years ago, I hated how "popular" and "hip" the iPod was getting to be. It was becoming a fashion accessory (that still kind of annoys me). I sneared at people who had them because, like you, I thought they were just trying to do the "in" thing. My husband wanted to get an iPod, but for these reasons I talked him into a Zen. But then my husband got an iMac, which softened me a bit to Apple products. Then he bought an iPod nano with Nike plus and I saw how much he enjoyed it. When the iPhone came out, I wanted it really bad, but didn't want to have to deal with AT&T. Then the iPod touch was announced and the moment I bought it, I was hooked. Now, both my husband and I have iPod touches (mine's first gen, his is second), our old iMac (still works just as well as the day we bought it, four years ago), a MacBook (for my photography) and I'll be upgrading to an iPhone soon.
The Zune is just an MP3 player. There's nothing special about it. It's about the same price (if not the exact same price) as the comparable iPod models. Personally I find the iPod user interface to be more fluid than the Zune's (or the Rio, SanDisk, and Zen players I've owned or played with). The radio on the Zune really doesn't attract me at all. Other than the interface (and maybe games on the iPods), the Zune and the iPod lineup are pretty similar.
What really blows Zune out of the water (besides Apple's customer service and product support) is the iPod touch and iPhone. After owning an iPod touch (I've had it a little over a year now and it was my first iPod), I can't imagine purchasing any other MP3 player (including another iPod) except maybe the iPhone. There may be less space, but in return you get access to internet and email (through WiFi on the iPod touch) and the entire app store. The iPod touch was really cool before the app store came out... now, I can't imagine living without it. It's turned my iPod into a full-fledged PDA and gaming device (I have dozens of really good games on my touch, and we're not talking cell phone games, here... I can play these puppies for hours. They're inexpensive, too. For example, Monopoly cost me $8 and Simcity cost me $10, yet a comparable game for a console or PC would be about $25 - $40 and the graphics and animation are just as good and the controls are more intuitive. A lot of the games I have were completely free, like Topple and Fish Tycoon, and a majority of the remainder only cost $1 or $2). Plus, you can get internet radio (way better than regular radio) and Pandora, as well. Extras like Nike plus, calendar, and notes round out a very well-stocked device. I currently have a 16 gig iPod touch, and I do find the storage space a little lacking, but the 32 gig will be more than enough space for me, even with all my games, other applications, music, podcasts, photos, notes, TV shows, and movies.
The biggest selling point for me if you're comparing the iPod nanos or regular iPods to the Zune (besides the user experience and games) is the customer service and product support. How exactly do you get your Zune fixed? Microsoft doesn't have a store you can visit, so I'm imagining you have to send it in (yes?) I had a small issue with my iPod touch (it was just a little annoying, wasn't even a big deal, but I figured I'd see what they said about it) and not only was I able to just walk in and speak to someone (immediately, since I'd made an appointment on their website a few hours before) but when the guy at the Genius Bar couldn't fix it, they sent me home with a brand new one, no questions asked and no cost to me (I was elated because I'd kinda trashed my old one so it was a bit scratched up, and I was getting a shiny new one for free). It took about ten minutes, and I never had to go without my device.
We've seen first hand how well Apple's products work, their customer service (one of the employees at the Apple store remembered me despite the fact that I hadn't been there in four months!), their product support (see above), and their user experience. I have to say, with complete and utter honesty, that I enjoy what we've purchased way more than other products we've tried, and it has nothing to do with popular notions, noses, OR Steve Job's ass. Their products provide a better user experience, more perks, good customer service, outstanding product support, and they just work.

[jeprox]

First, I would like to say that I am glad to have come across an Apple fan who is rational and non-rabid. However, I need to say that "better user experience" is highly subjective, as I feel the same way -- but about the Zune. I dislike the click wheel and the convoluted menu system of the iPod. I hate the spreadsheet look and the layout of iTunes, not to mention the fact that you have to click on Marketplace just to get to the Podcast section. For someone who really loves listening to podcasts, then Zune offers the better user interface, hands-down. Now, for your feature comparisons, I have to let you know that the iPod Touch is in a totally different category with any Zune. The only device out there that would really be analogous is the Archos PMP. I know this point has been brought up countless times before whenever iPod is pitted against the Zune (or vice-versa, if you will), but you cannot really compare the two devices as they offer totally different feature-sets, not just features. Now, when it comes to the store experience, I agree with you in every way. That, however, is not the crux of the current topic, and one which is usually at the bottom of the list of factors one considers when making an mp3 player purchase. I would like to end this by saying that if there were no Apple fan-boys or Microsoft fan-boys (is there such a being?), and individuals like you who argue with logic take their stead, the "internetz/interwebs/Al Gore's invention" would be a much more peaceful place.

[kiki32095]

FYI on that whole i pods have games and zunes dont thing is WRONG, if you really know what your talking about like you say then you would know that once you update to zune 3.0 softwhare on your computer your zune player gets updates as well and you automatically have games no matter how old your zune is, unlike i pods that every time a new "generation" comes out you have to run and spend hundreds more dollars to get one with amazing new features and are left with a bunch of old i pods.

[OShea]

Hey, this happened to my 30GB iPod too!

[Anysia]

Makes me very glad that I own a Sansa.

[jeprox]

Sorry for not expounding on all the free firmware updates/upgrades that Zunes get. That's probably the biggest "consumer perk" that Zunes have over iPods. They may not have physical stores, but this is one benefit that every Zune user has w/o even needing to go to one. Also, the FM tuner is a great thing to have, especially when Hurricane Ike left us w/o electricity for a week (& in some places, up to 6 weeks), and I had to rely on a battery-powered radio and my Zune to keep up to date and know where we can get ice and water, and which stores & gas stations were already open. That was a couple of days in hell that my Zune made a little bearable for us all.

[hominid]

@ jeprox

Yes, I accept your late apology for not expounding on the Zune firmware updates. You tied this in very nicely with radios and disasters too. Which is wonderful unless of course there was a disaster on December 31st 2008, which is what this article is about. In other words is it a reliable device? If there was a disaster how would you even know every other user had the same issue, that Microsoft was working on a fix, and that the solution would be to drain the battery and wait a day to recharge? Do you think FEMA would be broadcasting alerts: "ATTENTION ALL 30GB ZUNE OWNERS ..."?

Look I know you love your little device, and that's really nifty, but trying to rescue its reputation by exaggerating is abilities is a little tiring. Maybe amusing, but certainly tiring. For example; the blunt edge can be used to open feisty but nutritious acorns, while the shiny front screen can be used to hail passing aircraft.

So keep on truckin', and I'm sorry you had to go through Ike.

[MarioJP]

That is the reason why i went with the sansa player because the FM. But i did not know that the zune has a FM Tuner.