Review roundup: Zune HD plays catchup to iPod touch

2456712

Comments

  • Reply 21 of 231
    Quote:
    Originally Posted by al_bundy View Post


    nice device and looks like it does what it does pretty well



    indeed. for the Zune collection it is a vast improvement.



    however, compared to the Touch, it's got a long way to go. it is half the storage at this point which is a major deal for many. the Zune Pass, which will work for some -- who don't care about losing their music if they stop paying -- will work, but many still want to own their music to use on computer, several devices etc when and as they want. Also, having software that only works on Windows is huge cause some of the most rabid music lovers are also Mac Lovers and that is basically flipping them the finger.



    Also, the HD isn't higher than a Touch and I can put my video from my touch to my tv for only $50, rather than the Zune's $90 dock.



    Will there be 3rd apps on the Zune or did I read right that the SDK is only for WinMo phones (another thing they got right, they are spelling out vast details about app rejection from the start, in response to the complaints about Apple. Pity about the fees to submit all releases for approval)



    And the list goes on and on.
     0Likes 0Dislikes 0Informatives
  • Reply 22 of 231
    Quote:
    Originally Posted by thanx_al View Post


    Totally. I am totally there. I make no bones about my utter hatred for Microsoft. I fell for their crap for fall too long and feel the fool for buying their insecure, out-of-date crap. Fortunately I never bought a Zune but did go down the horrid "Sansa Fuze" road.



    When a company continuously produces sub-par dog shit and keeps touting it as the newest thing they deserve to be crowded out of my Mac fanboy, iPod Touch loving, OSX adoring, Macbook worshipping mind.



    Oh yeah, and I have earned the right to smear, snark and hate the shit out of them. I'm a switcher.



    This.



    It's like I'm seeing me talking!



    You've gotten to the heart of the matter. There's a reason for Apple fanboyism.
     0Likes 0Dislikes 0Informatives
  • Reply 23 of 231
    Quote:
    Originally Posted by camroidv27 View Post


    And for my standard: This is not APPLE news!!



    not directly but it does relate to Apple. Because what Microsoft wins is a potential lose for Apple and some of us aren't just Apple Users, we are also Apple Investors. And we want to know about those things that could end up hurting our stock value.



    Also even Users do often care about what the other team is doing because sometimes, not often but sometimes, Apple does follow suit with what works for the competition. A feature that is a total win for the Zune that the Ipod lacks could make it into a refresh. And everyone here just loves knowing what could and will happen months before Apple "decides" to do it. that's the whole reason several of the Mac sites exist.



    now perhaps this isn't top news, perhaps it is as they say over at MacRumors a 'page 2'. but it is still very much a topic of interest for some.
     0Likes 0Dislikes 0Informatives
  • Reply 24 of 231
    gazoobeegazoobee Posts: 3,754member
    Quote:
    Originally Posted by rmm21 View Post


    Another disappointing smear article of the Zune HD. Microsoft must of hit a nerve for them to hit this kind of low here.



    Right.



    An even-handed "round-up" of the leading reviews across the web (that are mostly positive by the way), is a "smear."



    Also, in other news, the USA's new health-care bill is a secret plot to kill babies and Obama is the anti-christ.



     0Likes 0Dislikes 0Informatives
  • Reply 25 of 231
    parkyparky Posts: 383member
    Quote:
    Originally Posted by rmm21 View Post


    Another disappointing smear article of the Zune HD. Microsoft must of hit a nerve for them to hit this kind of low here.



    Why is it a smear?

    I think it is a good review for the device, in fact it sounds quite good and in some ways better than an iPod.

    I just think as many have said that it is too little to late.



    Ian
     0Likes 0Dislikes 0Informatives
  • Reply 26 of 231
    gazoobeegazoobee Posts: 3,754member
    [QUOTE=breeze;1483731]
    Quote:
    Originally Posted by AppleInsider View Post


    ... Sony made slicker and better looking devices in the 80's than the Zune HD. It is so yesterday and the user interface is actually retarded, confused, disjointed and not ready for prime time. ...



    This was my thought as well.



    I'm surprised at how positive these reviews are for the most part in that if you sit down and think about it, there is not much here that actually works or looks better than anything we've seen before from other companies.



    Apple haters always push that idea that Mac GUIs are "slick" but that once you get past the cool factor there isn't much there. I don't agree at all, but this is a criticism that could easily be applied to the Zune HD. When you first see the screen and the zippy menus it really does look cool, but I don't think there is much under the hood and I don't see how the slick interface (or even the slick looking hardware), is really that functional.



    IMO the reviewers are in the "crazy in love" stage right now and are just not seeing the flaws. As mixed as some of the reviews are, I think they are likely to be the high point for the Zune HD and when people sort of "wake up" a bit, down the road, it won't look as even as (mildly) good as it does now.
     0Likes 0Dislikes 0Informatives
  • Reply 27 of 231
    parkyparky Posts: 383member
    Quote:
    Originally Posted by camroidv27 View Post


    Though, it seems that the reviewers in general actually liked the device. And seeing the "Pro-Apple" talk thrown in these snippets of their reviews, the positive in the reviews has to mean even more.



    I'm just glad that there is competition! (Though, I'm still holding out for the Zii Egg)





    And for my standard: This is not APPLE news!!



    As Apple is mentioned many times it seems relevant to me.

    I visit this site every day and I was interested to read the story.
     0Likes 0Dislikes 0Informatives
  • Reply 28 of 231
    I don't get it....on wininformant.com Paul says the Zune HD destroys the Touch and the iPhone....I'm so confused.
     0Likes 0Dislikes 0Informatives
  • Reply 29 of 231
    You can't play/stop a song, change volume, switch to next/previous song etc. without pulling the device out and actually select it on screen with Zune. This is the real show-stopper for many I think.
     0Likes 0Dislikes 0Informatives
  • Reply 30 of 231
    Quote:
    Originally Posted by Quadra 610 View Post


    This.



    It's like I'm seeing me talking!



    You've gotten to the heart of the matter. There's a reason for Apple fanboyism.



    Yeah, you know, I HATE corn flakes. Every time I sit down to eat a bowl, I'm disappointed. They are bland, get stuck in my teeth, make my BM's like clay, and to top it off they absorb the milk almost as soon as they get wet! SCREW KELLOGS! I'm going GENERAL MILLS ALL THE WAY.



    Wait, Kellogs has got a cereal that a ton of people are liking a lot, and is comparible to my new general mills cereal? I don't even care, I already know it'll taste like garbage because it's kellogs and they make corn flakes.



    So long common sense.

    Quote:
    Originally Posted by charlituna View Post


    not directly but it does relate to Apple. Because what Microsoft wins is a potential lose for Apple and some of us aren't just Apple Users, we are also Apple Investors. And we want to know about those things that could end up hurting our stock value.



    I REALLY don't think investors have anything to worry about.
     0Likes 0Dislikes 0Informatives
  • Reply 31 of 231
    Quote:
    Originally Posted by Cousin Dirk View Post


    The problem with Microsoft these days (as it seems to me at least) is that they as a company are a control freak. They want to be the best at everything ...



    Control freak yes. But Microsoft has never tried to be the best at anything. They've always strived to do the least possible, create the fewest waves, maintain the status quo ? while locking people in to their "technologies." Locking people in takes a lot less work than innovating and creating compelling new products.



    Microsoft's product strategy has ALWAYS been: 1 - Wait for somebody to do something cool that everybody wants. 2 - Copy it. 3 - Bastardize the standard (created elsewhere) in some way to lock in customers. 4 - Declare a new "standard" (because it's Microsoft's it "must be" a standard). 5 - Release bloated "new releases" every 12 to 18 months to rake in update cash. 6 - Repeat.
     0Likes 0Dislikes 0Informatives
  • Reply 32 of 231
    Quote:
    Originally Posted by pondosinatra View Post


    I don't get it....on wininformant.com Paul says the Zune HD destroys the Touch and the iPhone....I'm so confused.



    Paul says a lot of things. He also said this:



    Mac OS users have made a conscious technology choice and are therefore typically better informed than their peers. - Paul Thurrott, December 06, 2004



    It seems to depend on the weather.
     0Likes 0Dislikes 0Informatives
  • Reply 33 of 231
    Can someone answer something for me. Since people have trashed the iPhone and iPod Touch for not having background processes, I'm wondering if the ZuneHD has background processes?



    And more to the point, why isn't the ZuneHD being trashed for not having Flash and a removable battery?
     0Likes 0Dislikes 0Informatives
  • Reply 34 of 231
    Quote:
    Originally Posted by kirkgray View Post


    Control freak yes. But Microsoft has never tried to be the best at anything. They've always strived to do the least possible, create the fewest waves, maintain the status quo ? while locking people in to their "technologies." Locking people in takes a lot less work than innovating and creating compelling new products.



    Microsoft's product strategy has ALWAYS been: 1 - Wait for somebody to do something cool that everybody wants. 2 - Copy it. 3 - Bastardize the standard (created elsewhere) in some way to lock in customers. 4 - Declare a new "standard" (because it's Microsoft's it "must be" a standard). 5 - Release bloated "new releases" every 12 to 18 months to rake in update cash. 6 - Repeat.



    This.



    I put up with MS for five years until I switched back to Mac in early 2006. I see with this latest Zune me-too attempt that not much has changed.
     0Likes 0Dislikes 0Informatives
  • Reply 35 of 231
    Quote:

    The New York Times' David Pogue:



    "If this thing came out in a parallel universe where the iPod didn’t exist, it would be hailed as a god." The iPod catalog is "superior" to the Zune, while the Zune's reputation is "for weirdos and losers."



    In that parallel universe, the Zune wouldn't exist either because it's a copy of (and a reaction to) Apple's iPod.
     0Likes 0Dislikes 0Informatives
  • Reply 36 of 231
    The Zune HD is playing catch up to iPod touch???



    Pul-leeze! The Zune HD couldn't catch a snail on Valium!
     0Likes 0Dislikes 0Informatives
  • Reply 37 of 231
    Quote:
    Originally Posted by Paul Chapel View Post


    Can someone answer something for me. Since people have trashed the iPhone and iPod Touch for not having background processes, I'm wondering if the ZuneHD has background processes?



    And more to the point, why isn't the ZuneHD being trashed for not having Flash and a removable battery?



    I think the answer is, when we look at the established leader (iPod) we tend to focus on what's missing, whereas when we look at the challenger (Zune) we focus more on what's there. I think this difference implies that if we did an objective feature comparison of both, Zune has a long ways to go to be a contender.



    Just my 2 cents.
     0Likes 0Dislikes 0Informatives
  • Reply 38 of 231
    http://arstechnica.com/microsoft/new...e-roll-ads.ars



    ????





    No. Just, no. You've got to be kidding me . . .



    Reactions to the ads may differ, though it is possible to avoid them by keeping games off the Zune HD.



    There goes half the neighbourhood . . .
     0Likes 0Dislikes 0Informatives
  • Reply 39 of 231
    Glowing reviews.

    Oh well, so much for AppleInsider's article bashing of it the day before it was released.
     0Likes 0Dislikes 0Informatives
  • Reply 40 of 231
    Quote:
    Originally Posted by Saldin View Post


    In that parallel universe, the Zune wouldn't exist either because it's a copy of (and a reaction to) Apple's iPod.



    Right- and Apple invented music too.
     0Likes 0Dislikes 0Informatives
Sign In or Register to comment.