Hours before Apple Inc. is expected to introduce new iPods at a special event in San Francisco, rival Microsoft Corp. has announced that it is dropping the retail price of its 30GB Zune music player to $200.
WOW... I've been checking out the 'live' coverage of the event over at MacWorld, and the new iPod lineup is pretty f-ing astounding.
I don't think my previous analogy of the Zune being clubbed like a baby harp seal is accurate anymore.
The Zune is now more like a baby harp seal that got violated, was forced to sit through reruns of 'Charles in Charge', got hit with 289 chairs thrown by Steve Ballmer after he saw the new iPod lineup, was subjected to the 'frappe' setting in a Hamilton-Beach blender, and THEN got clubbed.
'tis not pretty. Steve did pretty much everything but urinate on a Zune up there. It was a level of product humilation/emasculation seldom if ever seen before.
I don't care what the brand is, tatooing a brand is sad. A trademarked logo isn't something that should be used for something that's supposed to show individuality.
Microsoft slashes Zune pricing ahead of Apple iPod event ... slashes throat after.
This new iPod stuff is amazing ... how can anybody even compete with them? I can just imagine the sweatty palms at Microsoft HQ. They have to really dread these Apple events.
Apple keeps topping itself and all Microsoft can do is come out with that stupid table thing that let's you move pictures around that they announces a while back.
Poor Zune, dropped to $200 but for just 50 more you get an iPod with more than twice the storage. A Zunetard could argue that the Zune has "wi-fi" but let's be honest when will you find someone else with a Zune to actually use it with?
Good catch. Though I think its funny that anyone even CARES if MS met its goal of selling 1 million Zunes, considering that in the same span Apple easily sold 25 million or more iPods.
Isn't a bit like congratulating a toddler for making poopy in the toilet for the first time? \
.
I do think it matters for both psychological, and political reasons.
MS didn't make the announcement about how many they would sell by the end of June until after more than 2 months had gone by.
By then, the holiday season was over, which they could have expected to get a big lift from.
They then knew just how many they had sold, and could make a prediction that they were (hopefully, for them) certain they would at least make, if not break.
The fact that it turned out to be so low was surprising, considering their push, but they had to say something.
If they met that goal, then they could say that.
This way they could deter analysts from saying it was a flop, because they could counter with the fact that it was their goal all along.
The only possibility is if Microsoft now has 1 million employees... and even so, I doubt.
I never saw a single person using a Zune.
Zune Zucks!
I have actually seen three (four, if you count the fact that two people were sharing earbuds. Funny that was something Ballmer said wouldn't happen, because of the WiFi. But, that would mean that the other person would have to buy one too.).
Two of my daughters friends have one. They say it's because the iPods are flimsy, and the Zune isn't. I'm not sure I believe that.
I think that, odd as it may seem, there appears to be a certain caché to using a non-Apple music player amongst a small number of people.
Apple has now become the MS of music players, and you know how some kids are about doing what everyone else does.
Poor Zune, dropped to $200 but for just 50 more you get an iPod with more than twice the storage. A Zunetard could argue that the Zune has "wi-fi" but let's be honest when will you find someone else with a Zune to actually use it with?
Or, for the same money you could get a little more than half the capacity with a much, much smaller form factor, higher density screen, a nicer metal body and much, much better battery life.
My only complaint in this new crop of iPods is that I wish Apple had enlarged the "classic" screen a bit, making it taller to allow for horizontal movie viewing, ala the Zune.
I think it's the one thing people respond to positively to at the price point: bigger screen = better, and certainly for a device with a 160GB drive, maximizing the movie viewing experience seems like a reasonable thing to do.
Instant WiFi downloads instantly kills any cool part of the squirting zune social network! Why spend 5 minutes trying to figure out how to squirt songs to someone when you can just show them and let them download it themselves in seconds?
Instant WiFi downloads instantly kills any cool part of the squirting zune social network! Why spend 5 minutes trying to figure out how to squirt songs to someone when you can just show them and let them download it themselves in seconds?
I don't know what MS has planned for this holiday, but they must be working overtime now.
oh no, this means microsoft wil have to come up with another "special" edition. Ever month its like a new edition or color just comes out with no new features. Every edition is uglier than the last.
oh no, this means microsoft wil have to come up with another "special" edition. Ever month its like a new edition or color just comes out with no new features. Every edition is uglier than the last.
I know our store bought 300 of them for last Christmas, we ended up sending 250 back to the supplier because we only sold 25 and 15 of those were returned by the customers to get iPods.
so with SJ smiling conversion only 33k remained in customers hands squirting along an MS "works good enough" attitude. those 33k sold of course to MS employees as a christmas bonus for working for such a wonderful company
MS is an embarrasment for a tech company, sony isn't far behind
MS has the wrong pricing policy the zune should be priced -(minus)$150 ......MS should PAY people to buy their product then they can buy an ipod and feel good about the MS purchase.
For one, Zune needs to move beyond special edition "Mr. Hanky" Zune.
And you know the funny thing is that the original Zune was probably suppose to be released about 2 years before it was, but per delay, when it was released it was just lame.
Sony's new MP3 players are utter crap and the Zune is stagnant.
oh no, this means microsoft wil have to come up with another "special" edition. Ever month its like a new edition or color just comes out with no new features. Every edition is uglier than the last.
Man, even the dudes over at a Zune users site are totally bummed by how Apple has once again buried the competition.
Typical post:
Quote:
And suddenly I have buyers remorse regarding my Zune.
I'm thinking like Rocco, the touch could finally be the small but usable browser you can carry in your pocket.
Really, the mood over there seems to be "hope MS counters with something really cool, but they probably won't. Maybe it's time to put the old Zune on ebay...."
Comments
Hours before Apple Inc. is expected to introduce new iPods at a special event in San Francisco, rival Microsoft Corp. has announced that it is dropping the retail price of its 30GB Zune music player to $200.
Can't give 'em away, huh?!
I don't think my previous analogy of the Zune being clubbed like a baby harp seal is accurate anymore.
The Zune is now more like a baby harp seal that got violated, was forced to sit through reruns of 'Charles in Charge', got hit with 289 chairs thrown by Steve Ballmer after he saw the new iPod lineup, was subjected to the 'frappe' setting in a Hamilton-Beach blender, and THEN got clubbed.
'tis not pretty. Steve did pretty much everything but urinate on a Zune up there. It was a level of product humilation/emasculation seldom if ever seen before.
.
I did see a pic of this guy with a Zune tattoo.
A walking advertisement for MS.
I don't care what the brand is, tatooing a brand is sad. A trademarked logo isn't something that should be used for something that's supposed to show individuality.
This new iPod stuff is amazing ... how can anybody even compete with them? I can just imagine the sweatty palms at Microsoft HQ. They have to really dread these Apple events.
Apple keeps topping itself and all Microsoft can do is come out with that stupid table thing that let's you move pictures around that they announces a while back.
Here's hoping they're more stunned later this evening.
Heh!
I'm sure they were.
Because the XBox at 6.5 Billion negative and counting has been so profitable for them, already?
Clearly, he's being cautious with his place. He can't continue to have high profile losses and expect to keep his day job, even if Gates is chairman.
Yeah, well.
MS can do tis because their two monopoly cash cows make so much profit that they pay for any and all losses.
MS, like Sony, has big plans for its game machine and online franchises.
Whether it will ever pay off is another question.
The same thing is true for the Zune.
Good catch. Though I think its funny that anyone even CARES if MS met its goal of selling 1 million Zunes, considering that in the same span Apple easily sold 25 million or more iPods.
Isn't a bit like congratulating a toddler for making poopy in the toilet for the first time?
.
I do think it matters for both psychological, and political reasons.
MS didn't make the announcement about how many they would sell by the end of June until after more than 2 months had gone by.
By then, the holiday season was over, which they could have expected to get a big lift from.
They then knew just how many they had sold, and could make a prediction that they were (hopefully, for them) certain they would at least make, if not break.
The fact that it turned out to be so low was surprising, considering their push, but they had to say something.
If they met that goal, then they could say that.
This way they could deter analysts from saying it was a flop, because they could counter with the fact that it was their goal all along.
One million Zunes? hahahahaha
The only possibility is if Microsoft now has 1 million employees... and even so, I doubt.
I never saw a single person using a Zune.
Zune Zucks!
I have actually seen three (four, if you count the fact that two people were sharing earbuds. Funny that was something Ballmer said wouldn't happen, because of the WiFi. But, that would mean that the other person would have to buy one too.).
Two of my daughters friends have one. They say it's because the iPods are flimsy, and the Zune isn't. I'm not sure I believe that.
I think that, odd as it may seem, there appears to be a certain caché to using a non-Apple music player amongst a small number of people.
Apple has now become the MS of music players, and you know how some kids are about doing what everyone else does.
Poor Zune, dropped to $200 but for just 50 more you get an iPod with more than twice the storage. A Zunetard could argue that the Zune has "wi-fi" but let's be honest when will you find someone else with a Zune to actually use it with?
Or, for the same money you could get a little more than half the capacity with a much, much smaller form factor, higher density screen, a nicer metal body and much, much better battery life.
My only complaint in this new crop of iPods is that I wish Apple had enlarged the "classic" screen a bit, making it taller to allow for horizontal movie viewing, ala the Zune.
I think it's the one thing people respond to positively to at the price point: bigger screen = better, and certainly for a device with a 160GB drive, maximizing the movie viewing experience seems like a reasonable thing to do.
Instant WiFi downloads instantly kills any cool part of the squirting zune social network! Why spend 5 minutes trying to figure out how to squirt songs to someone when you can just show them and let them download it themselves in seconds?
I don't know what MS has planned for this holiday, but they must be working overtime now.
you get the idea
oh no, this means microsoft wil have to come up with another "special" edition. Ever month its like a new edition or color just comes out with no new features. Every edition is uglier than the last.
They already did...LOL
http://www.engadget.com/2007/09/05/n...ion-pink-zune/
I know our store bought 300 of them for last Christmas, we ended up sending 250 back to the supplier because we only sold 25 and 15 of those were returned by the customers to get iPods.
so with SJ smiling conversion only 33k remained in customers hands squirting along an MS "works good enough" attitude. those 33k sold of course to MS employees as a christmas bonus for working for such a wonderful company
MS is an embarrasment for a tech company, sony isn't far behind
MS has the wrong pricing policy the zune should be priced -(minus)$150 ......MS should PAY people to buy their product then they can buy an ipod and feel good about the MS purchase.
And you know the funny thing is that the original Zune was probably suppose to be released about 2 years before it was, but per delay, when it was released it was just lame.
Sony's new MP3 players are utter crap and the Zune is stagnant.
oh no, this means microsoft wil have to come up with another "special" edition. Ever month its like a new edition or color just comes out with no new features. Every edition is uglier than the last.
Sounds like the "Flower" iMac.
Typical post:
And suddenly I have buyers remorse regarding my Zune.
I'm thinking like Rocco, the touch could finally be the small but usable browser you can carry in your pocket.
Really, the mood over there seems to be "hope MS counters with something really cool, but they probably won't. Maybe it's time to put the old Zune on ebay...."
And the price cut barely gets a mention.