In your case, it couldn't be because of commission because Best Buy doesn't pay their salespeople commision. But, I think that anti-apple sentiment towards the iPod would be extremely rare. It's got such a huge market share, any salesman who tries to steer away from it would be an exception/nut.
That's not the same however for Mac vs. Windows.
As I said earlier I've seen a lot of anti-Apple sentiment at electrical resellers, especially established ones which sell PCs. I personally don't understand it but I think it could help the Zune out.
That stuff makes me puke. I just don't understand all of the anti-Apple sentiment. Most Mac users have chosen the Mac and for that reason have experience with multi platforms.... but sales people like that (and I had my full share of salepeople trying to steer me away - when CC sold Macs, etc.) probably have never actually used a Mac before - so how can they be so adamant about something they don't know....
I though for sure that becuase the iPod was actually popular with not just Mac users but a lot of Windows users that collectively they would see Microsoft for what it is... a crappy imitator that buys it's success...
You know, I wouldn't be surprised in the least if Microsoft was paying retailers a little somethin'-somethin' on the side just to do crap like that.... Didn't they get busted for that...... ohhhhh that's right.... they can do whatever they want now that the DOJ has been DOA since 2001....
You're right they're called spiffs. I use to do Demo Days at Circuit City for Apple. The sales staff were ALL PC centric and steered everyone they could away from Macs even while I was standing by helping another customer. I finally asked them why they didn't sell more Macs and they all said the same thing, they got large monetary spiffs when selling PCs and nothing for selling a Mac.
On the iPod subject. I have a friend who I setup with a Mac. When his wife went in to WalMart to get an MP3 player the sales girl told her not to buy an iPod because they didn't play MP3s! She came home with some cheap MP3 player for $99 that she can't use with her Mac and Itunes purchased music. The salesperson never bothered asking what computer she used. His wife was to afraid to tell me out of embarassment to take it back, yes she's not that bright. Her husband told me about it and I was furious with the WalMart drone!
this is exactly why the Zune commercials are horrible, nobody knows what the Zune is, yet Microsoft assumes that people will go buy it because it's called the "Zune". Also, I don't understand what's with their whole grungy/urban/ugly look, they act like bad design a good thing..
Part of why the Zune launch is important is because the Zune's "killer feature" requires there to be a lot of Zune's out there. If you're the only one on the bus with an iPod, you have an MP3 player that you can use to it's fullest. If you're the only one on the bus with a Zune, all that wireless gets you is less playing time. Without it's killer feature, all the Zune is is a bigger, heavier, less compatible player
I had a Circuit City employee, as mentioned inthe article, state that the ZUne was better than the ipod because it had an FM receiver and 802.11g wireless.
Why in the world would anyone want these features? Can the FM antenna be good enough to work and who still listens to radio when they have their music/videos with them? How much cost, weight and depleted battery time does the wi-fi add? What is the wi-fi really good for; certainly not for fast uploads?
The specs claim 14 hours battery life with wifi off, 13 hours with wifi on. I don't know what it will eventually mean because synching doesn't make sense because wifi is turd slow, not much faster than USB 1.1. Synching is the best time to recharge anyway. It might make sense if you could use the Zune to buy tracks anywhere there's an open access point, but that isn't possible at the moment.
The sharing might help reinforce its popularity if there were a lot of them out there, but that's not the case. It is probably there on the assumption that music devices would be like social networking sites, you join a site because your friends are there and are supposedly less likely to go onto competing sites once you are established. The problem is, much like video phones and video chat, it's not really a selling point unless you know other people that have them, so there's a major issue with critical mass.
FM is good if you want live stuff like sports. The reception isn't terrible, but not necessarily great, that depends on the device and the surroundings.
I can't see either WiFi or FM as minus points on the Zune. I think FM could be a useful addition to the iPod - although not essential certainly. The Zune's drawbacks are it's weight, size and computer software and the fact it's relatively unknown.
I saw the Zune kiosk at a local Office Depot and I have to say the larger screen IS significant and for a few minutes the eye candy GUI was intriguing, though that might get old after a while. This particular kiosk was fairly well designed and made the Zune available to play around with and listen to it through small speakers in the cabinet. If MS used many of these kiosks, then it wouldn't need much in the way of sales staff until the big purchase moment. My background is in museum exhibitry and even though the sample Zune looked like it might get trashed in a month, the bigger screen really made me stop in my tracks and consider it for a few minutes.
I sort of wished that the iPod had such a kiosk. The iPods in this store were all behind glass and though obviously popular, they required sales help. Apple should standardize iPod kiosks to allow people to play with sample devices. Maybe they have them, but I haven't seen them. The iPods-on-Tables displayed in Apple Stores of course won't work in most other stores.
I can't see either WiFi or FM as minus points on the Zune. I think FM could be a useful addition to the iPod - although not essential certainly. The Zune's drawbacks are it's weight, size and computer software and the fact it's relatively unknown.
Could the weight and size be influenced by the FM and WiFi?
I can't see either WiFi or FM as minus points on the Zune. I think FM could be a useful addition to the iPod - although not essential certainly. The Zune's drawbacks are it's weight, size and computer software and the fact it's relatively unknown.
How about am reception? Yes I am an old fart at 35 but I love am because I am a news junkie and in the radio market I am in that means listening to am. Is this a make or break issue for me? No. But it would be a nice addition.
I too would like a radio AM and FM for sports, NPR, etc. I have seen the criticisms though that antennae tech for AM is still difficult, but I bet there are chips the size of your pinkie nail that have all of the components of an AM/FM radio imbedded in them and they wouldn't take any more battery life, actually less, than playing mp3's. The Apple FM accessory with its integrated antennae is really the way to go, but I want AM too.
Actually this article, which is really about the iPod, probably describes the real reason MS is even doing a Zune.
They know that music/video and internet integration is going to be totally different than now, in the next 10-20 years. Whether the Zune itself makes a dime is probably less relevant to Redmond than just getting some sort of mobile media storage device in the market so that in 10 years they have a time tested platform for whatever the future might hold. It is a little more expensive for MS than just waiting for Apple to continue to innovate and copying - but MS needs to make sure that it is in a position to influence any new "standards" that the industry adopts, and I'm sure they would rather they weren't Apple standards.
So for now MS can "play around" in the market segment and try out a few things without appearing to be "betting the farm" on the Zune itself. I bet it is just trying to walk the line between pushing the market, but also being benignly neglectful about it too. Maybe I'm giving upper management in Redmond too much credit, but I doubt the lower managers running the Zune marketing and devo even know that upper management at MS is only making a relatively half-hearted effort. Now Microsoft's half-hearted effort is still huge compared to everyone else, but they haven't really been pushing this as big as they could.
This is just entering the game with a low bid hand and they have tons of chips to play with.
It does make me happy to see Apple stock soar, while MS stock sits where it has been for almost a decade!
It won't solve your sports requirement, but I find I prefer NPR on podcast rather than AM/FM. Downloading the shows rather than tuning in means I can cherry pick the shows I enjoy and not rely on being able to tune in according to their schedule.
Could the weight and size be influenced by the FM and WiFi?
Possibly but then they're a secondary point surely, they are not drawbacks in themselves they are just not good enough to make it worth the extra size and weight! Possibly the screen is the reason though?
Possibly but then they're a secondary point surely, they are not drawbacks in themselves they are just not good enough to make it worth the extra size and weight! Possibly the screen is the reason though?
The screen did seem pretty nice at a glance. The orientation helps it show lists a lot better too, thankfully the screen didn't have weird polarizations that make it go loopy when you look at it on the side. Sansa's e2xx series has that annoying polarization, as do many phones. I think they went a little overboard with menu backgrounds, but in comparison, a blank white background seems a little boring and uninspired. Maybe white + a 90% transparency applied to an image might make break it up a bit.
The Zune is a steaming pile of manure but they'll still sell a decent number outside the retail channel because of the anti-Apple sentiment in the IT industry mentioned by someone above.
There are a lot of pro-Microsoft people who wish Apple had gone out of business and resent the fact that the iPod has instead seen the company not only survive but also prosper.
As for sales numbers, even if only MVPs (Microsoft's Most Valued Professionals) bought them, that's a six digit number of them ready to be snapped up.
I don't mind at all, as long as Microsoft doesn't manage to pull off a "Windows 3.0 vs Macintosh" on it (and we know who won that tussle - the Mac was almost sent into oblivion). The iPod needs competition.
I for one am bitterly disappointed there is no 6G iPod out to buy this Christmas. The tie-clip Shuffle, even as perfect an example of industrial design as it is, doesn't make up for no new generation of the flagship model.
I saw something on macnn today saying zune is #2 behind the iPod (9% or something)
The Zune was #2 at 9% of the portable music player sales for the week of its launch. while the iPod was at 63% for its distributors for the same week. Note: That 63% doesn't include apple.com or Apple's brick & mortar stores where, I assume, most iPod sales take place.
The Zune is a steaming pile of manure but they'll still sell a decent number outside the retail channel because of the anti-Apple sentiment in the IT industry mentioned by someone above.
There are a lot of pro-Microsoft people who wish Apple had gone out of business and resent the fact that the iPod has instead seen the company not only survive but also prosper.
As for sales numbers, even if only MVPs (Microsoft's Most Valued Professionals) bought them, that's a six digit number of them ready to be snapped up.
I don't mind at all, as long as Microsoft doesn't manage to pull off a "Windows 3.0 vs Macintosh" on it (and we know who won that tussle - the Mac was almost sent into oblivion). The iPod needs competition.
I for one am bitterly disappointed there is no 6G iPod out to buy this Christmas. The tie-clip Shuffle, even as perfect an example of industrial design as it is, doesn't make up for no new generation of the flagship model.
I actually got to play with a Zune a little tonight and I gotta say, its a lot sexier in person than it is in pictures. Even the Brown one looked pretty nice, plus the screan is better than on my 80 Gig. I'm not ready to jump ship, I'm just saying it is nicer than I thought it would be. I can see MS selling alot of these with better marketing.
Comments
In your case, it couldn't be because of commission because Best Buy doesn't pay their salespeople commision. But, I think that anti-apple sentiment towards the iPod would be extremely rare. It's got such a huge market share, any salesman who tries to steer away from it would be an exception/nut.
That's not the same however for Mac vs. Windows.
As I said earlier I've seen a lot of anti-Apple sentiment at electrical resellers, especially established ones which sell PCs. I personally don't understand it but I think it could help the Zune out.
That stuff makes me puke. I just don't understand all of the anti-Apple sentiment. Most Mac users have chosen the Mac and for that reason have experience with multi platforms.... but sales people like that (and I had my full share of salepeople trying to steer me away - when CC sold Macs, etc.) probably have never actually used a Mac before - so how can they be so adamant about something they don't know....
I though for sure that becuase the iPod was actually popular with not just Mac users but a lot of Windows users that collectively they would see Microsoft for what it is... a crappy imitator that buys it's success...
You know, I wouldn't be surprised in the least if Microsoft was paying retailers a little somethin'-somethin' on the side just to do crap like that.... Didn't they get busted for that...... ohhhhh that's right.... they can do whatever they want now that the DOJ has been DOA since 2001....
You're right they're called spiffs. I use to do Demo Days at Circuit City for Apple. The sales staff were ALL PC centric and steered everyone they could away from Macs even while I was standing by helping another customer. I finally asked them why they didn't sell more Macs and they all said the same thing, they got large monetary spiffs when selling PCs and nothing for selling a Mac.
On the iPod subject. I have a friend who I setup with a Mac. When his wife went in to WalMart to get an MP3 player the sales girl told her not to buy an iPod because they didn't play MP3s! She came home with some cheap MP3 player for $99 that she can't use with her Mac and Itunes purchased music. The salesperson never bothered asking what computer she used. His wife was to afraid to tell me out of embarassment to take it back, yes she's not that bright. Her husband told me about it and I was furious with the WalMart drone!
looks like they had a "high" time at their launch part though.. http://blackhawk.hlgaming.com/files/...-microsoft.jpg
some of these folks aren't very tech savvy, to be fair.
I had a Circuit City employee, as mentioned inthe article, state that the ZUne was better than the ipod because it had an FM receiver and 802.11g wireless.
Why in the world would anyone want these features? Can the FM antenna be good enough to work and who still listens to radio when they have their music/videos with them? How much cost, weight and depleted battery time does the wi-fi add? What is the wi-fi really good for; certainly not for fast uploads?
The specs claim 14 hours battery life with wifi off, 13 hours with wifi on. I don't know what it will eventually mean because synching doesn't make sense because wifi is turd slow, not much faster than USB 1.1. Synching is the best time to recharge anyway. It might make sense if you could use the Zune to buy tracks anywhere there's an open access point, but that isn't possible at the moment.
The sharing might help reinforce its popularity if there were a lot of them out there, but that's not the case. It is probably there on the assumption that music devices would be like social networking sites, you join a site because your friends are there and are supposedly less likely to go onto competing sites once you are established. The problem is, much like video phones and video chat, it's not really a selling point unless you know other people that have them, so there's a major issue with critical mass.
FM is good if you want live stuff like sports. The reception isn't terrible, but not necessarily great, that depends on the device and the surroundings.
I sort of wished that the iPod had such a kiosk. The iPods in this store were all behind glass and though obviously popular, they required sales help. Apple should standardize iPod kiosks to allow people to play with sample devices. Maybe they have them, but I haven't seen them. The iPods-on-Tables displayed in Apple Stores of course won't work in most other stores.
I can't see either WiFi or FM as minus points on the Zune. I think FM could be a useful addition to the iPod - although not essential certainly. The Zune's drawbacks are it's weight, size and computer software and the fact it's relatively unknown.
Could the weight and size be influenced by the FM and WiFi?
I can't see either WiFi or FM as minus points on the Zune. I think FM could be a useful addition to the iPod - although not essential certainly. The Zune's drawbacks are it's weight, size and computer software and the fact it's relatively unknown.
How about am reception? Yes I am an old fart at 35 but I love am because I am a news junkie and in the radio market I am in that means listening to am. Is this a make or break issue for me? No. But it would be a nice addition.
Actually this article, which is really about the iPod, probably describes the real reason MS is even doing a Zune.
http://networks.silicon.com/mobile/0...9164360,00.htm
They know that music/video and internet integration is going to be totally different than now, in the next 10-20 years. Whether the Zune itself makes a dime is probably less relevant to Redmond than just getting some sort of mobile media storage device in the market so that in 10 years they have a time tested platform for whatever the future might hold. It is a little more expensive for MS than just waiting for Apple to continue to innovate and copying - but MS needs to make sure that it is in a position to influence any new "standards" that the industry adopts, and I'm sure they would rather they weren't Apple standards.
So for now MS can "play around" in the market segment and try out a few things without appearing to be "betting the farm" on the Zune itself. I bet it is just trying to walk the line between pushing the market, but also being benignly neglectful about it too. Maybe I'm giving upper management in Redmond too much credit, but I doubt the lower managers running the Zune marketing and devo even know that upper management at MS is only making a relatively half-hearted effort. Now Microsoft's half-hearted effort is still huge compared to everyone else, but they haven't really been pushing this as big as they could.
This is just entering the game with a low bid hand and they have tons of chips to play with.
It does make me happy to see Apple stock soar, while MS stock sits where it has been for almost a decade!
Could the weight and size be influenced by the FM and WiFi?
Possibly but then they're a secondary point surely, they are not drawbacks in themselves they are just not good enough to make it worth the extra size and weight! Possibly the screen is the reason though?
Possibly but then they're a secondary point surely, they are not drawbacks in themselves they are just not good enough to make it worth the extra size and weight! Possibly the screen is the reason though?
The screen did seem pretty nice at a glance. The orientation helps it show lists a lot better too, thankfully the screen didn't have weird polarizations that make it go loopy when you look at it on the side. Sansa's e2xx series has that annoying polarization, as do many phones. I think they went a little overboard with menu backgrounds, but in comparison, a blank white background seems a little boring and uninspired. Maybe white + a 90% transparency applied to an image might make break it up a bit.
There are a lot of pro-Microsoft people who wish Apple had gone out of business and resent the fact that the iPod has instead seen the company not only survive but also prosper.
As for sales numbers, even if only MVPs (Microsoft's Most Valued Professionals) bought them, that's a six digit number of them ready to be snapped up.
I don't mind at all, as long as Microsoft doesn't manage to pull off a "Windows 3.0 vs Macintosh" on it (and we know who won that tussle - the Mac was almost sent into oblivion). The iPod needs competition.
I for one am bitterly disappointed there is no 6G iPod out to buy this Christmas. The tie-clip Shuffle, even as perfect an example of industrial design as it is, doesn't make up for no new generation of the flagship model.
I saw something on macnn today saying zune is #2 behind the iPod (9% or something)
The Zune was #2 at 9% of the portable music player sales for the week of its launch. while the iPod was at 63% for its distributors for the same week. Note: That 63% doesn't include apple.com or Apple's brick & mortar stores where, I assume, most iPod sales take place.
The Zune is a steaming pile of manure but they'll still sell a decent number outside the retail channel because of the anti-Apple sentiment in the IT industry mentioned by someone above.
There are a lot of pro-Microsoft people who wish Apple had gone out of business and resent the fact that the iPod has instead seen the company not only survive but also prosper.
As for sales numbers, even if only MVPs (Microsoft's Most Valued Professionals) bought them, that's a six digit number of them ready to be snapped up.
I don't mind at all, as long as Microsoft doesn't manage to pull off a "Windows 3.0 vs Macintosh" on it (and we know who won that tussle - the Mac was almost sent into oblivion). The iPod needs competition.
I for one am bitterly disappointed there is no 6G iPod out to buy this Christmas. The tie-clip Shuffle, even as perfect an example of industrial design as it is, doesn't make up for no new generation of the flagship model.
I actually got to play with a Zune a little tonight and I gotta say, its a lot sexier in person than it is in pictures. Even the Brown one looked pretty nice, plus the screan is better than on my 80 Gig. I'm not ready to jump ship, I'm just saying it is nicer than I thought it would be. I can see MS selling alot of these with better marketing.
Aaron