10-03-2007, 01:00 AM
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Executive Editor
Join Date: Aug 2006
Posts: 29,160
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A Zune by Any Other Name..
One thing that seems to be clear from all the leaks: the new Flash-based Zunes and the new hard drive-based Zune are still just "Zunes". Apple has the iPod Shuffle, the iPod Nano, the iPod Classic, and the iPod Touch. "iPod" is the overall brand, and the second term gives you the type of device. Nice and simple - it makes it easy to refer to it, easy to remember, and easy to buy in a store.
The Zune? So far it's looking like things are going to break down like this in conversation:
Joe: Hey, check out my new Zune!
Jane: I have a Zune as well, but mine is smaller than yours and thinner.
Joe: The Zune I bought has 80 GB of storage.
Jane: My Zune has 4 GB of storage. What kind of Zune did I buy?
Joe: I'm not sure...the box I have just says "Zune".
Jane: So does mine.
Joe: <blank look>
I'm exaggerating of course, but by seemingly not giving the new Zune models any sort of a name, the only way people will refer to them in writing is probably going to be as follows:
- 4 GB Flash Zune
- 8 GB Flash Zune
- 80 GB Hard Drive Zune (man that's awkward - maybe just 80 GB Zune?)
Even if you drop off the type of storage and just call them "4 GB Zune" or "80 GB Zune", having to use the capacity of the player to describe it is simply bizarre. I'm not a fan of how most companies name their products ("Take a look at the Samsung YPE-7880-H MP3 player!" but I think the Zune team has gone a little overboard in not having any sort of naming differentiation between the products.
I imagine the logic goes something like this: "Every Zune does the same thing, they all have WiFi and all play back the same types of files. The only difference is the physical size and the storage capacity. Since only geeks care about storage capacity, and the size difference is obvious, we're just going to call them all a Zune."
What's your take on this? Am I making a mountain out of a molehill on this issue? Or is the lack of a name going to create some confusion amongst the buying public?
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10-03-2007, 01:15 AM
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Editor Emeritus
Join Date: Aug 2006
Posts: 2,432
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Quote:
Originally Posted by Jason Dunn
Joe: Hey, check out my new Zune!
Jane: I have a Zune as well, but mine is smaller than yours and thinner.
Joe: The Zune I bought has 80 GB of storage.
Jane: My Zune has 4 GB of storage. What kind of Zune did I buy?
Joe: I'm not sure...the box I have just says "Zune".
Jane: So does mine.
Joe: <blank look=""></blank>
I'm exaggerating of course...
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(I couldn't help it, the Zune left itself wide open for that one!  )
EDIT: weird, my post started blinking but i didn't do anything. i think its a bug! <blink blink=""></blink><blink blink=""> </blink>
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10-03-2007, 01:18 AM
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Contributing Editor
Join Date: Dec 2006
Posts: 519
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I'm hoping they leave it at Zune for the whole thing, and let the obviousness work itself out. People will be able to tell based on physical size and let the geeks call it the Z-10298S48. The only time people will really have to make a decision will be at purchase time, and they can really just pick what suits their needs.
In the eyes of a lot of non-technical friends, iPod refers to the MP3 player category as a whole, and the Nano is a type of iPod, almost as a separate brand (though closer linked to the HDD players than other Flash types, based mostly on visual identity). The Nano is too strong of a brand to bring another direct competitor into play, but if the Zune can tie their set of MP3 players together (the way Apple's press shots showed the new types of iPods all together) and create a strong brand identity, it will carry over to the other products.
The iPod's main fault right now is that it's at a crossroads--I'm still baffled why they continued the Nano line when the Touch is clearly the future. Visual identity alone, the interfaces of the iClassic and Nano are too dissimilar from the Touch and the iPhone, making the buyer's decision significantly more difficult.
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10-03-2007, 03:15 AM
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Pupil
Join Date: Nov 2006
Posts: 29
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whatever they call it
as long as they concentrate on the right features and integration with MS ecosystem. They have one chance. If they f**k this up, they can as well give up. It needs to be simple, intuitive, sexy and do a lot of things in the same time. They completely revamped the software stack:
http://www.zuneluv.com/2007/10/02/zu...its-a-rebuild/
Keeping my fingers crossed.
On a separate topic... Adam, nice picture. Ooooh you touch my tra la la la.
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10-03-2007, 04:04 AM
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Ponderer
Join Date: Nov 2006
Posts: 59
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According to Paul Thurrott, they will be simply called the Zune 4, Zune 8, etc.
http://www.winsupersite.com/showcase/zune2_preview.asp
Also, they all support the same features.
In a day where everyone makes fun of Microsoft for complicated names, I would have to give that a thumbs up.
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10-03-2007, 04:51 AM
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10-03-2007, 05:12 AM
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Hybrid Mode
