10-04-2007, 05:10 AM
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Contributing Editor Emeritus
Join Date: Sep 2006
Posts: 1,053
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More Opinions on the Zune
There’s already more opinions out there on Zune 2.0 than you can shake a stick at. I feel like this opinion piece over at the NYT technology blog wanted to not like the Zune from the start. Its got a lot of really good information in the write up but the conclusions that the writer comes to seem very contradictory to other things he wrote. To start the article, Mr. Hansell writes:
"It’s hard to imagine anyone reading the reports of the second generation of Microsoft’s Zune audio player and deciding it should go at the top of their Christmas wish list."
That may be true for Mr. Hansell. Maybe he can’t imagine anyone thinking the Zune is the best option right now. But curiously, here’s what he says later:
"There’s a bigger screen, a social networking site and a bit more you can do with the built in Wi-Fi connection. Frankly, feature for feature, it gives the iPod Classic - Apple’s hard drive model - a run for its money. But the flash models can’t compete on fashion with Apple’s Nano and Shuffle."
So it gives the iPod Classic a run for its money but you can’t imagine anyone wanting it? I really would like to know why. In all of the excitement yesterday, I didn’t spend much time thinking of how this generation really stacks up with the iPod. The more I thought about it today, the more I realized that Microsoft really trumped Apple here. The Zune 80 offers significantly more than the Zune Classic. The only place the Classic wins is a larger HDD option.
As for the Zune 4/8, it might not beat the Nano on looks (though I would argue that the new Nano is pretty ugly) but on features it most certainly wins again. Beauty is in the eye of the beholder and the new Zunes are anything but ugly.
Mr. Hansell goes on to talk about many of the features that the Zune brings that people might be interested in. He’s particularly interested in the evolution of digital media devices from simple playback to an interactive user entertainment center.
By the end of the piece, Mr. Hansell has pointed out a lot to like with Zune 2.0. It almost makes you want to add it to your holiday list. Not me though. I can’t wait that long.
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