Pogue and Mossberg Review the Zune

[Darius Wey]

<em>&quot;Next week, Microsoft Corp. will launch the most serious challenge ever mounted to Apple Computer's iPod and iTunes juggernaut in digital music. The software giant is introducing a portable player called the Zune, an online music store called Zune Marketplace and a new music software program called Zune that links the two. It plans to put plenty of marketing muscle behind Zune, and promises to expand and refine this new product line in coming years.&quot;</em><br /><br />Blind iPod comparisons aside, NYT's <a href="http://www.nytimes.com/2006/11/09/technology/09pogue.html?pagewanted=1&amp;_r=1&amp;adxnnl=1&amp;ref=technology&amp;adxnnlx=1163157616-Tl8HTw+wjXDL6A9u5ZIlsA" target="_blank">Pogue</a> and WSJ's <a href="http://ptech.wsj.com/archive/ptech-20061109.html" target="_blank">Mossberg</a> have put together two (mostly) unbiased reviews of the Zune. Both have their fair share of criticisms (and I'm going to do my best here to highlight the least discussed ones, since re-hashing isn't fun). ;-) Mossberg twice claims that album art on the Zune looks shabby (the first without reason; the second blaming it on PPI), though I'm willing to question the quality of his album art. All of my tracks have album art in at least 320 x 320, and they're a source of ocular pleasure on a standard sub-3&quot; QVGA display. Mossberg goes on to argue that the Microsoft Points pricing mechanism is an annoyance. I don't really disagree with him here, at least as far as the Zune Marketplace is concerned. It's been largely successful on the Xbox Live Marketplace, simply because game content is typically worth a few hundred Points, not 79 Points (the cost of a single track on the Zune Marketplace). 79 Points translates to around 99 US cents, yet it's not as simple as taking out your credit card and purchasing 79 Points. They come in blocks of at least $5, so if you only want to purchase one track, you still have to spend an extra $4.01 on Points and leave it aside for a rainy day. I do hope Microsoft finds a way around this. I don't mind their implementation of Points, but they should at least allow single Point purchasing to keep the crowd happy.<br /><br />Those aren't all of the negative points that Pogue and Mossberg raise, though I hate to spoil a good (at times, <em>good</em> for a laugh) read, so I'll leave it to you to discover the rest. However, at the risk of having their reviews sound like pages of Zune bashing, it is worth pointing out that there are plenty of positive things said about the Zune: the large screen, the UI, the FM tuner, and even guest sync support. Both think it'll take a while before it poses a significant threat to Apple's dominance, and this is something I largely agree with. As we've seen with the Xbox/Xbox 360, it usually takes Microsoft at least one generation of hardware revisions, firmware updates, and introduction of new services before the magic starts happening. By the time the second-generation Zune arrives, I'm convinced that a higher percentage of the population will be taking the Zune a lot more seriously.

[Jason Dunn]

Overall, not a bad review from Mossberg. But Walt always tries to fan the flames so that even small things seem like a big deal. Example:

"It has much worse battery life for music than the iPod or than Microsoft claims"

Wow. Ok, MUCH worse? So, what, half the battery life of the iPod? Much is a strong word, right?

"at least two hours less than the iPod's, in my tests"

Oh. Two hours worse. According to Apple (http://docs.info.apple.com/article.html?artnum=61475), the 30 GB iPod has 14 hours of battery life. Microsoft claims 14 hours on the Zune. Walt says 12 hours. Sure, 2 extra hours would be better, but I'd say that 12 hours is close to 14 hours, not "much worse".

At any rate, I'd say this is one of the more positive reviews I've read coming from Mossberg, who prostrates himself at the Mac altar daily. :rolleyes:

[Jason Dunn]

David Pogue's article was much worse - it was a slice and dice piece. How much of an idiot to you have to be to think that the first version of a brand new player (and platform) will have EVERYTHING that the iPod has? Just as many features, just as many accessories, just as many songs in the store, etc.? It's not an excuse, it's just reality - the iPod ecosystem has been chugging along for several years now, and it's just bad reporting to smack Microsoft across the face for not achieving instant parity.

[Darius Wey]

I usually shut out most of the iPod comparisons in the reviews that I read. Comparing size and shape - sure, no problem. Number of accessories - well, duh. Marketplace content - duh. In a couple of years time, assuming the Zune has significant market presence, I'd like to see them muster up the same comparisons again. I'm convinced it'll be less of a smack-fest.

Anyway, at least neither of these articles are as bad as Forbes'. It's so bad that I dare not link to it. ;)

[Dyvim]

How much of an idiot to you have to be to think that the first version of a brand new player (and platform) will have EVERYTHING that the iPod has? Just as many features, just as many accessories, just as many songs in the store, etc.? It's not an excuse, it's just reality - the iPod ecosystem has been chugging along for several years now, and it's just bad reporting to smack Microsoft across the face for not achieving instant parity.

Yes, but his review (and Mossberg's) are for the consumption of the general public. Joe Schmo doesn't care why iPod has more songs/features/accessories nor does he care what features Zune v2 or 3 might have in a few years (if there ever even is a Zune v2) when he's trying to buy something today. Joe Schmo just wants to know which of 2 competing products he should buy this Christmas and what each of them will bring to the table. Like it or not, iPod has a lot more to offer right now. Both reviews say they expect Zune to get better with future versions but for now all things being equal they'd recommend iPod over Zune- I'd say that's a fair enough conclusion for a product review.

[Jason Dunn]

Yes, but his review (and Mossberg's) are for the consumption of the general public. Joe Schmo doesn't care why iPod has more songs/features/accessories nor does he care what features Zune v2 or 3 might have in a few years (if there ever even is a Zune v2) when he's trying to buy something today.

Sure, agreed, but if they weren't so blindly biased they'd simply acknowledge that this is a first-generation, first effort product, and that's the main reason why there aren't 3000 accessories...how on earth can they "blame" Microsoft for not having 3000 accessories at launch? Yet that's exactly what their tone suggests.

[Dyvim]

Yet that's exactly what their tone suggests.

Agreed. And unfortunately, Joe Schmo probably isn't aware of their bias towards Mac.

[Sage]

Microsoft are very clever with the Xbox Live Points. Games are priced in multiples of 400 (400 for cheap arcade conversions, 800 for most original games, 1200 for the best games), but points are generally bought in multiples of 500. After buying a game, having that last 100 points left on my account annoys me no end. :)

[Janak Parekh]

Sure, agreed, but if they weren't so blindly biased they'd simply acknowledge that this is a first-generation, first effort product, and that's the main reason why there aren't 3000 accessories...how on earth can they "blame" Microsoft for not having 3000 accessories at launch? Yet that's exactly what their tone suggests. Hmm. I reread the article twice, and I don't see the lambasting/blaming of Microsoft that you do. Sure, Pogue points out the lack of accessories, but I don't see him blaming Microsoft. The paragraph in question reads:

"Naturally, you also miss out on the 3,000 iPod accessories: speaker systems, microphones, cases, home and auto adapters, remote controls and so on. Over 80 percent of 2007 cars will have an iPod connector option — zero for Zune. And there’s only one Zune model; there’s no equivalent of the iPod Nano or Shuffle."

Where is the blaming of Microsoft here? The whole paragraph is written in passive voice. In fact, I think it comes across clearly that this is a 1.0 effect. Also, aren't his characterizations of Microsoft v1 products also accurate? He does believe that MS will refine the product. In fact, he says:

"Then again, this is all standard Microsoft procedure. Version 1.0 of Microsoft Anything is stripped-down and derivative, but it’s followed by several years of slow but relentless refinement and marketing. Already, Microsoft says that new Zune features, models and accessories are in the pipeline."

Having seen countless MS products in years past, I think this is a spot-on observation. What do you want them to say? "Zune will eventually have as many accessories of the iPod"? (Can't say that, we don't know.) "Hopefully manufacturers will bring accessories to market soon." (Okay, could say that, but who knows?) "It's a first release, so not everything is available." (Well, actually, this is what I think Pogue is saying.)

The only part where Pogue gets slightly snarky is the comment on podcasts, but I think he was just trying to be "cute". If you don't like that, I won't disagree with you. ;)

--janak