Wireless Sharing Feature Dropped from the Zune HD

[Jason Dunn]

<div class='os_post_top_link'><a href='http://news.cnet.com/8301-13526_3-10352637-27.html' target='_blank'>http://news.cnet.com/8301-13526_3-10352637-27.html</a><br /><br /></div><p><em>"There were also a couple of mild unfortunate surprises. First, Microsoft has removed the "squirting" feature, which let you send songs directly from one Zune to another. This feature was supposed to be a big selling point of the first Zune but was crippled by unreasonable rights restrictions that let you play songs only three times or within three days (whichever came first)."</em></p><p>This isn't something I noticed missing when I was doing my videos on the Zune HD, but it's definitely not there. Even if someone decided it was no longer a feature they wanted to offer for sharing music due to pressure from the music studios, why remove it for sharing pictures and podcasts? The wireless sharing feature wasn't something I used daily, but at least a dozen times a friend of mine has brought his Zune over when we've been hanging out together and we've shared music back and forth. It's a feature that the iPod doesn't have, and if the Zune HD becomes a success, it's a feature that would have become more useful as the market grew. So why did they take it out?</p>

[ACE]

Agreed.

This is a seriously missed feature already bemoaned on Zune forums. You can still share stuff through the "cloud" but wi-fi Zune-to-Zune sharing is offically dead when it comes to the Zune HD.

'tis a sad day to require a wi-fi hot spot to share stuff with a friend across the room...

[SoundMix]

More dimwitted decisions by the Zune, and I use the term loosely, team. :eek:

[stlbud]

It's interesting the Zune.net web site sill shows the feature and explains how to use it. Is this just for HD or did all Zunes get "downgraded"?

[Spooof]

"...if the Zune HD becomes a success..." At first I laughed when I read those words; however then I thought objectively about it and wondered why MS doesn't apply the same level of zeal toward the Zune and windows mobile as they did towards the xbox platform?

If they got their crap together they could make huge head way against apple. I just don't see them going the extra mile to take over a big chunk of this market.

[David Tucker]

On one hand, I agree. Its a feature that I used rarely and almost always because "it was there" and I don't think keeping it would have cost them anything.

But then...I did rarely use it so I find myself not caring too much ;)

[Sven Johannsen]

Not a big deal to me. I'd first have to find someone else with a Zune (that would admit it).

Sounds like a slam, but it's not. There are 5 of them in the household, and I and my wife enjoy them. I seriously don't know anyone else in my circle with one.

[Ricardo Dawkins]

It's interesting the Zune.net web site sill shows the feature and explains how to use it. Is this just for HD or did all Zunes get "downgraded"?
still available on my Zune 80