Zune Originals Rant

[David Tucker]

<p>Now that the Zune HD 64 is out, I&rsquo;m ready to move up to the next generation of Zune devices. &nbsp;Not that there is anything at all wrong with my Zune 80. &nbsp;Quite the opposite really, my Zune 80 is trucking right along! &nbsp;But there is no denying that that beautiful OLED screen is calling my name. &nbsp;I&rsquo;m also hoping that with Zune becoming part of the Windows Phone 7 OS, there is a chance we might see some meaningful applications released for it.</p><p>Unfortunately I can&rsquo;t make the purchase for a few months. &nbsp;I&rsquo;m out of the country right now and would have no easy way to get it. &nbsp;On top of that, I can&rsquo;t even look at it online. &nbsp;International Zune fans, I fully understand your pain now. &nbsp;Microsoft doesn&rsquo;t even let me look at the Zune Originals site from Australia. &nbsp;I find that ridiculous.</p><p>I was in Baltimore last week though for a few days and discovered that maybe Microsoft is hiding the Zune Originals site out of embarrassment. &nbsp;I wasn&rsquo;t there long enough to consider a purchase but I could at least look at the options on Originals. &nbsp;Maybe I don&rsquo;t remember very well but I could have sworn there used to be a lot more options than there are now.</p><p>Now there are about 30 artist series options, a few horrible video game options (really, they almost all suck), and the option to put the logo from your favorite MLS team on the back of your Zune. &nbsp;Really, Microsoft, we get MLS? &nbsp;I&rsquo;m sure Microsoft is just trying to get whatever deals they can but sometimes less is more. &nbsp;A device that can be used almost only in the United States can be customized with a sport that no one cares about at all.</p><p>The color options were nice but the artwork was really just not very compelling at all. &nbsp;The whole Zune Originals idea is great but if the options are going to be so watered down, maybe Microsoft should just sell Zunes in different colors and do away with Originals all together.</p>

[flatrabbit]

A device that can be used almost only in the United States can be customized with a sport that no one cares about at all.Really? As an avid supporter of MLS and a Zune enthusiast from day one(I own a red 30, and green 32 HD & all my kids have 8gb Zunes) I think it's a good match up. Both are underdogs in their respective areas, in the last year MLS has seen a huge growth in followers and it only looks to increase with the additions of more teams next year.

My local team the Seattle Sounders FC (a team sponsored by MS by way of the XBOX360, probably a reason why MLS is in the Originals catagory) broke every record for MLS attendance last year, so I doubt highly that no one cares about it. You personally may not care, but using such a blanket statement implies ignorance on your part. I'm not a huge fan of Nascar but I would never demean the sport by stating that "no one cares about it".

How about sticking to Zune info and news and leaving the offhand comments at home.

[doogald]

and the option to put the logo from your favorite MLS team on the back of your Zune. &nbsp;Really, Microsoft, we get MLS?

Well, Paul Allen is one of the owners of the Seattle Sounders FC. Some people like the MLS. I'm not sure that there is a high correlation between people who like the MLS and people who will be interested in buying a Zune, though.

[David Tucker]

. Both are underdogs in their respective areas, in the last year MLS has seen a huge growth in followers and it only looks to increase with the additions of more teams next year.

I am not a NASCAR fan but I would not complain if they had NASCAR themed Originals. NASCAR is incredibly popular. Good business is not pairing your not very popular product (Zune) with another not very popular product (MLS).

[David Tucker]

Well, Paul Allen is one of the owners of the Seattle Sounders FC. Some people like the MLS. I'm not sure that there is a high correlation between people who like the MLS and people who will be interested in buying a Zune, though.

Well, clearly there's a few people out there who like soccer. And if that's the market that MS is targeting it would explain the lack of sales ;)

But the point was simply that there is a dearth of good options for Zune Originals. Soccer is not a popular sport in the US...no amount of yelling about it is going to change that reality.

[flatrabbit]

Interesting, I posted a reply last night defending MLS and it's gone. I'm going to assume it was user error and it just disappeared into the ether when I hit "Submit Reply" :confused:

I'm not going to repeat the whole thing as it also might just vanish. But I agree that the originals store is lacking severely. I'm not sure why MLS is the only sports option, that does seem kind of silly but I'm going to assume that MS didn't want to invest in the licensing fees associated with the major sports in the US. That doesn't really inspire confidence when it comes to the Zune platform.

This same attitude is in play in the Apps marketplace. Wheras I don't agree with Apple's draconian app approval process at least they are allowing people in at all.

[Jason Dunn]

Interesting, I posted a reply last night defending MLS and it's gone. I'm going to assume it was user error and it just disappeared into the ether when I hit "Submit Reply"

It was your first post, so it was held in moderation - that's the only way we can stop spammers. I've approved it, so it's now in this thread.

[Jason Dunn]

Well said David. Zune Originals in the era of the Zune 80/120 was awesome; lots of great colour choices, lots of great designs. In the Zune HD era, they went with these awful colours and really cut back on the designs...it's a bit better today than it was when the Zune HD first came out, but I really don't like most of their designs. And the colours...bleh...the red Zune HD is like a faded purple... :(