So, I'm gonna buy a Zune...

ucd_guy

Anyone got one?

secret_squirrel

Since its not available outside of the states yet - whats the point?

Microsoft have said quite clearly they dont even know when it will get a global release.

You may be able to buy one from ebay or bring one over from the States, but given that you wont be able to access the support services like the website - whats the point?

calex71

from everything ive read about it , theres nothing it does that would make me choose it over a zen vision m or one of the ipods, sure the screen is better but thats 1 + in a hell of a lot of -'s

ucd_guy

Parents going Christmas shopping in the States so thought I'd get them to pick me up a new MP3 player. Just don't like the Zen, and I'd kinda half settled on a Video iPod when this came on my radar. I used to have an iPod that just stopped working after about two years, and while I love the design of the thing, I've heard too many scare stories from friends about their brand new ones giving up the ghost etc.

Things I like about the Zune:

• Bigger Screen,
• More scratch resistant than the iPod,
• Built in Radio (a voice recorder would have been nice),
• It's not an iPod - I mean come on, everyone has one by now! They've lost their cool value long ago.
• The WiFi is also a big sell. I know the DRM **** is not cool, but I'm trusting that Microsoft will bow to demand and greatly expand it's capabilities with a future firmware update.
• Come to think of it, that's another big sell - much like Sony do with the PSP, Microsoft can revolutionise their product at a later date with a simple software update! This thing has a bright future ahead, methinks.

Anyway, I'd not thought about the website issue. Will this be a problem? I bought my last iPod in the States and it worked fine over here, well before there was an Irish version of iTunes!

kaisersose77

all it is, is a toshiba gigabeat with microsoft's name on it. If they made a player from scratch it might have being good.

secret_squirrel

ucd_guy wrote:

Will this be a problem? I bought my last iPod in the States and it worked fine over here, well before there was an Irish version of iTunes!

I'd be very careful tbh.

You need to doublecheck that the install doesnt check what country your windows installation is from.

You also need to bear in mind that the Zune DRM is incompatable with the normal WM DRM afaik.

To many unknowns if I was buying it but you may be able to find out more from a good google session.

ucd_guy

According to the US based forums, it'll work perfectly. The only caveat is I won't be able to purchase music from the Zune online store. Not a problem!

TarfHead

You are putting a lot of faith in Microsoft to eventually get it right. In the meantime you're going to have to suffer it's limitations, for NO advantage. By the time they get it right the current hardware spec. could be redundant.

Although the screen is physically bigger, the resolution is the same as the equivalent iPOD so you're not getting more.

The WiFi is currently offers is so pants as to be not worth mentioning.

The content management software is not WMP10 compliant.

I'm old enough to remember how cr@p Windows 1.0 was and how long it took Microsoft to get it close to being right with Windows 3.1. The path to ZUNE being a real competitor for the iPOD could be a long one.

As it stands, it's a bad investment.

maxitwist

I dont think it looks that bad, better than the ipod but I wouldn't expect to much in the way of firmware from microsoft

rc28

the zune software will work on your pc, it doesnt matter what country you're in. also you can buy songs from the zune marketplace because the pricing is just based on the xbox points system ,u just need a credit card. i think the zune is way better than the ipod re features and excellent user interface. the only reason there are some bad reviews of it is because the net is full of stupid ipod fanboys who would never admit that there is something better than their pretty(but now very scratched) little ipod. i am personally waiting for version2 of this thing to come out this time next year cause companys learn their lessons from v1 and always really improve v2 (look at the xbox and how it leaped into the xbox360) and i also still love my creative zen. anyway here are some links to help u make up your mind:
http://blogs.zdnet.com/mobile-gadgeteer/?p=238
http://www.zune.net/en-us/meetzune/device.htm
http://youtube.com/watch?v=3hXW4goVtkg
http://youtube.com/watch?v=VetUcN0oZyc
http://youtube.com/watch?v=hKlWrRDUmx8

BLITZ_Molloy

One of my housemates is planning on importing one of these. Does he need a step down converter or does it just plug into a laptop via usb or what?

mikedragon32

One of my colleagues got one from eBay for his daughter. He brought it in to show it to me today and it's a thing of beauty, by far the nicest looking PMP out there.

Looks like it's charged via USB, so there should be no problems. Would have liked to see it in action, but it's unfair to start mucking around with it before my colleague's daughter gets to unwrap it.

It's nicely packaged too.