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After months of speculation, Zuneday is here. Microsoft is launching its
socially integrative
music player and marketplace on November 14, debuting the Zune player at $249.99 in the United States. Will consumers see the 30GB Zune as a deal compared to the $249.00 30GB iPod? Time will tell, but Microsoft didn't make any plans to position this as a bargain device. Songs are priced at 99 cents (effectively, more on that [in the seeded article]), and music subscriptions are $14.99. The music pricing itself is hardly a surprise. The labels have about zero interest in a music price war, and are likely not going to let that happen.
Zune Priced to Match iPod, Use Microsoft Points
Seeded on Thu Sep 28, 2006 12:07 PM EDT
Article Source: Ars Technica- Enjoy this article? Help vote it up the 'Vine.
- Public Discussion (8)
I'm waiting to see how to see these perform once they start shipping. I'm curious as to actual battery life and "Zune Marketplace" integration.
#1 - Thu Sep 28, 2006 1:14 PM EDTMS has impressed me greatly with the battery life of keyboards and mice. This would surely use a bit more power but I have a feeling they will do fairly well.
Still waiting for a full feature list to convince me to buy but I have avoided the iPod for a long time waiting for a Microsoft response.
#2 - Thu Sep 28, 2006 1:28 PM EDTMicrosoft 'points' - great... With values that vary between countries...of course.
I can hardly wait for the quarterly meeting of the Microsoft Open Market Committed to set the overnight rate for a Microsoft point. How long will it be before some clever soul discovers a way to apply all the abuses we see in real world currently trading to a Microsoft Point? ; )
- 1 vote
#3 - Thu Sep 28, 2006 3:02 PM EDTWouldn't you want to wait for the third version with MS.
BTW, this is just a repackaged Toshiba device. I am sure battery life will be great, especially when WiFi is on.
#4 - Thu Sep 28, 2006 3:41 PM EDTAccording to Microsoft, it isn't just a rebranded Toshiba Gigabeat
This thing would rock if they could get it to work with DIVX and allow sharing of any media stored on the device.
I like the features so far enough to want one. But it's less about the features and more about pulling it out when around Apple suckers. The same reason I like to walk into a room full of linux admins and say how I just read an article on how MS servers perform better and have less security risks then linux.
Apple Suckers and Penguin Pushers make life feel like an everlasting gob stopper.
#5 - Fri Sep 29, 2006 5:39 PM EDTI'm not sure I go in for fanboys of any stripe, myself. I like the gadgets that do what I need them to do, and that's about it. I could really care less what sicker or brand name is on them.
As for getting the Zune to play DIVX encoded files, I wouldn't ever count on Microsoft doing so. There may be a third party hack down the line, but I'd prefer to see a company actually embrace the better and popular formats rather than kow-tow to the recording and movie industries.
Divx is great quality and compression. Really I would like to see it completely opened up for custom drivers. super easy storage and transfer with the wi-fi over adhoc. I'd like it to start on a very simple, easy to use interface with basic features but be expandable by 3rd party developers for sure. I'd like a smalll mobile platform wherre I can create my own stuff for sure.
With the ability to tap into the internet though you should be able to pull and stream any video on the web though. I noticed some sites use drivers that MS doesn't support without 3rd party drivers though. purepwnage.com for example.
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