Microsoft Kills the Zune

[PlasticLion]

What a shame. I bought three Ipods that broke in about a year each. Then I bought a Zune and it has worked perfectly for the past three years. I'm assuming that is just anecdotal evidence, but no one can deny that a competitor dropping from the market is a bad thing.

When my Zune gives up the ghost while playing Vampire Hunter D for the last time, I'll buy a cheap mp3 player instead of going back to crapple.

 

[TiefBlau]

Can someone please explain to me why no one bought a Zune or hardly anyone? Like that guy said, it did everything an iPod does but no one (hardly anyone) bought a Zune, after seeing what the zune looks like, i might go out and buy a pink one

Apple does a very, very good job at marketing their product's inelasticity. What this means is that they've very good at convincing people that their completely normal product has absolutely no reasonable alternative. Microsoft's marketing department, in comparison, fucking sucks. This allows Apple to drive up the prices on their products while people are still wondering what the hell a Zune is.

Apple fans. Sheep are incapable of buying things, being sheep.

Sheep: One falls off a cliff and dies, the rest follow just because the one did. Analogy well enough appropriate for all the idiotic Apple love.

And I assume you think you're the aloof, superior wolf, right?

On a side note, sheep actually aren't that stupid, a rather hilarious misconception considering the usage of the term.

See, when I hear the term "sheep" I assume more along the lines of "Following the herd". It's not that they're stupid, they just go along with everyone else because it's the collective norm.

That is how most people use it, this guy was trying to say they were dumb as well. Both usages still bother me, but at least one makes sense.

I'm fairly certain this is a case of mixed metaphor. He seems to be referring to lemmings, who allegedly follow each other no matter where they go, as opposed to sheep, who are herded by shepherds unquestioningly.

...Just thought I'd throw that out there.

 

[Aurgelmir]

I thought they pulled the plug on it long ago?
To me Zune is the place where I rent movies on my 360...

 

[RelexCryo]

Zune is only popular on the Xbox 360 because it was forced on us. To my knowledge, there is no way to watch movies on the Xbox 360 except to use Zune. I really, really hate PR spin.

 

[DarkPegasus333]

The Zune was my first mp3 player. It was a brick, sure, but it was still awesome! I later got an iPod classic because it had more memory at the time. Hated it. Then I switched my computer to Linux and I couldn't really use either without a headache, so I've given up on both.

 

[MrGalactus]

I bet this guy [http://gizmodo.com/#!318794/zune-tattoo-guy-legally-changing-his-name-to-microsoft-zune-is-clearly-insane] is feeling really, really smart now:

This article was horribly misinterpreted. They're just killing this guy.

 

[Anton P. Nym]

Can anyone who bought a Zune truthfully say it's better than an iPod?

I can. I've seen a bunch of others in this very thread, to boot.

I found the sound quality better (using 3rd-party earbuds, because iPod earbuds are dreadful and the Zune ones only somewhat less dreadful) in the Zune than the iPod, and Zune had FM radio out-of-the-box. (ZuneHD gets HD radio too; broadcast radio with CD clarity but without the monster subscription fees of satellite radio. Mmmm...) I will say that the iPod's wheel control was more responsive than the Zune's, but I had the option to turn the Zune's wheel off and just use the d-pad which worked fine.

Also, iTunes crippled my netbook with its bloatedness and network-hogging while Zune software runs fine on it. (Probably a porting issue; I've heard the opposite from Mac users.)

-- Steve

 

[Funkysandwich]

I've never actually even seen a Zune. No one has them here, and I've never seen one for sale.

 

[notyouraveragejoe]

And another one bites the dust! Sorry, had to be said. To be honest since its release this is probably the first I've heard of it....hasn't really made a splash near me.

 

[Croaker42]

So got to say I am not surprised.
The time when we need seperated MP3 palyers and phones is coming to a quick end.
It makes a little sad as I love my Zune HD. Hell I don't turn it off and its used about 8 hours a day (Yays black box cube job).
So yes sad I will never see the next line of Zune hardware. But when this thing (my zune) dies I will certainly install the zune software on my android/windows phone.

 

[Vrach]

FINALLY. How did they ever expect to sell the things without launching them in europe? :S

Ah, I was just about to ask what the hell a Zune is (in the sense of, never actually heard of it before now), guess that explains it ^^

 

[mew4ever23]

And thus it was recorded as the only time Microsoft ever admitted defeat to apple. Looks like apple's running the show in the mp3 player department now.

 

[Whispering Death]

Microsoft kills the media player noone asked for.

 

[shintakie10]

Bah this makes me sad. I went through at least 4 ipods in a 2 year span before I finally said f it and bought a 80 gig zune that was a 100 bucks cheaper than the closest ipod equivalent. I loved that thing. Watchin video on a screen that wasnt the the size of the dpad on my DS, gettin sound quality that was actually good, bein able to take one hell of a beatin because of how clumsy I am while an ipod seemed to break if you held it just a little too hard. Hell, bein able to just turn the radio on when I was at work was amazin. Everythin about the Zune was amazin except one minor issue I had with the Zune platform which was that Microsoft insisted on usin Microsoft points to buy music. Its a lame reason to not buy off of it instead of usin the absolutely godawful itunes, but Microsoft points bug me.

That Zune lasted me a good 4 years before I dropped it one too many times and the hard drive gave out. If I coulda found a Zune in stores at that point I would have replaced it without a second thought. Alas I could not so I've been without an MP3 player for quite some time.

 

[Ironic Pirate]

On a side note, sheep actually aren't that stupid, a rather hilarious misconception considering the usage of the term.

I dunno. I live near sheep, and they're dumber than a sock full of rocks. I mean, I could be comparing them to the horses, buffalo, cows, llamas, and more domestic animals, but for all I've seen, they're borderline retarded.

Well yeah, but as far as herding animals go borderline retarded is like a sack of Nobel prizes and entrance into Mensa. I will admit I'm not an expert, there's a few farms near me but none of them have sheep.

 

[THEoriginalBRIEN]

The Zune was still alive???
Honestly the best MP3 player I ever had was a Creative Zen. It had a great screen, customizable menus and backgrounds, a radio, and a rating system. It had everything I wanted!...except it froze constantly.
After I broke the screen one day at school I finally caved and bought an iPod. It's served me well and has yet to break but for the love of god DO I FUCKING HATE ITUNES.

 

[Roxor]

Why would anyone need anything beyond Windows Explorer for managing their music collection?

 

[Infesord]

The company also announced that the Zune HD is now available in Canada through the Zune Originals store. Canada, however, appeared to be largely unaware of this development.

Not aware? No kidding. I actually considered buying a Zune HD back in the day cause I didn't want to get an Ipod anything. But after trying to buy one online I see they wouldn't even SHIP to Canada? What the fuck? I'll pay whatever for shipping. I mean, how hard is it to ship something? I can understand them not opening up a store in Canada but come on.

Oh well, I guess my Apple and my Ipod Touch isn't so bad after all.

 

[acutekat]

Um, I don't think this is entirely correct. Just me, but until Microsoft itself stands up and says "Zune is dead" I'm not buying it. The bloomberg article states that "Microsoft Corp. (MSFT) will stop introducing new versions of the Zune music and video player because of tepid demand, letting the company shift its focus to other devices, according to a person familiar with the decision." this amounts to Vinny down the street told me so. I think Microsoft will shift focus from zune hardware to WP7 but I don't think zune is dead. Microsoft lost millions on the xbox (and I believe still does, not sure though) and continues to push it out just because it can get a place in your living room, If Microsoft thinks that the Zune can eventually wind up in your pocket it will push millions more into it.

 

[Shy_Guy]

See, when I hear the term "sheep" I assume more along the lines of "Following the herd". It's not that they're stupid, they just go along with everyone else because it's the collective norm.

This man gets it.

And I assume you think you're the aloof, superior wolf, right?

On a side note, sheep actually aren't that stupid, a rather hilarious misconception considering the usage of the term.

Isn't that mentality more appropriate for the "Apple Fans" you speak of? They, collectively and usually, seem to think pretty highly of their own "chic" selves. It's cool, and so they're cool dudes, right? I just get rather annoyed by it all, I don't think I'm some cool dude. That would be rather hypocritical, no?

See the above quote by WaaghPowa for the response to the second part of your post.