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Zune breaks 2 million sold, stealing market from Creative

engadget.com — Microsoft is still toiling away at the Zune, but there isn't a whole terrible much to show for it so far in regards to market impact. They just broke the 2 million mark, almost a year after they hit 1 million in May 2007. That means growth has hardly accelerated since the second-gen players hit the scene.

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  • jstad, on 05/11/2008, -16/+127The Zune has continued to improve while the Zen hasn't done much since its inception in my opinion this is no surprise.
    • diggdiggerid, on 05/11/2008, -19/+24What?? My Creative Zen Micro had a shudown timer, custom equalizer, removeable hard drive, search by "typing", etc...My Zune 80GB doesn't even have a shutdown timer much less any of those extra features. All it does is play music. I mean I like its interfrace but it really doesn't have any features at all.
      • pazimzadeh, on 05/11/2008, -1/+15but it's not publicized much I don't think...
        I didn't know about any of the features you just mentioned
      • ozid, on 05/11/2008, -5/+24oh yeah i totally would rather have a shutdown timer and a graphic equalizer instead of the music sharing and zune marketplace/live integration.
      • bweltondav, on 05/11/2008, -3/+11The Zen Micro certainly has a lot of great features, but I think the Zune's user interface is the best in the market. Plus, I don't really see myself using any of the features you listed. I think it's all a matter of choice really--some people are really into having all of those features, but those people constitute a very, /very/ small part of the market. All most people want is an mp3 player that "plays music."
        • HonoredMule, on 05/12/2008, -0/+3The shutdown timer would be nice.
          • daza, on 05/12/2008, -0/+3It definitely would be, as an owner of a Zune 30 (brown, refurbished) and previous owner of many iPod's and a Creative Zen Touch, the only feature I miss from them is the shutdown timer.

            The Zune definitely makes up for the loss of it in many other areas though. The XNA Game Studio 3 release has meant the public can now make games and applications for the Zune, and already many clocks have been released promising shutdown timers and wake-up alarms. The open gaming platform means we can add whatever we want to it. Microsoft are actually embracing it. Apple and Creative are a long way behind in that regard.
          • diggdiggerid, on 05/12/2008, -0/+1Games?? My zune doesn't have games.
    • u8myfoood, on 05/11/2008, -3/+20Well, Creative WAS the first to release a 32gb Flash drive player, with an expandable SDHC slot.
      Besides other than the stone, all the other mp3 players in their line up have build in microphones (VERY USEFUL for recording lectures) and have radio tuners.
      But one problem is that they are still too fat for the iPod crowd, also the zune has the reminiscent metal back plate from the iPod, as well as the somewhat circular click wheel looking thing.
    • TheWorm, on 05/11/2008, -8/+10All they need is to make some Mac Zune software. It couldn't be that difficult or expensive giving Microsoft's resources, and I know several people who would be interested in a Zune if it worked on a Mac.
      • Lynxpro, on 05/11/2008, -3/+7But they won't do it. Microsoft only offers software on the Mac platform whether it is profitable and/or serves to maintain their monopoly status. The Zune is neither of those two at this point. They'd probably tell you to buy a copy of XP or Vista and install it on your Intel based Mac if you are serious about using a Zune with your Mac.
      • punkcat, on 05/11/2008, -14/+15i dont see why you would bother even caring if u were on a Mac. there is nothing compelling about the zune.

      • TheXeno, on 05/11/2008, -2/+10Just use Boot camp or parallels/VMware is you're interested in using a Zune. The Zune team doesn't really need to do a thing, Apple's been hard at work already making sure you can cross over and use a Mac already while not having to compromise some Windows features you might want to continue to use.
        • johnpaul191, on 05/11/2008, -0/+9You think that somebody would set up bootcamp, or buy parallels and then buy a copy of vista just to use a Zune? That's got to effectively double the price of the thing.
          • Lynxpro, on 05/11/2008, -3/+2and do you think Microsoft would complain over you having to buy Vista? That's in their interest.
        • Brick86, on 05/11/2008, -3/+4It's not like Apple decided to just make windows work on the mac. It was microsoft that really had to make it.
          • Giga, on 05/12/2008, -3/+2...What? Either my sarcasm detector isn't functioning, or you are delusional. Apple changed their hardware in a way that would support it.
    • Wakuko, on 05/11/2008, -29/+7No matter how much faux publicity M$ pays, the zune will be remembered as the greatest failure in MP3s ever!
      Poor brown zune, couldn't make it to first grade
      • woody56292, on 05/11/2008, -2/+4have you even read the article? Engadget clearly slammed Microsoft for "finally" selling 2 million after its started. They then go on to show that it wasn't lost sales from Apple, which continues to dominate, but Microsoft eating away percentages from smaller competitors.

        If Microsoft paid Engadget for some publicity, you would think they would at least spin it positively....
        • MtheoryX, on 05/11/2008, -1/+3I think they spun it about as positively as possibly while not causing an outrage on the interwebz.
      • doshindude, on 05/12/2008, -2/+4Are you retarded? the Zune is probably the best you can get in terms of mp3 players.
    • jsaya, on 05/11/2008, -16/+7My 1st Gen Zune ($105) was returned because it couldn't even play mp3s. Got a Creative Zen Vision:M 30GB ($80) instead and it is superior in so many more ways. As long as I don't have to use iTunes I'm happy.
      • bweltondav, on 05/11/2008, -0/+12Sounds like there's something wrong with zune that you bought, since playing .mp3 files is certainly something it should be able to do. All the same, the M is a great player.
      • troye, on 05/12/2008, -0/+2Yep, you're new to Digg.
    • warriorscot, on 05/11/2008, -2/+7The new zen looks pretty good, the zens are worth buying just for the fact they don't lock you into DRM or particular filetypes or software they are probably the most user friendly of all the mp3 players on the market. And the new ones are pretty good, Im getting a 32GB next month as its over £100(~$200) cheaper than the equivalent touch and there is no zune that can compete directly as the v2s arent even sold in most countries.
      • keeperofkeys, on 05/11/2008, -3/+1You're right. I was going to buy my girlfriend a Zune for Christmas (she wanted an iPod, but I knew she'd find iTunes on Windows frustrating, which she has); simply couldn't get a gen.2 Zune in the UK.
      • Nesh, on 05/11/2008, -2/+4I used to be a hardcore Creative fan. I figured they were one of the pioneering names in digital sound. Based on this, I purchased a Zen Micro 6gb, and on my recommendation, my cousin bought a Zen Micro Photo. Fast forward a couple months, My Zen Micro will not charge (replaced the battery with no luck), and his Zen Micro Photo's display is crapped out. So he returned his Zen (under the store extended warranty) and got a Zen Vision 30gb. After a few months, the headphone jack on the Vision broke, and none of the buttons work. None of the units were abused in any way. Now, we both have iPods, and they have lasted longer than any of the 3 Zen products. You just have to suck it up and deal with the iTunes crap.

        Like I said, this is purely anecdotal, but it did force me to rethink my Creative fanboyism.
    • ray4389, on 05/12/2008, -1/+9I love my Zune--I use the music subscription service which allows me to be legal and download any band I want. They surprisingly have smaller bands that I can check out easily. I'm sorry, Bittorrent can't beat my subscription. Zune Marketplace + Zune 80 + podcasting > iPod
    • qwertydvorak, on 05/12/2008, -2/+1the most r-tarded thing microsoft did was lock the zune out of microsoft's own drm. neither the zune or ipod can play audiobooks from overdrive.com or netlibrary.com (many local libraries use these services for checking out audiobooks). the creative devices also support bookmarking (handy in large audio files like books).
  • alexiocowabunga, on 05/11/2008, -44/+36Does anyone else think the MP3 player market is gonna start to fade due to the increasing sales of smart phones?
    • MavRevMatt, on 05/11/2008, -5/+38No. I'd say at least 75% of the people who have iPods or Zunes don't want or need a smartphone.
      • woody56292, on 05/11/2008, -1/+4I have a samsung blackjack, and would never think of using it as my primary music player. the zunes interface and album art is much easier to deal with than the hassle of mobile windows media player on my blackjack.
        • troye, on 05/12/2008, -0/+1got same phone, also kills baterry life and wmp-mobile sucks
    • BesideYouInTime, on 05/11/2008, -8/+15Not until Apple's competitors manage to make a smartphone that's at least as good as the iPhone. Hasn't happened yet.
      • pixelate, on 05/11/2008, -3/+3Before the end of the year:

        Sony Ericsson Xpedia X1: http://www.sonyericsson.com/x1/
        HTC Diamond: http://www.htc.com/www/default.aspx

        not saying they will be iPhone killers, just saying they could be.
        • kirillorlov, on 05/11/2008, -2/+1To be honest both look "cool" but the Diamond it doesn't even look like a phone. And with the price of the Iphone dropping soon, unless those to are low $300, I think those phones may still not have a chance.
        • oolatin79, on 05/15/2008, -0/+1the X1 looks and sounds pretty promesing....I really like that Arc Slider design...and the full qwerty keyboard....very handy. I think the browser will be the main selling point for me though...
      • SouthsideIrish, on 05/11/2008, -0/+2Hmm...and how many iPod killers have come and gone. They still don't get it. It doesn't matter how good the phone is, if the software to sync it sucks. Come up with an iTunes killer, that you will see an iPhone killer.
        • Giga, on 05/12/2008, -0/+1iTunes sucks, it is the primary reason why I refuse to buy an iPod.
    • Heidenreich12, on 05/11/2008, -3/+8I actually had never owned an iPod until the iPhone came out. I never had the desire for an iPod by itself, but since they integrated it into a phone as well, I felt it was more useful having everything in one device.
    • ozid, on 05/11/2008, -2/+4It may. It's all about the onboard storage though. I have a Palm Centro, and right after I got it and a 4gb microsd, I ditched my Zune (after I had my iPod stolen). I had such a huge problem finding a good set of headphones with a 2.5mm jack, then I filled up my microsd card, then I realized my 3.5mm headphones are better... so I bought a converter, only to figure out that the audio quality of the phones player is *****.

      So now I have a phone that I'd have to carry a converter around with if I wanted to use the music player that isn't very good in the first place.

      I'm just saying its rare for a phone to be overall as good as a dedicated MP3 player. The gap will certainly close, but right now it seems like everyone is doing SOMETHING wrong.

      The iphone is really the only thing getting it right, but I guess its just an ipod with a phone on top.
    • helloyamadotcom, on 05/11/2008, -12/+9Since when is digging down a comment synonymous with saying "no." ?

      He didn't say anything stupid, why does alex deserve to be dugg down?
      • Bombfrog, on 05/11/2008, -3/+2I completely agree. A perfectly reasonable and sensible comment so I have no idea why anybody want to digg it down.
      • CancerBomb, on 05/11/2008, -0/+12DIgging a comment up or down to vote "no" or "yes" makes a lot more sense than spamming the thread with hundreds of comments that just say "no" or "yes" and do absolutely nothing to contribute to the discussion, especially since no one cares what any individual user's opinion is.
      • bunkybrewman, on 05/11/2008, -6/+1It's called the "herd mentality"... or I don't agree with your question, so I'm going to bury you. Digg is PC at it's finest. (without you in the herd realizing it)

        /fully expects this to be buried
        • MtheoryX, on 05/11/2008, -0/+2Um, no, not exactly. Look up at CancerBomb. That's what is going on here.

          And damned straight you should expect to be buried, you should like a loon and an asshat.
    • Lynxpro, on 05/11/2008, -2/+5I think the high-end MP3 player market will disappear. There will still be a market for cheap flash based players such as the iPod Shuffle (or the various Sandisk/PNY models), but the "top" of the market will shift to smart phones as they become better media players. It would be nice if the iPod Touch could revive the stand-alone PDA market - the same goes for the Sony PSP - but it hasn't happened yet.
      • MacParrot, on 05/11/2008, -1/+2I would agree. I think this is probably the last gen for the iPod "Classic" and that the Nano (on the Apple side of things) will fit the bill of dedicated music player with a screen and the next step up will be the Touch or the iPhone. Kinda sucks for me as I really like the large storage capacity of the Classic and Flash is still too expensive (for now) to meet it
      • MillionsLivio, on 05/11/2008, -2/+7I want a portable media player, not a damn phone. If you honestly think that market is going to die you are a fool.
        • Lynxpro, on 05/11/2008, -1/+4People also said they "want a PDA, not a damn phone." How many PDAs are sold these days, eh?
          • qwertydvorak, on 05/12/2008, -0/+1pda's never adapted properly. put it in a leather binder. make it have handwriting recognition, and if it has a screen as big as a leather bound personal organizer / calendar it will work. i would happily replace a paper organizer with a pda if it was the same size. pda's are too small to fool around with.
      • bunkybrewman, on 05/11/2008, -4/+1Isn't that a misnomer? "high-end MP3 market"?

        MP3s are seated firmly at the bottom of the audiophile market.
        • Giga, on 05/12/2008, -0/+0Audiophiles don't get high end portable music players. Their $3000 speaker cables aren't compatible with iPods and the like.
    • Tyr7BE, on 05/11/2008, -0/+2I think so. Just about 100% of the people I know who have a smartphone with any decent capacity don't have or don't use a music player. I have a blackberry and a uSD card and it does pretty much everything I want music-wise.

      And yes it's stupid you're getting dugg down - I was thinking the same thing as I read the article.
    • ssawyer06, on 05/11/2008, -0/+7"start to"... yes, of course the MP3 player will fade away. It's called convergence, and it's been happening for 10+ years. I think a better question is, which will we see first? Several competing 200GB+ smart phones, or streaming mobile music good enough to satisfy people who care about music?
      • MtheoryX, on 05/11/2008, -0/+1I predict the former will happen much sooner than the latter.
    • camg188, on 05/13/2008, -0/+1Yes. Smartphones will eventually replace everything. You won't need to carry anything except a smartphone. They will replace mp3 players, watches, credit cards, cash, keys, driver licenses, passports, airline tickets, movie/concert/sports tickets, food stamps, work id's that you swipe to get in the door, subway tokens, the burden of self responsibility. And they will be implanted in your head whether you want one or not..
      /sarcastic|visionary?
  • FapCommander, on 05/11/2008, -37/+13While I hate microsoft, I hate creative even more, so I'm happy about this
    • Trax91, on 05/11/2008, -5/+24***** yourself.
    • Lynxpro, on 05/11/2008, -4/+3I would like to see somebody just buy out Creative and put them out of their misery. I'll get flamed for saying that I want Apple to do it, but I think there would be a better chance of Apple open-sourcing EAX and A3D than Microsoft doing it. I could see Sony doing it, or extending either of those audio platforms to the PS3.
    • woody56292, on 05/11/2008, -1/+2Are you guys kidding? I had an old creative zen xtra, and that thing was amazing. Now that creative has a better software option ( wmp w/ sync ) and a music store ( amazonmp3 ), It can compete with zune and ipod on a feature by feature basis. The creative zen ( 2.5 inch screen, 16/32 gb storage ) is a very sexy device. If it just had the social features of the zune, and a video store for movies and tv shows, it would be perfect.
  • rivalius13, on 05/11/2008, -6/+50Creative haven't touched their hard drive based players in years, MS seem to work pretty well when they are the underdog. It's natural that the would erode Creatives position.
    • Lynxpro, on 05/11/2008, -0/+13...just as Creative hasn't touched their Soundblaster drivers and accompanying software...
      • rivalius13, on 05/11/2008, -0/+10Even Hilary touches equipment more than Creative, amirite?
        • qwertydvorak, on 05/12/2008, -0/+1she probably handles equipment for a women's softball league.
    • Mohanned, on 05/11/2008, -2/+8Your underdog comment is right. Zune is not bad, especially now. Xbox was pretty good, and the 360 is brilliant imo.
    • warriorscot, on 05/11/2008, -1/+6Thats because creative have moved over to flash based players not HDD, the old HDD from creative are still good enough but personally if i was going for an HDD based player I would get an Archos as its the best high capacity pocket size PMP bar none.
      • rivalius13, on 05/11/2008, -0/+6Physically the archos players are too big. While they are awesome, their size makes them impractical.
        • keeperofkeys, on 05/11/2008, -2/+2Depends what you want. I needed a player with a lot of storage capacity. I was tempted by the 160GB iPod, but there are just too many snags with Apple. Really glad I got the Archos 605 instead. It *is* big, but then it has a much larger screen than any iPod.
  • WinMacLin, on 05/11/2008, -18/+44I own an iPod, but if I was going to get a a WMA player (I use a Mac so I'd have to switch to Windows too probably to sync it). I would get a Zune. I mean the Zune just looks really nice, has a great price and a lot of storage. It's features rival the other non-iPod players.
    • Jambi, on 05/11/2008, -8/+9I kinda disagree. The Zune's got a nice design and works well, but the Creative players have it beat in the features department. Still, if I was a Windows user, I'd consider getting one.
    • dig1x, on 05/11/2008, -13/+21"It's features rival the other non-iPod players."

      It's features rival the other players.

      There, I fixed it for you.
      • TheXeno, on 05/11/2008, -3/+10I think the software is as functional as iTunes now with the 2.5 update, and it matches iPod's line fairly well in comparable players, as in excluding the Touch, no Zune equivalent. Pound for pound I think they stand up fairly well for anyone willing to objectively look at each one feature for feature.
        • chiefbandit2200, on 05/11/2008, -2/+3I think the actual mp3 players are on par with quality, but i really hate the zune software... I actually liked it better before the 80 gb zunes came out and they changed it. It's really annoying because it doesn't have a "recently added" category...
        • woody56292, on 05/11/2008, -3/+5I don't understand the hate of the zune software. I personally find it much easier to use than iTunes. (and yes I used itunes before zune software)
          the original was horrible, but ever since v2, it has been amazing. ( 2.5 just added back metadata and smart playlists, two things I missed but wasn't terribly upset without)

          As far as actual usability Zune software has always run faster than iTunes on my computer.
        • smoger, on 05/12/2008, -0/+1chiefbandit2200: you might want to dig into the new software a bit(new as in this weekend), .. it does smart playlists now.. i haven't messed with them at all but maybe you can create a recently added playlist.
      • CiDaemon, on 05/11/2008, -3/+15No, you didn't.

        "Its features rival those of other players".

      • ralphthemagi, on 05/11/2008, -5/+8He was right the way he wrote it. The Zune doesn't really compete with the iPod. It competes with non-iPod MP3 players like those from Creative. When you actually look at the numbers, the iPod is a market in and of itself. Generally speaking, people who buy iPods only buy iPods. They buy multiple iPods. Part of it has to do with the vendor lock-in from iTunes, part of it's marketing, and part of it is probably that the iPod is a pretty good MP3 player.

        There are some of us geeks who consider an iPod and a Zune the same thing, and moving between them isn't an issue, but most people don't see it this way. They see "iPods" and "MP3 players" as fundamentally different products.

        You could cut the price of the Zune by 50% tomorrow, and it wouldn't have that much of an effect on iPod sales. Apple has really achieved the impossible in terms of marketing and branding.
        • freaktose, on 05/12/2008, -1/+1And part of it is that growing Macintosh user base that really has little option (admittedly, a Mac with iTunes and an iPhone isn't a bad "trap" to be in, compared to WMP and Vista/XP and a lesser player.)
        • smoger, on 05/12/2008, -0/+1..while they might not compete on the same level, it isn't right to insinuate that the zune's features don't compare to the ipods. in fact, the zune matches the ipod feature for feature, has a bigger screen, wi-fi functionality, drm-free marketplace (and flat rate subscription for those who want it), supports multiple music formats, social networking(music discovery), fm radio, etc
    • Dylson, on 05/11/2008, -0/+7What about the iPod its self? That's what it was released for. It was targeted to dethrone the iPod's stranglehold on the market.
      • geoboy, on 05/12/2008, -1/+1The iPod was released to dethrone the iPod's stranglehold on the market?
        • freaktose, on 05/12/2008, -1/+0He's just pointing out that the Zune is taking marketshare from non-iPod players. Nothing is taking marketshare from the iPod/iPhone.
    • JettaMan, on 05/11/2008, -12/+11If I were to get an MP3 player I would get the Zune over iPod. As a tech guy I like features and the Zune just has more to offer than iPod. The only thing iPod has is a cool factor where people think they are hip if they own one, and that's irrelevant to me. Leave the iPod for people who aren't so good with technology.
      • superkendall, on 05/11/2008, -14/+12 Zunes are for people who think they are technical but are really posers.

        Real technical people value usability over raw "features". I don't use an iPod because it looks good, I use it because t works well - and that's something many supposedly technical people seem to have an awful lot of trouble understanding.

        • chiefbandit2200, on 05/11/2008, -3/+9Zunes work just as well as iPods though...
        • qwertydvorak, on 05/12/2008, -1/+2yeah, who needs a "feature" like the ability to play protected content from your local library. neither the ipod or zune can do it. the creative can.
          • MacParrot, on 05/12/2008, -0/+1Maybe I'm not understanding what you're saying...
            The Zune plays "protected" purchased content from the Zune Marketplace
            The iPod plays "protected" purchased content from iTunes.
            What other type of protected content do they need to play? Unless you're talking about other people's protected content, then no they won't play it. Neither Microsoft or Apple (or Creative) have any say in that as DRM is imposed by the content owners, not the makers of the hardware or software.
  • diggafrica, on 05/11/2008, -36/+187I bought a Zune last month & i think its highly underated by the Media . Its a great player and its a shame the media always has to kiss apple's products ass and give them unlimited publicity, Zune deserves some attention .
    • FutureGuy, on 05/11/2008, -4/+16Ditto, I bought a first gen Zune for 100$, got the 2.0 upgrade for free, and its awesome. Haven't come across anyone else doing that, great customer service. The media is so pro apple that everything else no matter how good gets a second hand treatment.
    • NiceGuyVan, on 05/11/2008, -8/+18As an owner of an 80GB Zune who just updated to 2.5 firmware, no it's not underrated. MS needs to stop sitting on their hands and give us what we've been begging for since Zune launched. Stuff like a clock, and USB harddrive support
      • ryansmith18, on 05/11/2008, -2/+21Although I agree that those are a couple of EASY things they could add to the Zune....they are both pretty small additions. I wouldn't turn down a Zune because it didn't have a clock.
        • Newedge14, on 05/11/2008, -2/+2With a hack and a games application both features have already been added to the Zune if only by the community
    • Ganja420, on 05/11/2008, -1/+12The fact they let the old zunes upgrade to 2.0 firmware is a major plus in my book.
      • ljkelley, on 05/11/2008, -1/+6The fact that I have upgraded to 2.5 on my old Zune and can play games... Well worth what I paid for it.
        • estvir, on 05/12/2008, -1/+3The fact that they let anyone create games and has the ability for wireless multiplayer is a major plus.. what does Apple give us? A tiny selection of games we need to pay for?
    • deadbaby, on 05/11/2008, -3/+8They did it to themselves... you can't expect to show up 4 or 5 years late and get any media attention.
      • estvir, on 05/12/2008, -1/+4They were over a decade late with the Xbox and besides, this has nothing to do with being 'late.'
  • LOLSteelBullet, on 05/11/2008, -34/+98I love my zune. Its easy to work and I haven't seen anyone return a zune to the service desk where I work but I've seen a ton of iPods returned. I think the zune suffers from what I call "LOLMicrosoft" syndrome.
    • zip22, on 05/11/2008, -13/+70that could be due to the fact that there have been 63 million ipods sold in the same time period as 2 million zunes.
      • SillyRabbits, on 05/11/2008, -19/+6Or it could be that Apple's hardware quality has taken a nosedive over the years. I have boxes and boxes of retired electronics gadgets that I've acquired over my lifetime - and they are almost all perfectly functional. The only exceptions are the IPods. I've never had that many failures/problems with any other piece of electronics. When I pay a premium that's two or three times what other equivalent brands are going for, I expect better reliability.
      • zip22, on 05/11/2008, -2/+7two or three times? what are these equivalent brands? i know the zunes retail for the same price as the ipods (maybe a bit lower).
        • SillyRabbits, on 05/11/2008, -5/+3Well without doing any research, I'll bring up the IPod mini that was introduced at $250 (and I bought). It was nothing special, just a no frills mp3 player. At the time you could easily buy a MP3 player with more features (mic, FM, etc) for less than $100. I think I went through 3-4 of those alone before the warranty finally expired and I threw the current replacement in the box with a non-functioning scroll wheel a few months later (and a battery life of less than 30 mins).
        • zip22, on 05/11/2008, -2/+4if you could do some research and let me know which mp3 players were available in 2004 for less than $100 that were comparable to the mini, that would be great.
        • blocguy, on 05/11/2008, -3/+3Also, remember to count ease of use and size/form factor as features.
      • zip22, on 05/11/2008, -0/+3i know the rio carbon came out around the same time for $250. the zen micro did as well at the same price point.
      • SillyRabbits, on 05/11/2008, -3/+3Well, here's a small study that was done on the iPod reliability. Granted it's a little old and relies on self-reporting, but it looks like there are some models that clearly do have problems. And it is from a Apple fan site so it's not just a simple bashing article.

        http://www.macintouch.com/reliability/ipodfailures ...

      • flickr, on 05/12/2008, -2/+3I've never had an Eight-Track returned to the service desk where I work, must be the best music tech ever...
      • sinurgy, on 05/12/2008, -0/+3I very much agree with you on this point but I find it annoying that Apple fanboys (not that you are one) will use that argument with the iPod but don't like hearing the same thing when they try to brag about how safe and secure from attacks are their Macs.
        • HisShadow, on 05/12/2008, -2/+2It's not bragging when it's the truth. You can recount all the moronic market share myths you want. The fact remains that the Mac is more secure from malware and virtual immune to viruses because the OS is built better than Windows. If you know anything about operating systems, you already know this is true.
          • DarkShroud, on 05/13/2008, -0/+2At the last Defcon conference a guy infected a mac in under two minutes from a website through Safari. It can be done very easily. It's just not worth people's time to infect macs.
        • millsi80, on 05/12/2008, -0/+2Not necessarily more secure, its jsut that hackers dont bother looking for holes in a mac because there are not as many mac users as pc users. Therefore, it is not because macs are more secure it is just the fact that there arent many viruses written for mac.
    • zongamin, on 05/12/2008, -0/+1The price thing is just a lie - show me an 80g mp3 player for the same price as an ipod.
  • PabloIV, on 05/11/2008, -15/+35I'm still using my green-brown 30gig player and software updates have always kept it nice and up to date.
    It's the Microsoft stigma that's keeping a great player down
  • Richardgm, on 05/11/2008, -29/+8If they bring back that 5 star rating i'm sure they'll see sales go up by 893,829,389,238%

    or just 50 Zunes per day :) lol
    • tbone8978, on 05/11/2008, -1/+12That wasn't funny...at all
    • masterkenobi, on 05/11/2008, -1/+4Don't mind him. He's just an Apple fanboy trying to give himself a chubby.
      • MtheoryX, on 05/12/2008, -2/+1Although you're probably right, it sure doesn't feel very good when the tables are turned, does it?
  • RNEMESiS42, on 05/11/2008, -26/+31I think the Zune is pretty great. I noticed my friends who have iPods get new ones almost every half year...
    • mrferg, on 05/11/2008, -6/+19Yup, and I'm using the same Zune I bought in November 2006.
      • chiefbandit2200, on 05/11/2008, -0/+8Me too :) It turns out those "***** bricks" hold up pretty well...
    • Unriggable, on 05/11/2008, -7/+8I know, they're like bricks. Who needs an MP3 player the width of a credit card, anyways?
    • pprkut, on 05/11/2008, -5/+9I still have and use my 3G iPod on a daily basis.
    • Jimmerz, on 05/11/2008, -8/+10Your friends are knuckleheads. I've used the same old iPod for ever, and only bought a second, a Nano, for the smaller size to take to the gym.
    • Lunarbunny, on 05/11/2008, -2/+9I'd still have my 3G iPod had it not been stolen. Now I have a 30GB video (5G). Your friends are probably either A) beating theirs up terribly or B) Apple fanboys who need to have the newest *****.
      • freaktose, on 05/12/2008, -0/+0Well he didn't say anything was WRONG, he just said they get new ones frequently. So do I. I have several. I don't think it counts against a product when people buy them to A) Upgrade to new players/features, or B) cross shop different models (iPod > iPhone switching, like I did.) I still have my former players and they still work fine. My iPod Nano is used only when I take walks, etc., (with the Nike+).
    • zongamin, on 05/12/2008, -0/+1Funny- I could swear I've had mine for 2 years and nothing has ever gone wrong with it?
  • Tyrghast, on 05/11/2008, -17/+9I like my zune as well. So ***** off fanboys.
  • radikul, on 05/11/2008, -11/+29The iPod is a great device. The zune is a great device. That being said. I don't use a zune, but would totally be ok with using one. I love the menu interface!
  • ShawnIsCool, on 05/11/2008, -11/+33My 30g Zune is a effing solid piece of hardware. I don't know how many times I've dropped it from waist level onto the concrete below. It really is a decent piece of hardware, just a few tweakings to the software, and overall it will be one hell of a product.
    • bweltondav, on 05/11/2008, -0/+8No doubt. I dropped my black ipod on the carpet and it died--couldn't do a thing to get it working again. Later on I bought a Zune and in my infinite clumsiness have dropped it on several different hard surfaces. The thing keeps on going no matter what I throw at it.
    • MtheoryX, on 05/12/2008, -3/+3Wow, now that's a solid piece of tech!

      That said, quit dropping your ***** so much, clumsy ass.
  • sadfly, on 05/11/2008, -34/+25Microsoft is thinking of putting copyright protection on the zune at the request of NBC. Doesn't really make me want to purchase one.

    http://bits.blogs.nytimes.com/2008/05/07/microsoft ...
    • Meekers, on 05/11/2008, -3/+26That rumor came out earlier in the week was already shown to be completely false.
    • AmazingAndrex, on 05/11/2008, -2/+17http://zuneinsider.com/archive/2008/05/07/just-so- ...

      Official blog.
    • zip22, on 05/11/2008, -7/+5it wasn't shown to be completely false, cesar at the marketing blog for microsoft just said they had no plans or commitments. if you read the addition in the nytimes blog, you would see they addressed this.
    • dig1x, on 05/11/2008, -3/+7A load of crock and you know it.
    • TheXeno, on 05/11/2008, -5/+9Why do you do that when it's widely known for anyone that's followed that story that it's been debunked? The Zune just sold 2 mil (iPod sells far beyond that), what are you so afraid of then? I just don't get the need to try to discredit a player that really doesn't deserve it. I think the Zune team is actually doing some compelling things. For example with the Zune Pass, you can subscribe to friend feeds via their Zune cards now. Before they were kind of a silly little way to show what you've been playing for a while since the 2.0 update, but now they can be used to share music. If you have a Zune Pass, you can click on mine, add me as a friend, open the Zune software, find me, drag my card to your Zune icon and it'll automatically be updated with my 6 most recently played tracks and my 6 favorite tracks. At any time you can pick me from the Social menu on your Zune and play your friend's "radio". If you find a song ya like, you can tag that track and it'll be thrown into your collection next time ya sync. Now how frakin' cool is that?
    • sadfly, on 05/12/2008, -0/+1Wooops...Yes I retract the previous comment. It was in fact proven to be incorrect. My mistake.
  • namelessXsilent, on 05/11/2008, -13/+40i loved my zune when i used it, but the damn software they use is horrible to get all your songs together
    • D14BL0, on 05/11/2008, -3/+5They really need to put together a slimmed-down version of the PC software. Sure, I can load 20 albums to my Zune in about two minutes, but it shouldn't take 10 minutes for the slow, ugly software to load.

      I just wish some of the Explorer shell versions would easily let you add album art.
    • Morphine7399, on 05/11/2008, -2/+6Not to mention they don't let you play songs on your zune through your pc. This can get kind of annoying because i would prefer not to keep 80 gb of music on my laptop at all times. Does anyone know if there is a way to do this?
      • TheXeno, on 05/11/2008, -0/+2Unless you plan on rarely getting anything new to add to your collection I don't see how that would work for most users. Your comp is the source for music which you Zune pulls from, having the Zune be the main source of the storage would be a decent option though I suppose.
        • Morphine7399, on 05/11/2008, -0/+2I have a desktop which i store over 100gb of music on it, I just don't want to keep a copy of all of that music on my laptop... I still use my desktop for music downloading and main storage. I just wish I could connect my zune to my laptop and simply play the music off of it, it can be done with the 360, why not the pc?
      • Nath2k8, on 05/12/2008, -0/+0Get a headphone to headphone cable? connect one side to the laptop in and one to the zune? easy fix. Not sure about quality though.
    • vasireddy, on 05/11/2008, -3/+3I would say it is better than iTunes on Windows.
      • keeperofkeys, on 05/11/2008, -3/+4It would be hard to make it worse ;-) iTunes is the #1 thing putting me off ever owning an iPod. There used to be alternatives, but Apple locked them out of the latest batch of players.
  • zyko, on 05/11/2008, -28/+18I'm wondering if Digg's advertising relationship with Microsoft got this to the homepage.
    • dig1x, on 05/11/2008, -2/+8Yeah, right, so the Digital Audio Player that is 2nd in the HD-player and 3rd in the Flash market doesnt deserve to be discussed.

      Its a conspiracy.
    • D14BL0, on 05/11/2008, -2/+7I think it actually has to do with a little something called the Digg Algorithm.
  • bumblefoot, on 05/11/2008, -10/+8remember you also have to take into consideration that creatives mp3 players and the ipod are available pretty much everywhere and the zune is only on sale in the us, :p
    • Scoorn, on 05/11/2008, -0/+4Dugg, cos i cant get a fricking zune in the uk from a retail store and ive been waiting nearly 2 years. GIVE THE UK THE ZUNE!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
  • crowbar77, on 05/11/2008, -10/+10Does the Zune automatically update podcasts yet? Thats really the only thing keeping me from switching over once my ipod dies.
    • Snokage, on 05/11/2008, -0/+7ugh yes
    • coolgeek61813, on 05/11/2008, -1/+5yes it does i love that feature
    • Seizure, on 05/11/2008, -0/+6Yes it does. It can even download them off a wifi connected PC, which is pretty cool. You just might need to know the url of the podcast you want because not everybody submits their content to the zune marketplace yet.
      • gaijintendo, on 05/11/2008, -3/+2Can you download off wifi with no pc turned on?
    • AmazingAndrex, on 05/11/2008, -1/+3Yes.
    • D14BL0, on 05/11/2008, -0/+7It has since the Zune 2.0 firmware update, which was months ago.
    • dig1x, on 05/11/2008, -1/+5Yes. And it does so wirelessly (like, leave it in your car and let it sync (as I do))

      http://www.zune.net/en-us/support/usersguide/podca ...
    • CarzorStelatis, on 05/14/2008, -0/+1Why is he being buried, when all he has done is ask a legitimate question which (unlike all the fanboy squealing) is actually relevant to the topic?
  • Meekers, on 05/11/2008, -12/+21I asked my parents for an ipod over a year ago, right after the zune came out, and they got the zune instead. I have been extremely happy with the result. It is an incredible player with a surprisingly nice screen for its size. The stream of solid updates have kept my old model feeling fresh. I am definitely going to get another zune when I need to replace this one, but at over a year old this one runs even better then it did when new, thanks to the updates.
  • frostedflakes, on 05/11/2008, -8/+22That's an awesome Joy Division back plate. The customization of the Zune's design is quite a nice touch. I like my Zune a lot; after going through 5 iPod replacements, I made the "switch" to Microsoft. How ironic.
    • Tyrghast, on 05/11/2008, -10/+10Amusing, but not ironic. In a few years time I fear the definition of irony may be lost entirely...
      • slothlovechunk, on 05/11/2008, -2/+13It is a little ironic asshole. Next time you correct someone, make sure they've actually done something wrong.

        Everyone would expect that if people are switching that they are switching to Macs from Microsoft products, not visa versa, hence the irony. Now, this may not be a general expectation for mp3 players, but extending the very existent general expectations from the operating system world to mp3 players is not that big of a stretch. Certainly not big enough to jump down someone's throat over.

        The annoying part of the original poster's usage is unnecessarily putting "switch" in quotes. Not their proper use of the word ironic.
    • dig1x, on 05/11/2008, -1/+4There are a lot of things you can get on the back;

      http://www.zune.net/en-US/products/zuneoriginals/
      • taylorr05, on 05/11/2008, -1/+1I'm not a big fan of a lot of those, so I'm actually taking my zune to a professional engraver to do one of my own drawings.
      • keeperofkeys, on 05/11/2008, -1/+2Not in the UK :-(
  • Unriggable, on 05/11/2008, -12/+6All they need is an Apple-friendly version and I'm buying one.
    • TheXeno, on 05/11/2008, -3/+5If you really do want to use a Zune, it's definitely within the realm of possibility via boot camp/virtualization. I run an iMac and boot camp it with Vista and love my Zune.
      • MtheoryX, on 05/12/2008, -1/+2That is not Mac friendly.

        While I understand that it is possible, but certainly not Mac friendly. With this attitude, Zune will simply replace Creative, yet will still falter at a couple percent marketshare while Apple wipes the deck with digital music players and the mobile market.

        Isn't the whole "hardware lock in" the reason all the Windows fanboi's say that Mac won't ever make it mainstream? The reason that the *nix guys don't like Mac? The reason everyone doesn't like them, because of expensive equipment necessary? Well, looky, looky at how the tables are turned now, and here we are again.

        In summation: Not. Very. *****. Smart. MicroSoft.
  • solidcube, on 05/11/2008, -7/+12I have a zune. I got it for $100 on Woot. It was well worth the price. I wouldn't want to pay $200 for it though. It's fun to watch Creative floundering, though. That should teach them.
    • smoger, on 05/12/2008, -0/+1got mine for $140 on woot and love it !!
  • coolgeek61813, on 05/11/2008, -5/+4I like my zune though I did have some trouble with it because it stopped working after 3 months but the one year warranty took care of it
  • AJC1ne, on 05/11/2008, -12/+20I love my Zune. I also love the dedication to continued improvement that the Zune team has. The latest update to the software brings a lot of functionality and pretty much eliminates a lot of the problems that people had with it. The frequent updates to the actual device keep bringing added functionality, and the social site just underwent a major upgrade. With a team so dedicated to make sure their device and service is the best it could be, I think that people are underestimating Microsoft's efforts in the mp3 player market.
    • Newedge14, on 05/11/2008, -0/+5It seems that Microsoft's entertainment division is really the best division at Microsoft
      • CarzorStelatis, on 05/14/2008, -0/+1That's because it's the only one still making new products, instead of re-heating old ones. Vista, although I use and like it, IS just XP with some features added (as good as those features are) and the memory usage tripled. Office 2007 is just Office 2003 with a new file format and a REALLY F-ING ANNOYING ribbon interface. Whereas the Zune and the 360 were made from scratch, using bits from the rest of the MS ecosystem (e.g. WMP for the Zune software, Win2k for the 360 OS) as required.
  • D14BL0, on 05/11/2008, -14/+13I love my Zune. Better than any iPod I've ever touched. More sensible interface, customizable, and I can actually easily transfer files from one Zune to another (which, surprisingly enough, is an AWESOME feature if you ever manage to find somebody else with a Zune).
    • freaktose, on 05/12/2008, -1/+3Don't downvote me, but you make a good point: I live in the San Francisco area: I've never seen a Zune in the wild. Ever. I think Apple has a 120% marketshare around here or something. :-)
      • DarkShroud, on 05/13/2008, -1/+1That's to be expected from people who like the smell of their own farts.
  • Davey, on 05/11/2008, -4/+20Do the record companies still receive money for every Zune sold?
  • Mackofalltrades, on 05/11/2008, -12/+8Hey Microsoft! Bring the ZUNE to ***** Canada and you might have some more goddamn sales.
    • TheXeno, on 05/11/2008, -2/+10Launch over there is June 13th. :) 'Bout freakin' time, hope they get out there across the Atlantic too in due order as well.
  • Seizure, on 05/11/2008, -13/+23I'm noticing a trend of all the pro-zune comments getting dugg down indiscriminately. Honestly, though, there's nothing debilitatingly wrong with the zune; in fact MS has made a very fair iPod contender. I have several friends who have switched from the iPod camp to the zune camp and haven't looked back, and frankly I think it's great that there's now something out there to put some level of competition into the high end MP3 player market. So where's all the hate coming from?
    • Jambi, on 05/11/2008, -6/+15Apple fanboys. OS/hardware fanboys pretty much ruin every decent discussion about software or hardware here on Digg. I'm a Mac user, but I can certainly admit that the Zune (v2) is very nicely designed and runs very smoothly. If there was a Mac version, I'd likely buy one the next time I needed a music player.
      • CarzorStelatis, on 05/14/2008, -0/+1The arguments between the Mac fanboys and the MS astroturfers on here can be quite entertaining. For extra fun, bait them :P
    • jasmus, on 05/11/2008, -0/+4The only thing I can see is wrong with the Zune, is availability. I live in Australia, and have never seen one in person. I've never really 'hated' the Zune (except the name and original colour), mostly because I've never had a chance to use one. I'm not about to spend money on something I only know the techniocal specs of, and haven't had a chance to use / feel / fondle. That said, I haven't been digging anyone down either.
      • freaktose, on 05/12/2008, -1/+0We've never seen them in the USA, either!
  • Shroomie, on 05/11/2008, -5/+5I love my Zune, but I just wish there was more accessory type stuff out there for them. I would kill for a head unit that could control it like all those iPod ones.
    • Fleminator, on 05/11/2008, -3/+4The 360 would work for that, wouldn't it? Or Sync for the car? It would be nice to have more than 1 option though.
      • smoger, on 05/12/2008, -0/+1he's talking about a car stereo that could control the zune's content,.. what are you talking about xbox 360?
  • aerovisor, on 05/11/2008, -13/+4"iPod Killer"
  • biofusion, on 05/11/2008, -7/+12I have a Zune 80. I really do love the product. The new spring 2.5 update basically fixed all problems I was having previously with the software and device. The best thing I find is that I can keep the thing in my pocket and not have to worry about it getting all scratched up, it's very well designed and the interface is extremely smooth.
  • D3koy, on 05/11/2008, -5/+14It's nice to know there are about 2 million other people I can trade music with...why is it none of them live near me and have good taste in music?
    • TheXeno, on 05/11/2008, -1/+5The whole Zune card sharing feature they just updated with negates that. You can add me and subscribe to my feed and I'll make damn sure you're listening to great new music. ;)

      I'm Arcster on the Social.
    • BlueSkyfish, on 05/11/2008, -3/+4Why not just P2P on the internet?
      • TheXeno, on 05/11/2008, -1/+5Used to say the some thing, some of us actually want to go legit. I subscribe to music now via the Zune Pass, fairly convenient. Plus if my hard drive fails and I loose all my music, I can click one button on the Zune software and restore the whole thing.
  • shotsman, on 05/11/2008, -16/+8So, 2million Zunes have been sold. Big Deal.
    Why won't M$ start selling them in say Europe.
    Yep Europe. The EU has more population than the good old US of A.
    So, Microsoft how about selling us this fantastic device.
    Perhaps (despite all the Zune Fanboys here) it is nothing more that a POS.
    Genuine answers most welcome.
    And No, I don't own an iPod. I play my MP3's on a Vosonic 8360 that I use to store my Photos when out on a shoot.
    • Jambi, on 05/11/2008, -2/+3I'm guessing that the reason Microsoft won't sell them in Europe has something to do with the DRM that the Zune adds to un-DRMed songs if you're sharing music with another Zune; I'm thinking the EU could crack down like hell on that, whereas if the sharing function was left in with no DRM added, it'd be a music pirate's dream, and the music labels would scream bloody murder. That said, the actual device itself is very well designed, attractive, has a better UI than an iPod and can sync your music over wi-fi. The only reason I don't own one is that I'm a Mac user. There may be some Zune fanboys on here, but its a solid product, hype or no hype.
    • punkcat, on 05/11/2008, -3/+3EU stinks for marketing. so many different countries and languages each with different rules.
      2 million is such a small number for the time its been out, not exactly a hit.

      thats one reason for the lack of a rush.
      • MacParrot, on 05/11/2008, -0/+4Plus they would have to negotiate with the labels in almost every country for a Marketplace store. It's unfortunate that in a region the size of Europe that you are forced to open different versions of the same online store to satisfy content copyright holders. Apple had to go through this as well. If the EU really wants online sales to skyrocket, then allow retailers to have just one store with language preferences set by the user.
        • freaktose, on 05/12/2008, -0/+1And countries like France are notoriously hard to get up and going. :-)
        • CarzorStelatis, on 05/14/2008, -0/+1It's not that the EU won't "allow" them to do it. In fact the EU Competition Commission is trying very hard to break up the individual-country pricing rackets. Normally dividing the internal market along national lines is very heavily frowned upon by the EU courts.
    • kretik, on 05/12/2008, -1/+2Tell your governments to stop playing their unwinnable protectionist ***** game against Microsoft (oh, "M$", that's fresh) that never ends, and maybe they'll sell you a few Zunes.
  • SubjectiveC, on 05/11/2008, -10/+9I love the Zune, more people should try it out. And I own an iPod.
  • slapded, on 05/11/2008, -11/+13i won a zune from pepsistuff.com. love the built in FM radio the zune has. its easier to put your music on than an ipod too. i used to knock it until i actually tried it.
  • zc456, on 05/11/2008, -3/+7I'm fine with my iPod Touch. FYI the Zune could expand a little more in other countries. I also tried the Zune media player and wasn't to impressed. Kudo's to the interface though. Still it reminded me of Windows Media Player. >.>
    • bunkybrewman, on 05/11/2008, -0/+1I'm curious. Why weren't you impressed with the Zune?

      I have the Ipod Touch also. While it is a cool little piece of technology, I'm still interested in the Zune. (only because it looks cool and I don't own it yet)
    • dogghaven, on 05/12/2008, -1/+1The funny thing is the Zune software your talking about is actually huge improvement over WMP and dare I say it even iTunes. Also what Microsoft is doing with Live adding the Zune Social is a great idea that Apple should really consider.
    • smoger, on 05/12/2008, -0/+2the Zune software hasn't looked like WMP for about a year now. time to get the new version and check it out again.
  • donweel, on 05/11/2008, -6/+11Microsoft DRM is just too weird for me, plus please tell where you can by a stereo dock system for a Zune, or where I buy a car deck that is compatible.
    • TheXeno, on 05/11/2008, -1/+4http://www.zune.net/en-US/products/catalog.aspx?g= ...

      Buy any deck that has an aux in and you're set.
      • taylorr05, on 05/11/2008, -0/+5Microsoft Marketplace has a great selection of DRM free songs. Plus, you don't have to burn your cd's to WMA or whatever DRM. You can go with plain old MP3. Finally, when you copy the music form your player to your computer (not syncing), you can get it in MP3 format. I wouldn't worry too much about DRM in the Zunes case,
      • Beeferr, on 05/11/2008, -0/+0I just got a new Kenwood MP438U deck for my car. It has a front usb port that won't support my zune but luckily it has a front aux port as well. Actually it will still charge via usb port but just needs the aux cable to play.
      • freaktose, on 05/12/2008, -1/+2Sorry, but an AUX IN, while handy, is not even close to a true dock or head unit with external controls. Does Ford/Microsoft's SYNC feature work for Zunes? I don't see why not, but then, that's just for cars (built-in).
        • smoger, on 05/12/2008, -1/+2yes: MICROSOFT's sync works with MICROSOFT's zune
    • Jereso, on 05/11/2008, -2/+10There is no Microsoft DRM in the Zune Marketplace. It's all DRM-free,
      • keeperofkeys, on 05/11/2008, -0/+8I just had to go and check this for myself, but ***** me, you're right!
        http://www.zune.net/en-us/marketplace/default.htm
        (*****, I sound like a TV ad voiceover...)
        Can I buy music for my Archos there?
        • keeperofkeys, on 05/11/2008, -1/+3Hm, wait. "Zune Marketplace is your always-open store for millions of songs, albums, DRM-free MP3s, videos, podcasts, and now TV shows"
          So you can buy, let's get this straight, songs, albums *and* MP3s... what are those, podcasts? My suspicions are aroused.
          • keeperofkeys, on 05/12/2008, -0/+3I know I keep replying to myself, but don't you think it's dodgy that people dugg my overenthusiastic comment about the Zune Marketplace, but buried the one qualifying it? There are definitely MS trolls at work on this page. Buried.
  • jpole1, on 05/11/2008, -9/+8Best thing about my Zune:

    I can plug it into any of my friends' computers (I have four friends that have Zunes) and take any/all of their music/videos without having to get rid of any of the material already on my Zune.

    Amazing
    • zip22, on 05/11/2008, -6/+4you can do that with other audio players as well (including the ipod)
      • sevenalive, on 05/11/2008, -1/+5No, you can't in order to sync the library it wants you to wipe it out.
        • jpole1, on 05/11/2008, -0/+2Thank you for understanding the point I was trying to point out.
      • adougy, on 05/12/2008, -0/+3Only after you select "manually manage songs and videos" on your iPod can you take other material from other iTunes.
  • schrutefan, on 05/11/2008, -7/+5I would've bought a Zune instead of an iPod, but I can't get one in Canada.
  • pablo0713, on 05/11/2008, -5/+3I miss having an mp3 player, period. Sold mine a few months ago for much needed cash. Now I'm a slave to my computer when it comes to listening to music.
    • omarlassan, on 05/11/2008, -1/+1what do u miss... your mp3 player or your periods...please clarify :)
    • zongamin, on 05/12/2008, -1/+2You must be very poor.
  • Zippo, on 05/11/2008, -20/+19So.. the Zune is only available in the US, not even in Canada... It only works with Windows... and has sold a whopping 2 million units.

    The iPod is available world-wide, works with both Windows and OS X, and has sold well over 150 million units.

    Oh yeah, nice iPod killer there, Microsoft.
    • MillionsLivio, on 05/11/2008, -3/+13As a former iPod owner, I love my Zune 80. Honestly the fanboyism becomes so apparent once the "Zune" name is mentioned, if you haven't tried the Zune do not insult it. iPod obviously owns the MP3 market and it will take time for them to progress; look at the Xbox and Playstation. It's being released in Canada very soon as well.
      • Zippo, on 05/11/2008, -4/+6Oh, the Zune is not a terrible device. It's got a lot of good features... it does, however, suffer from a few problems...
        It's just ironic that MS was toting the Zune as an iPod killer.
        • estvir, on 05/12/2008, -4/+4MS was never touting the Zune as an iPod killer you imbecile, in fact, they said the OPPOSITE (They said they knew it'd be a long, hard battle, etc) and the only people who said it was a iPod killer are morons like yourself and the idiots on blogs like Engadget and Gizmodo.
  • bebopredux, on 05/11/2008, -12/+32Ballmer's Zune collection just hit 1,900,000
  • JoeRockEHF, on 05/11/2008, -8/+19I have a first gen Zune and its better than all the other iPod competitors in my opinion.
    • taylorr05, on 05/11/2008, -4/+10Man, wait till you get a second gen zune. It SMOKES the competitors.
  • RobbieF, on 05/11/2008, -6/+16...and it's just going to get better and better:)

    With the 2.5 firmware, Zunes (all zunes) can now do XNA apps and games. Check it: www.zuneboards.com
    • taylorr05, on 05/11/2008, -0/+4Totally. I've been playing tetris all week.
    • smoger, on 05/12/2008, -0/+2brilliant! had no idea this was enabled now, and the fact that we can install free homebrew is awesome!
  • slothlovechunk, on 05/11/2008, -13/+8I disliked my iPod. That clickwheel drove me crazy. It is another example of Apple choosing form over function. I loved it when my volume changed dramatically when I was just trying to change tracks. That was awesome. It is almost as bad as using Apple's pseudo 2-button mouse, where the second button only works 50% of the time.

    The point is: sometimes you just need more than 1 button. Apple would rather slightly annoy me when I use their 'nice-looking' products than make something slightly less-pretty but much more user-friendly.
    • smoger, on 05/12/2008, -0/+3oh no,.. the second button works.. you just have to click each button on the extreme edge for it to be consistent. (even trying to click on the left side i've gotten right clicks.. wtf?). just wish i knew what to do when the scroll wheel randomly stops working in one direction until i reboot the computer. but i mean,.. totally worth $50 compared to any $5 optical mouse you can buy at a flea market .. lol
  • NanoStuff, on 05/11/2008, -2/+9The real news here is that Creative has a market to steal from.
  • a1bo, on 05/11/2008, -10/+8I love my Zune but I hate the Zune software with a passion.
    • TheXeno, on 05/11/2008, -1/+4How's the 2.5 update treatin' ya?
    • taylorr05, on 05/11/2008, -0/+52.5 made it a little nicer, but the software still has some issues. I wish I could minimize the play screen so I can control it in desktop bar and not having to continually open the window. Like with WMP or WinAMP.
      • a1bo, on 05/11/2008, -0/+42.5's made things easier but I still hate the software, but not as much as I hate itunes.
      • LazyBoy, on 05/11/2008, -0/+2Yes is agree that the one thing i want more then anything I would use the zune software to play music.
  • Wakuko, on 05/11/2008, -19/+19You know what I love about M$ payperpost?
    You can easily detect astroturfing because everybody is doing it.
    Just take a look at all the previous comments!
    • bunkybrewman, on 05/11/2008, -9/+8I was wondering why the hoard of Zuners magically appeared!
    • estvir, on 05/12/2008, -5/+9Yes, how dare people actually like the Zune. Hell, how dare anyone like anything created by 'M$' (It's not the 90s, moron), it's all some vast conspiracy.

      Idiot.
    • PueSi, on 05/12/2008, -2/+8Not everybody likes to suck Steve Jobs *****...
      • freaktose, on 05/12/2008, -4/+1Admittedly, it's a pretty nice piece o'dick. Certainly better than Bill Gates's little cheese doodle.
    • kretik, on 05/12/2008, -3/+5The stupidity of your opinions is surpassed only by the hilarious way in which you deliver them. What are you doing on Digg? You should be on Slashdot, getting accolades for claiming that Microsoft is behind anything you dislike and spelling their name with a dollar sign!
    • PabloIV, on 05/12/2008, -2/+4I'm up there being pro-Zune. I take it by astroturfing you mean that Microsoft is sticking commenters up there to promo theirs stuff.
      PabloIV
      Digg Vet since 2005
      Proud Zune owner since 2007. "The Social" is stupid, everything else rocks.
  • caboose1123, on 05/11/2008, -6/+8I have a Creative Zen Vision W that I bought after my first gen iPod died. It works great, the screen puts all others to shame, and the features are a lot better than the iPod(for example, microphone to record and a compact flash slot on the side to view pictures). I would never go back or to anything else after my Zen Vision W.
    • Tony611, on 05/11/2008, -0/+5Although I own a Zune 30 now, I loved my Zen Vision M. Both are great players that are very underrated.
    • CarzorStelatis, on 05/14/2008, -0/+1Good point, except very few cameras actually use CF nowadays. Most use SD, except for cameras made by Fujifilm and Sony which rather obviously use those companies' memory formats - xD and Memory Stick respectively.
  • MaXPL, on 05/11/2008, -4/+3i'm guessing you havent update your software then.
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