Warbler said:
C3PX said:
I was a true believer in the Zune and felt it put the iPod to shame.why did you think it was better than the ipod?
All around, I liked the interface better. It had a built in FM radio, which was kind of nice (maybe the new iPods have those too now, I don't know). Had Wi-Fi, which was cool. You could actually share music on it, so if someone else were connected to the same network as me, they could copy shared songs from my Zune to theirs. To avoid copyright infringement, these downloaded tracks are automatically deleted 24 hours later, but it is still really cool to be able to share your music like that. A more modern version of loaning a CD to a friend.
Apple had been doing the same ol' same ol' with the iPod for several years when the Zune finally came along and went the extra mile adding all sorts of cool extra features that the iPod never dreamed about. Since then, Apple has had to step it up to make the iPod more interesting in response. Made for a better competitive market, but then MS kind of dropped the ball by excluding a portion of their consumers by not adding Mac support. I use an older iPod now and have no temptation to buy a more modern one, but I loved my Zune so much that if they had added Mac support I wouldn't have hesitated to run out and buy one of those Zune HDs when they were released. Every time I see one I still feel a pang of temptation, until I think about all that hassle of mucking around with PC emulators I'd have to go through.
I think MS did much the same thing with the video game market through the Xbox. They really raised the bar and brought things to a whole new level, making both Sony and Nintendo step up accordingly. Sony with a ridiculously over powered console, and Nintendo with some very creative new innovations. But much like with the Zune, once MS raised the bar and proved how awesome they could be, they did precious little to hold their position. So many little things could have been done to make the 360 so much better, but MS seems more than content to leave good enough alone. Only problem is, in a competitive market, good enough is never enough.
When you think about it, it is actually really amazing MS can break into well established markets they have never been a part of (MP3 players, video game consoles), and totally dominate them in a single move. As amazing as it is, it is equally as annoying that they seem to feel that once they have "proved" themselves, no further effort is needed.