Now we can finaly get rid of tape quality mp3s and listen to a lossless format from MS. This is awesome. I'm sure that MS will free up the player and not hold our hand like apple does. When u connect this player, it will appear as a drive and will most likely not need 3rd party software just to extract files like your pathetic ipod does.

Can't wait to get it. I will be listening to cd or supercd quality on my Zune while the insects listen to tape quality mp3s on their ipods.

GoGo McinLost

by sonysmells (See profile) - July 24, 2006 2:23 PM PDT

Doesn't Apple have 75% of the mp3 player market? Honestly Microsoft could put billions into Zune and Apple would still dominate. Why does cnet bother to report iPod killer announcements? Until someone actually starts to take away significant market share from Apple, don't bother reporting b.s. stories like this, talk is cheap.

by napsterlover2375 (See profile) - July 23, 2006 2:42 PM PDT

First, the iPod... Let's be real, whether you are an iPod fan or not, the iPod has a lot of serious shortcomings. It's over-priced. It does not boast many features that competing players have boasted for a long time (FM player, voice recording, etc., built in.). On functionality too... While the click wheel is novel, single buttons dedicated to multiple capabilities is a flaw (i.e., using the play button to also pause and power down the device, etc.). And the biggest one, in which Microsoft will have a clear advantage... compatibility with prevailing PC and other networked devices.

Zune will carry with it a huge advantage in being the most compatible player with people's existing and growing home networked devices. The world runs on Windows - whether you are a Mac fan or not, that is a simple true fact. And now, with the player having Wi-Fi, you won't even have to worry about hardwiring the device to any networked item you have - no having to buy adapters and cables and converters, installing boxes, etc. just to make it connect and play, as with iPod. That alone - if you are a techie - is going to be the largest and best advantage that Microsoft will have. Another advantage is that there are a large number of people that have grown tired of the iPod and all its faults. They are stuck with it because it is the worst of all evils. No more.

The biggest problem for Microsoft is that they are way too late to the dance and iPod has long been dancing with the leading lady (the consumer). So, from the sidelines, it's going to have to wink and flirt with us very strongly to convince people to not only just buy it, but to switch players too. To get people to switch may take years - if a player works for someone, they'll be difficult to convince to fork over $400 for a new player (assumption on pricing here). So, yes, for the foreseeable future, iPod will remain king, but a strong prince in shiny new armor does have the pull to sway the masses into a revolt to overthrow that king. There are also a lot of Microsoft haters out there that - stupidly - will not buy it, even if it is superior, just because Microsoft made it. This thinking is purely emotional and a dumb way to spend money. But, it's not my money and a fact of life for Microsoft. No matter what, Zune will steal significant market share and as new generations of players come from Microsoft, as they've done before, they have the power, the talent and the money to eventually displace the iPod. That too is a fact. Stop hating on Microsoft. A player from them can only be good for the consumer. There just is no way this is a bad thing and people writing about it - or I should say hating on it - negatively really have no justification. At least wait to see what it can do. Until then, the possibilities are more positive for all of us.

by mouseclick (See profile) - July 23, 2006 12:58 PM PDT

Okay....I have a few things to say.
I have owned a PC running various versons of Windows for the past ten years.
I own an iPod.
I have never gotten a virus with Windows, because if you configure your security and firewall options right, you never will.
I have owned a Mac at one point. I hated it. While I love my iPod, I hate Macs and never will buy one again. All the thing ever did was have those annoying pop-ups with the little bomb on it, and the Mac always crashed if I tried to multi-task. Never had that problem with Windows, never had the "blue screen of death". And shutting off the Mac was terrible. It seemed to have a mind of its own, shutting down whenever it felt like it.

My whole point to this post, is each consumer has their own preferences. I'm sure many of you who own Macs never had problems like you may have with Windows. Or perhaps you just think the Macs look pretty or something. A little friendly competition never hurt anybody, and I for one am anxiously awaiting the arrival of Zune. I feel that neither Microsoft nor Apple should have a monopoly on the industry, and might I remind you that at one point Steve Jobs and Bill Gates were best friends. I'm sure a lot of ideas got bounced back and forth between them in those days.
So who cares? I want to see what Zune is capable of. I will never give up my iPod, but I'm not going to be close-minded about the arrival of Zune. I'm saddened that you people have nothing better to do than to sit there and blast each other simply because one person prefers Macs to PCs.
To each his own, but don't talk down on someone because their tastes differ from yours. That's just juvenile.

by bellalunarena (See profile) - July 23, 2006 11:29 AM PDT

Microsoft's name for sure to something happen bigger than average peoples thinks. So ipod fans please don't take that easy. It's microsoft not iriver, creative or sandisk which havin limited sources against apples. Microsoft mustbe bring something huge to compete ipod.

by shehzad (See profile) - July 23, 2006 10:59 AM PDT

Microsoft will release their product, and so on and so forth. Not long
afterwards, Apple will release the REAL video iPod. And it will be good.

And people will buy it.

Apple will not be unseated. After all, its all they have at this point. Not to say I
don't love their computers - I have one. They are by far better built machines.


Also, Microsoft is screwing a lot of people by making this move. Especially
iRiver and Creative. Seems a tad risky.

by Josh M (See profile) - July 23, 2006 8:55 AM PDT

Microsoft have already tried to get into selling digital music and creating their own "PlaysForSure" brand and it still was not as successful as the iPod. I think this may just be a phase.

by stephenc1 (See profile) - July 23, 2006 7:31 AM PDT

I think it is good!

by yuxb111 (See profile) - July 23, 2006 5:31 AM PDT

This is not surprising to me that Microsoft is planning on an iPod competitor “Zune” or whatever but why is Microsoft trying to get into every market? Making sure that they beat everyone I think that Microsoft should just stay in their own market of selling operating systems and games but I would like to see what will happen to this new music player, will it outsell the iPod? Or will it suck big time like Microsoft BOB.

Rant: At any rate I don’t want to see the market totally dominated by Microsoft including the music industry I want to see competition I want to see reviews not one product that will suck but that’s what you only have anyway because if companies like Apple loose business from the domination of Microsoft and judging but what this new player looks like I don’t think that it would look anywhere near as nice as the iPod, as is Microsoft is just copying ideas from Apple that just hope they’ll get even richer Microsoft are too big for their boots but we’ll just have to learn to accept a new player into the market.

If they do release “Zune” it better be good and better have improvements to the iPod.

by stevent1992 (See profile) - July 22, 2006 7:54 PM PDT

Hi,

Well, I am a macboy: I have at home a Macbook Pro (yep the one with a windows heart inside ), an eMac, a G3 grey, a very old ColorMac (runs still System 7) and I had some laptops ranging from the pre-PowerPC series untill G3 Powerbooks. I have also a bunch of iPod's (Nano, Mini and Shuffle).

Beside that, I work quite a lot on Linux, AIX and Solaris as Sysadmin. And the company I work for has a quite strong Windows philosophy. So I am currently working on my Toshiba laptop and my Windows mobile phone (Qtek) is just a few inches away. And yes, both of them crashed at least once only today. So, please add me to the list of the ABM guys (ps: ABM = Anything But Microsoft).

But - as said above - let's face it. The Zune will bring competition into the market. We will all take a benefit out of it. That's what a customer needs in addition to a good product. Will Billie win the deal, I don't know. The match is quite open. MS has the strength of its company and easy partnership relations. But on the other side, Apple has more or less created the market and dominates it. Getting a bit out of it will be difficult. MS has not the required image and its strategy is quite unreadable (multiple and uncompatible approaches).

So, let's wait and see ... and listen to some music ... somewhere and on something

by pabo (See profile) - July 22, 2006 2:11 PM PDT