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FINALLY. How did they ever expect to sell the things without launching them in europe? :S | |
So not all bad news, at least they're not stopping production so I still have time to find the money to replace my 30 GB first gen Zune that died last week. | |
If I could get the Zune software to work with my iPod, instead of fussing with the hell that is iTunes, I would just be ecstatic. That being said, I am sad to see that the only large competition with the iPod is now gone. | |
I´m from México, and thanks to "Zune" on the XBOX Live, i was able to see "Kick Ass" otherwise i would have never being able to watch the movie i like Zune, but i hated the device, i think making it a full software to add into portable (or not) devices would be a good idea to go, hell, make it compatible with Itunes and you might have a fighting chance for the market. | |
Zune was still alive? Well that's news to me | |
So wait...are you saying it's alright for me to get that HD-Zune? I'm surprised it lasted as long as it did to be honest. Though I'm still glad I went with the 80GB brick a couple years ago as opposed to the apple thing. | |
Thank the gods for that. Now take that abomination off live. It grinds. | |
1000x this, I will never again go with an iPod because of what I once went through with iTunes, and I am very ticked off that there is no real competition to Apple now. | |
Zune will live on inside of win 7 phones and xbox live so no worries. | |
Phew, I was afraid they'd stop the movie renting feature from XboxLive. Never seen the device before, though. | |
I love my Zune HD, but have been using it only minimally since I got my Windows Phone 7. It's a delightful piece of kit, but when I can have the Zune experience integrated into a killer phone, the player-only hardware becomes much less compelling. | |
That's because no one said so in Canada. I know this because I was asking... I have a 16GB Zune whose battery is finally going after three (?) years, and was looking for a ZuneHD to replace it but as of last December there was no Canadian listing suggesting that the HD version even existed. I'm sorry to see it go; I love the heck out of my Zune. (It's a pity we never got the Zune Pass here, which should have been their iPod killer. Unlimited streaming and 10 song downloads a month for $12? Sign me up, please take my money Mr. Microsoft Man.) -- Steve | |
The only product placement I EVER heard for this product was people making fun of it. Did they even make a commercial for it? The Zune was DOA as far as I'm concerned. | |
tl;dr This news shocks me very little, the devices had very few games, apps and was slower in almost everything over the competition. The Web Browser was IE6 Mobile! so most web surfering is non-existent long version The surprising lack of support and drive for a feature-filled device came last Christmas when my friends GF got a Zune HD for Christmas, when she told me that it doesn't have a built-in speaker I couldn't believe it, yeah I know they are never the greatest way to listen to music. Another thing that jumped out at me was the lack of applications for the device, only around 20 games are available from the Zune marketplace, with only one that I wish would make its way to the iPod (Audiosurf). In the end this news doesn't shock me, they were barely keeping up with the other players on the market, probably to distracted with Windows 7 Mobile | |
I dunno, I loved my zune (before my roommate lost it). tis a shame, despite how incredibly frustrating the software was (only adding songs that it could recognize/were tagged), it was the perfect MP3 player for me. | |
I bet this guy is feeling really, really smart now:
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Good that they're keeping the software. I have a Zune 120GB that I like a lot. And I hate crapple anyway, so no iPod for me. | |
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 | |
Whats Europe? Is that a new state I thought we only had to 36. | |
The zune was a good alternative to people who didn't want to buy Apple for whatever reason, but it wasn't nearly as refined as the iPod. I'm sorry to see it go: the one I had was way more durable than my iPod-- thing survived being rained on, dropped in the bottom of a boat (water there), many, many, MANY snowboarding wipeouts... | |
Phew, for a second there I was afraid they were killing the software.
I don't know why everyone bags on the zune; it was everything the iPod was + radio, for a few bucks cheaper. I've never been angry at my zune or the software, yet my mom constantly rages at iTunes. Oh well, sheep will be sheep.
lolwut | |
Really it was foolish for them to try and break Apples stranglehold on personal MP3's. Theres a reason why its called a 'stanglehold'. I dont know why Microsoft thinks it will succeed elsewhere. Most people that i know who have Android phones the first thing they tried to do with them was put iTunes on it. | |
What exactly did it do worse than an ipod? It had more features that all worked no problem, and no damm click wheel. | |
I was thinking of getting one since Apple is really beginning to bug me. Guess it isn't too late, yet... | |
I know no-one, including myself, wanted a Zune, but it's still a shame that it failed as hard as it did. | |
This comes as no real surprise to me, but still, I'm saddened by it. I love my Zune player. It plays music and video just as well as an iPod, so I don't see why it never really appealed. The only difference Apple has is the "oh, we're cool because everyone has one" appeal. The iTunes software is absolutely atrocious. | |
So is there at least gonna be new music releases in the marketplace? I love my Zune HD, I don't want it to be worthless now :( | |
I don't think Apple would like that. Making Zune a kind of Android would help its chances, though. Personally I'd still choose Android. This just in, via Fake eEtiquette: "If one of your online friends jokes today about the death of Microsoft's MP3 player, politely tell him/her it is "too Zune." | |
I'm glad I didn't buy a Zune now. Despite how much the saleperson pushed it, I prefer my iPod. | |
Didn't they spend ages making XNA compatible with Zune recently? That seems like a bit of a waste now... Also, I have never seen one of these. Ever. Do they really exist? | |
I have a Zune, but I hate it. I don't have an iPod, because I hate it just as much, and the Zune was better priced. The marketing was downright retarded however. And that name.... just why? Edit: I don't agree that the Zune is worse than the iPod. It had one major thing going for it that the iPod didn't, Microsoft updated their products regularly, and didn't just make a new version of the same thing and market that. Microsoft has a somewhat dirty business model, but Apple's is filthy in comparison. | |
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Name Game
Microsoft Kills the Zune
After a half-decade of wallowing in consumer indifference, Microsoft has finally decided to pull the plug on the Zune.
When the Zune media player rolled out in 2006, Robbie Bach said Microsoft intended to sink "hundreds of millions" of dollars into it over the next three to five years in order to break Apple's iPod-powered stranglehold on the market. "We can beat them," CEO Steve Ballmer said in November of that year, "but it won't be easy."
But the Zune never found traction with the buying public and quickly developed a reputation best summarized by Late Late Show host Craig Ferguson, who said, "The Zune has all the features of the iPod except it's not as good." And now Microsoft has finally decided that enough is enough; no new versions of the much-maligned media player will be released.
Zune isn't entirely dead, however. Existing models will remain on the market and the Zune software will continue to be developed and incorporated into Windows-based mobile phones. "We are thrilled by the consumer excitement for Zune across many new platforms, including Windows Phone 7 and Xbox 360," the company said in a statement. "Our long-term strategy focuses on the strength of the entire Zune ecosystem across Microsoft platforms."
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.
Source: Bloomberg
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