Nickname: RC3

Review: Couldn't Microsoft come up with a better name?

Date reviewed: Sep 27, 2006 3:18 AM

Nickname: finswim01

Review: I love travelling. If the Zune has capacity to easily receive digital images from my camera, than I am sold. As for playing music, FM, watching videos - when it comes to iPod vs Zune, I don't care; could work with either. Wireless connectivity -- great!

Date reviewed: Sep 22, 2006 11:43 PM

Nickname: Sam

Review: I was wondering how sharing will work. If I rip my CDs and put all music on my Zune device and share it with my friends, will the three-day policy apply to my music also (does it also by default become DRM protected)? Thanks.

Date reviewed: Sep 18, 2006 4:44 AM

Nickname: qka

Review: True, iPod may be the Model T of portable music players. On the other hand, I think Zune will be the Edsel.

Date reviewed: Sep 18, 2006 3:27 AM

Nickname: Napalmer

Review: A brief glance at the comments shows me that while many of you have some good insights as to why Zune will fail, it seems as though you're overlooking the obvious: What's it going to sync to? 'Cause it ain't gonna be iTunes, people, which is hands-down the most user-friendly jukebox software on the planet. Zune users will be stuck managing their music with Windows Media Player. I'm no Apple apologist (I think the new iPod nano is a letdown), and if someone came out with something better than the iPod, I'd check into it, but come on--there's no denying that iTunes buries Windows Media Player for ease of use and quality. Until Microsoft can fix WMP and make it as good as iTunes, all this Zune/Zen/whatever is destined to go nowhere.

Date reviewed: Sep 18, 2006 3:01 AM

Nickname: MacBill

Review: Serge above said, "I will not buy Apple because of the proprietary format." Serge, you are a master idiot. You have no idea what you are talking about. There is no "proprietary format" on any of Apple's products, including the iPod. iTunes & the iPod will play all MP3 files, WMA files, AAC files, AIFF files, and much more.

Date reviewed: Sep 17, 2006 8:54 PM

Nickname: Britzan

Review: Good article but I want to see what Zune actually looks like.

Date reviewed: Sep 17, 2006 8:16 PM

Nickname: Kevine

Review: Serge, you do realize that iTunes/iPod can play, rip and encode MP3 files without any DRM, right? The XBox is a hardware anomaly for Microsoft. They were able to evangelize developers because the platform is compatible with developing for the PC. Thus they had tons of titles, even if they are still losing money on it There's a lot missing from reviews of the Zune. The click-wheel isn't like Apple's, it's like a fake knock-off. Battery life is poor due to Wi-Fi. It's not compatible with Played-for-Sure, and the song swapping feature is kinda lame in terms of speed, ease, and reliability. Oh, and even though it will cost more than the iPod, Microsoft will lose money on each unit sold. There's about $75 that needs to come from somewhere.

Date reviewed: Sep 16, 2006 9:58 PM

Nickname: fuzzy bunny

Review: To Serge who wants to use MP3s with their portable player, iPods support the following formats: Audio formats supported: AAC (16 to 320 Kbps), Protected AAC (from iTunes Store), MP3 (16 to 320 Kbps), MP3 VBR, Audible (formats 2, 3 and 4), Apple Lossless, AIFF and WAV.

Date reviewed: Sep 16, 2006 9:10 PM

Nickname: BK

Review: Microsoft has been copying other smart companies for as long as they have existed. Where do you think Windows came from? Apple. You can either be the biggest or you can be the best. Seldom can you be both.

Date reviewed: Sep 16, 2006 9:02 PM