The Zune, It Sucks: A Zune Review Round-Up

I'm not exactly unbiased when it comes to the Zune, first I love my iPod, the 30GB iPod Video I snagged earlier in the year, and second, Microsoft bugs me, but the Zune is a bad deal.

In yet another needy attempt to seize a market, Microsoft tries and fails to unseat the iPod with the new Zune, and it's proving to be one of the biggest flops of the year. Although Microsoft keeps repeating their mantra that the Zune is just a start, anyone who's been paying attention to the Mp3-player market should remember that this is Round 2.

Let's start with Engadget's two reviews, the first of which was unpacking and installation, and let's just say things didn't go well. In fact, things went so badly that the often even-handed Engadget titled the article "Installing the Zune Sucked." After running a gauntlet of installation errors and buggy user-interfaces, Engadget finally got the device to work.

They followed this with a full review, which includes this gem:

Microsoft really wanted to convince everybody that this time they'd changed, this time they were starting from the ground up, working for the consumer, working for the artist. Well, no one's buying that story anymore.

Walter Mossberg of the Wall Street Journal also reviewed the Zune, he writes:

But, this first Zune has too many compromises and missing features to be as good a choice as the iPod for most users. The hardware feels rushed and incomplete.

And, David Pogue of the New York Times gives the wireless sharing a big 'meh', writing:

What's really nuts is that the restrictions even stomp on your own musical creations. Microsoft's literature suggests that if you have a struggling rock band, you could ''put your demo recordings on your Zune'' and ''when you're out in public, you can send the songs to your friends.'' What it doesn't say: ''And then three days later, just when buzz about your band is beginning to build, your songs disappear from everyone's Zunes, making you look like an idiot.''

Pogue ends with:

Competition is good and all. But what, exactly, is the point of the Zune? It seems like an awful lot of duplication -- in a bigger, heavier form with fewer features -- just to indulge Microsoft's ''we want some o' that'' envy. Wireless sharing is the one big new idea -- and if the public seems to respond, Apple could always add that to the iPod.

Then again, this is all standard Microsoft procedure. Version 1.0 of Microsoft Anything is stripped-down and derivative, but it's followed by several years of slow but relentless refinement and marketing. Already, Microsoft says that new Zune features, models and accessories are in the pipeline.

So, instead of buying a 30GB iPod, you can tie yourself to Microsoft's new DRM-scheme, have fewer song choices, abandon podcasts, and have a larger, heavier, and absolutely buggy device. And you can help Microsoft beta test their new product for free.

Oh, the joy!