Zune to cost $299?

We already knew the Zune was going to come in a triad of colors, but we didn't have much of any idea as to the price they were going to stick you for. Common sense would dictate it would be at or slightly below what the iPod is asking for their device -- but not above -- and if TWiCE is correct with their information, the Zune will run for an on-par $299. They're also reporting the Zune won't allow for music purchases on the go, which kind of flies in the face of that whole "connected entertainment" thing, as well as the idea of putting WiFi in a portable, so we're looking at it somewhat skeptically for the time being.

[Thanks to everyone who sent this in]

[_man1c_ @ Aug 11th 2006 2:32AM]

great price big let down on the features though...

[mich @ Aug 11th 2006 3:03AM]

The 30GB iPod is $300. Might be harddrive based, not flash.

[dan @ Aug 11th 2006 3:19AM]

there are mp3 players with features equal or better to the ipod at similar prices, and they aren't "ipod killers" at all.

now MS is bringing out something with less features at the same price as the world's dominant mp3 player.

i'm going to say... no.

[dunk @ Aug 11th 2006 3:27AM]

there's a secret to competing with the ipod/itunes juggernaut. needless to say the creators of zune do not know the secret. actually that's not true, they do know they're just choosing to ignore it.

[Casey @ Aug 11th 2006 3:45AM]

Isn't the "cheap" ipod (with a hard drive)the same price? So if we guess that it's at least 30gb and has wifi, then we are we saying that it has fewer features and costs more?

[rick @ Aug 11th 2006 4:10AM]

R.I.P. Zune, we hardly knew ye.

[Gaz @ Aug 11th 2006 4:21AM]

Move along.....nothing to see here....

[Jeppe @ Aug 11th 2006 4:24AM]

Microsoft is late in the game as usual. The future is mp3s played from cellphones.

[Atanas Boev @ Aug 11th 2006 4:35AM]

It is targeted for early adopters. Of course they will not put all of the extras on the first model. It is like tipping a toe before dive in ;)

[Cory @ Aug 11th 2006 5:48AM]

too bad its not as good looking as an ipod

[Tanaka @ Apr 7th 2007 10:20AM]

oh, fucking jesus, shutup. it looks way better after a couple months of use. i think the zune feels and looks better than an ipod. and after those few months, those scratches on the ipod will decimate the looks. so shutup

[Jarod @ Aug 11th 2006 6:48AM]

ooooo oooooo can i have one?? can i have one??? I can't WAIT to get my hands on this ipod killer....

LOL

Piece of shit device from conception to creation. What did you expect?? Look who's product it is!!

[homer @ Aug 11th 2006 7:19AM]

microsoft is late as usual, they should release a mp3 player every 6 months and a new operating system every year.
Apple rulez! ahahahah

[DP @ Aug 11th 2006 7:38AM]

This is the kind of product we've grown to expect from Microsoft. Hopefully, with minimal features, it will not be so buggy then we can say it is more stable than iPod and maybe they have some advantage. It's sad that Microsoft has gone so soft.

[JinKazama @ Aug 11th 2006 8:01AM]

If MS can cram all the features we heard about earlier, IM, wireless song buying, broadcasting to friends......into a $299.00 device they will have a winner on their hands. Anything less than that and they will have another tablet PC on their hands.

[jasafar @ Aug 11th 2006 8:13AM]

First they said no video with the launch device and now no wireless connectivity... and $299 for 20gb when the major competitor offers video and 30gb for the same price. Doesn't look good MS... what are you going to bring to the table? Right now there is no incentive for me to trade in my old Iriver 20gb hd player that is 3 years old - it pretty much does the same damn thing as the Zune does - play music!!!

[Rasesh @ Aug 11th 2006 8:36AM]

Not to be able to download the songs on the go, is a real bummer, whats the sense of wifi then, duh!

[Karl Entwistle @ Aug 11th 2006 8:46AM]

If you where able to download songs on the go I might have bought one of these. Oh well, back to the iPod nano.

[Matt @ Aug 11th 2006 9:50AM]

Would it actually be possible to release a mp3 player with less features than an iPod? I guess if you took out the ability to actually play mp3's then yes, it could have less features. The features we know about so far are audio playback, a larger screen, wifi with the possibility of streaming xm/sirius radio, and possible video playback. I bet it'll sound better than the iPod's weak sound driver, and probably have better battery life. The only thing that it might not have is the video play back, and I don't know about you guys, but I really don't care about video playback on a 3 inch screen. I don't know a single person with a video iPod that has used it more than once.

Also, I think every single one of my friends with iPods have had to have them repaired replaced multiple times, most of the time within the first year of purchase. My iriver sounds amazing, and has great features, but the interface and control kinda sucks. So I am looking foward to this player that might actually make apple improve the iPod.

[georgedakota @ Aug 11th 2006 10:33AM]

Did microsoft ever confirm any of this bs we keep hearing? I havent heard any official announcements so i dont know what all the bitching is about when the final specs arent official. How can people claim it has less features than ipod which is nearly impossible when it hasnt been introduced yet??? Man do you people believe everything you read online, get a life and wait till an OFFICIAL announcement is made, then bash it all you want.

[sveden @ Aug 11th 2006 10:54AM]

And how could anything have less features then the overpriced shiny ipod? Maybe a rock?

[Aaron @ Aug 11th 2006 11:22AM]

$299? Wow, almost reasonable! Way to go! Just because you're trying to compete with the iPod doesn't mean you should make it overpriced like the iPod. Do you have any idea how cheap these things are to produce? You pay more than twice the manufacturing cost when you buy an iPod. Microsoft: make a good device that does a ton of stuff, throw in a big hard drive, and make it under $200. Hell, do something crazy, like *gasp* $180. Finish it off with a nice shiny design to pick up the shallow Apple fans and bam, there's your iPod killer.

[dave95 @ Aug 11th 2006 11:44AM]

No surprise, here is why:

The DAP market is still in its infancy with just a small percentage of people owning some form of MP3 player. MS thinking is follow (or more like copy) Apple's blueprint, Which is why they said it would take about 5 years (iPod’s been out for 5 years). Their thinking will be to introduce the very basic player, not expecting it to sell like hotcakes initially. Like all there other 1st gen products, this player will be a dud, but as years go by and money spent, they will add more and more functionality (again Apple's Blueprint), until they finally gets it right. So while we wait 5 years for the MS iPod killer, Apple will have introduced 3 iPod killers themselves! Brilliant ;-)

zune! zuNE! ZUNE!

[Khidr @ Aug 11th 2006 11:51AM]

@ Vnassu - you've got it all wrong, these guys (and joystiq) only hate Sony... it's Sony that they're engaged in an industry-wide conspiracy to cripple. sheesh.

[blahblah @ Aug 11th 2006 12:31PM]

Its fugly as hell.

[Coolio @ Aug 11th 2006 1:24PM]

Zune= nice player but nothing amazing. I would rather get an iPod and be able to sync it with my computer, car, stereo system easily with things made “custom” for the iPod, rather than buying universal stuff that sucks. Now right now I’m “old school”, I’ve got a Dell DJ so I’m not bias toward the iPod (even though it sounds like I am) or the Zune. Besides, even if the Zune is a hit, Apple will release the iPhone, iPod Phone, the iPod with a cell phone (what ever they want to call it) and will be back on top. 300 is outrageous though, for either of them.

[Craig @ Aug 11th 2006 1:26PM]

Christ, why does everyone feel the need to put down a device that technically doesn't even exist yet. Hell it hasn't even been reviewed yet; all of this is just speculation. In fact, Microsoft never really said it would have all of those crazy features that you are all complaining about it "loosing."

To echo the 1 or 2 previous comments who actually read and thought before they posted, try to look at these things with a more open mind, rather than the usual mindset of "It's made my MS/It's not an iPod so therefor it must be a piece." In reality, to be an "iPod-killer" all the device needs to have is audio playback, sleek form-factor, and a good user experience, along with a couple extra features the ipod does not have (which is not exactly hard considering the iPod still does not even have an FM receiver). So far, even if they don't have video (not really neccessary anyways in my opinion) they still seem like they are going to have a pretty extensive featureset, and community playlists for streaming from other peoples devices nearby could be a really amazing feature and a good way to expose yourself to new music. My only beef would be if they decided to stay away from the whole "plays-for-sure" drm model in favor of another one, because really what the industry needs to start doing is coming together under 1 drm model that everyone can use.

Despite their many missteps in the past, I think microsoft has finally been getting it right recently; and the zune won't be an exception. They are integrating everything under their "Live" bubble and making technology in its many forms as seemless as possible. They may be the dark side, but you gotta at least give them credit for being innovative.

[Leo @ Aug 11th 2006 1:34PM]

I also think MS' biggest problem is that they won't be competing with Apple as much as they'll be fighting off the slew of other windows DRM players out there. For basic playback, companies like Sandisk already make (memory expandable!) DAPs which are a much better value than the "brand name" players. And of course, Creative and iRiver already make superior hard-drive players.

MS needs a better alternative to iTunes or they're just playing in that 20% market slot with all the others.

[joba78 @ Aug 11th 2006 1:50PM]

If anyone viewing this thread is interested in the possibility of an xbox handheld and its functionality possibilities (including Zune!), follow the link below:

http://xbhandheld.blogspot.com/

[Smoke_Dawg_187 @ Aug 11th 2006 4:52PM]

Brilliant Post dave95

[Warhorse @ Aug 11th 2006 7:14PM]

Bring it on. I think that with M$ throwing money into marketing campaigns to get peoples attention, these will sell. Then as the market share changes Ipods get cheaper. I feel the competition that this could bring will only help us as the consumer, especially if the Zune manages to integrate some spicy features.

[Dolomite @ Aug 11th 2006 8:41PM]

WOW. This keeps getting better and better! LMAO!!!!! typical Microsoft though: promise tons of great features and deliver none. Honestly, who would ever waste money on this junk when you can get an iPod for so much cheaper?

[david @ Aug 12th 2006 8:43AM]

Screw the features, all I want is a damn MP3 player that holds 50+ GB. No video (on a tiny screen, REALLY good idea [/sarcasm off]) no games, no WiFi connection, no color, I don't need it or want it. However, I'm in the minority here, so, no such device will be made.

[Kumar Talluri @ Aug 12th 2006 2:22PM]

If MS wants to go head on with iPod (with all the hard disk failures), they should design the Zune as a 2-part device - 1st part the MP3 player with 8GB flash memory and the hard disk as the second part. The detachable first part can be used stand-alone and also thru software load all the frequently played playlists into 8GB partition, so that the hard disk usage is minimized. Even if the hard disk dies, the flash memory and the MP3 player can be used. This design will give the iPod run for the money.

[Zune @ Aug 18th 2006 5:54PM]

The Zune will be a huge succees. It will destroy iPod and leave Steve Jobs with no job. The Zune is going to propel Microsoft into the largest company in the world and make Bill Gates the richest man ever this holiday season at a whopping $299 a pop.

He told me so just last week.

[drow @ Sep 15th 2006 12:15PM]

i got a zune mp3 player
and left it in my car by accident
when i came back the next morning
the window was smashed
and the door was hanging open
and my stomach went sick
my worst fears realized
someone had broken in
and left another zune.