Zune Marketplace to keep your Zune player stocked

The iPod had to move over (even if only a little today), and now it's turn for iTunes to move as well. Zune's software is, of course, called Zune, and it encompasses everything you'd expect from your standard single-shot media player, download, and management console. You've got the usual: genre exploration, top songs, albums, artists, new releases, featured stuff; they're definitely on the indie bend with this one, no doubt about it. The media manager will also handle photos, though, which is certainly a nice addition (and one less iApp for Microsoft to compete with). Microsoft's Zune Marketplace store will have a library of "millions of songs" in "many popular formats" (no word on what) will also, naturally, accept Microsoft Points so you can purchase without the use of a credit card. The Zune software will be able to import both iTunes and Windows Media Player files, but, of course, you won't be able to play those files that you already plunked a few dollars for from the iTunes Store (at least not yet). The Zune player itself comes with songs pre-loaded from various labels including DTS, EMI Music's Astralwerks Records, Virgin Records and others, but once you're bored of the standard stuff, you can wirelessly share songs, playlists or pictures between you and your friend's Zune. Shared songs can be fully played up to three times over three days and then can be flagged for purchase direct from the online store, but we still don't have prices yet. Microsoft is also bringing some all-you-can-eat love with a Zune Pass subscription, available a flat rate (again, we don't know how much) -- we're hungry to take it for a spin.

Big version!

[conglomerate @ Sep 14th 2006 12:33PM]

dumb question:
what about albums you already have, that arent DRM-ed, can they be put on it too?

[bob @ Sep 14th 2006 12:34PM]

seems pretty obvious to me they kept the windows 'team' away from this product lol, have they mentioned mac support? out of curiosity, i know we wouldnt buy it lol

[Jason @ Sep 14th 2006 12:38PM]

That marketplace looks a lot like URGE. Hopefully, they will become one and the same.

[Bart Lee @ Sep 14th 2006 12:41PM]

Looks pretty nice. Does it come in white and brown too?

[Matt @ Sep 14th 2006 12:48PM]

http://www.zuneinsider.com/2006/09/zune_details_re.html

[Dan @ Sep 14th 2006 12:55PM]

"but, of course, you won't be able to play those files that you already plunked a few dollars for from the iTunes Store (at least not yet)."

This is an interesting point. It illustrates a reason why one shouldn't use this or any other proprietary formats for their music collection. When the next big. thing comes, you're stuck with the old stuff.

(And don't get it twisted, I'm not saying zune is the next big thing. I'm just generalizing.)

[Luke Stapley @ Sep 14th 2006 12:57PM]

Where are the Podcasts? Would be nice to see Microsoft hop on the podcast wagon too with the Zune getting podcasts.

Luke
www.gameaddicthotline.com

//Podcaster
//More a question than a statement

[Chubby @ Sep 14th 2006 1:02PM]

Hu? That's funny, It looks just like iTunes, just a little darker grey.

[duder @ Sep 14th 2006 1:03PM]

I have an URGE subscription and realy hope this merges with it. WMP11 has some issues, but overall I really like the subscription approach... I listen to soooo much more music now. I can see myself buying a Zune if it streams to an XBOX.

[Jeff Lewis @ Sep 14th 2006 1:03PM]

Something I think the Macheads keep missing - they're 4% of the market. Microsoft really doesn't give a damn if Zune is compatible with them. What they care about is building something that takes away marketshare for the iPod users who use Windows.

So comments like 'if it's not Mac compatible, it's not worth it' are simply laughable.

Same with snide comments about copying Apple. Apple's designs only get them 4% market. Microsoft looks for good ideas and uses them - bringing them to 90%+ of the computer users. That's called 'smart'.

[dunk @ Sep 14th 2006 1:06PM]

that's horrible. seriously. i don't think itunes is the be all-end all by any stretch of the imagination, but dear god that's a crap UI. wasted space at the bottom for that huge play button, hidden navigation for a lot of the albums, silly marketing speak for various elements, icons all over the place. typography, or lack thereof. i'm not surprised... well yes i am , the xbox 360's UI is pretty slick.

[Apple Boy @ Sep 14th 2006 1:08PM]

iTunes ripoff... pff

[Ted @ Sep 14th 2006 1:10PM]

So, let me get this straight... I can stream a song for up to three plays w/ in 3 days to another Zune user wirelessly, but after that, they get a prompt to buy the song? Are you kidding?

I had thought that the wireless sharing of music might be a neat feature that the Zune could build on, but if this is the limitation, forget about it.

I predict marketshare in the single digits. Can you say "ditty"?

[dunk @ Sep 14th 2006 1:11PM]

@Jeff

what isn't laughable however is it's not iPod compatible. the zune player offers nothing appreciably superior to the iPod other than WiFi which is useless if no one else has a zune. the zune won't flop like the napster player, but it won't affect the ipod.

i'm glad you used quotes around the word smart, it at least show you understand the inherit irony of your statement.

[clay @ Sep 14th 2006 1:14PM]

http://www.microsoft.com/presspass/presskits/zune/default.mspx

[SportsUnit @ Sep 14th 2006 1:16PM]

The interface is killer. I guess all the Apple lemmings can crawl in a hole now rather than admitting that it looks just as nice as the itunes store, if not better...

[clay @ Sep 14th 2006 1:16PM]

Zune software can import audio files in unprotected WMA, MP3, AAC; photos in JPEG; and videos in WMV, MPEG-4, H.264.

Requires a PC running Windows® XP with Service Pack 2 and high-speed Internet connectivity.

[SportsUnit @ Sep 14th 2006 1:16PM]

Its horrible ...

The ipod/itunes lemmings are already in the building I see. Jeez, you just can't shake these guys.

[Clippy @ Sep 14th 2006 1:18PM]

Does it come with an animated paperclip?

[Chubby @ Sep 14th 2006 1:19PM]

Jeff, just to let you know it is not called smart, it is called being naive and uneducated. Os X is a superior operating system, and the computers are far more reliable. Applications run smoother with fewer glitches. Even Mr. Dell and Sony have said they would drop windows in a heart beat for Os X if Mr. Jobs would release it. http://www.foxnews.com/story/0,2933,212539,00.html Unfortunately the masses got sucked into this thing called windows and don’t know that there is something else out there that is superior in every way. As far as MS copying Apple designs, it is not what got Apple 4% of the market, it’s what got apple 80% of the DAP market, hence the reason for the iPod-esque look of the zune (except for the thickness, the zune is way thicker for a 30 gig.) and the iTune-esque look of the marketplace. I am sorry to have to bring these facts to you.

[Chris @ Sep 14th 2006 1:37PM]

wow talk about nieve people it isnt a copy of itunes... if anything itunes is basically a copy of wmp ... i mean the library view of wmp atleast...

and as for the presentation of information its basically the same as urge... why i must say is alot faster and nicer than itunes... i mean the instant search works great and also WMP11 doesnt eat 140megs of ram like itunes7....

[Giggle Beans @ Sep 14th 2006 1:45PM]

@jeff,


Licensing and making it super-affordable for businesses to standardize on the Windows platform is what gave Microsoft the marketshare they have today, not great ideas or design. Businesses found that it was to their financial advantage to standardize on a single platform and Microsoft was their choice because of cost and the fact that MS had already teamed up with OEMs everywhere to run their software on clone boxes. That was indeed "smart" and made Mr. Gates lots and lots of money. His call was to have "A computer running Microsoft software on every desktop" and by golly, he found a way to do that. Hats off to him.

He did it by admittedly taking alot of what he learned from working directly with Apple while developing software for the Mac OS and licensing it to anyone and everyone. Yes, Apple invited him in and allowed him to learn as much as he possible could in order to develop software for the Mac. It's what killed the lawsuit for Apple - they essentially agreed to let Gates use what he learned in order to get applications for the platform.

The 4% marketshare number isn't exactly what you should be looking at here. You should take into consideration that enterprise marketshare is factored into that percentage. In actuality, Apple's consumer marketshare should be the factor here. To ignore millions and millions of consumer computer users is pretty lame, especially considering that Mac users typically are the ones that spend more on software, actually contribute digital content and buy into gadgets. Microsoft has said itself that they make a ton of money off of Mac Office because Mac users actually buy software whereas Windows home users primarily use their computers for browsing the internet and sending email.

[Andy @ Sep 14th 2006 1:46PM]

I really would like to see availability of Podcasts, Movies, Music Videos, and TV Episodes built-in to the Zune... Even more, I'd like to be able to download my stuff from anywhere with a wireless AP!

[Goodman @ Sep 14th 2006 1:52PM]

Michael Dell never said he would "drop windows in a heart beat for Os X if Mr. Jobs would release it." He said he would be interested in offering computers with OS X if Apple licensed it. Which Apple won't, because the last time they tried, other companies offered better Macintosh-compatible machines (notably Power Computing).

Too bad. My girlfriend bought a Dell the other week, with DVD burner, 160 gig hard drive and 17 inch flat panel monitor for $500. Wouldn't it be cool if you could get a system like that for that price with OS X?

[doctorSpoc @ Oct 21st 2006 5:58PM]

Goodman... you are full of it...

if you actually did purchase the PC you would know that if you actually try to buy that PC by going through the purchase steps... with core 2 duo... you get a $999 system.. try it yourself. go through the steps... that's the Dell scam. they draw your in with a "starts at" price and by the end of the process the computer cost you twice as much as you thought you were going to spend.

[jeric @ Sep 14th 2006 2:01PM]

itunes..izunes..the day the music dies

[Chubby @ Sep 14th 2006 2:04PM]

Yes, and wouldnt it be cool if in 3 weeks the thing wasnt full of spyware and viruses, and having to call some of the worst tech support on this planet and if you knew it would be a reliable machine and if you were not worried about it freezing and having to restart. Yeah that would be cool. To bad she bought a dell.

[Nick @ Sep 14th 2006 2:11PM]

@ Goodman

Im glad that you sound like the unintelligent 40 year old professors who dont know what the hell they are talking about when they talk about computers. The guys that think they have great machines cuz hes got a 120 GB hd in it. What counts is the processor and RAM. Secondly, go right ahead and be happy with your Dell.. their customer service and support is complete sh!t now. I love you are gloating about using the Walmart of computers and thinking its a quality product. A dell for $500 is good for people that dont know much and dont need to do much, much like an eMachine.

[Jon B @ Sep 14th 2006 2:15PM]

"itunes ripoff"

What? because it has a play button and a built in music store?

It, like all media players, has some general UI necessities - Apple doesn't hold the patents on those. And besides, yes it has a media 'tree' like nav on the left - but it makes sense to follow a layout which consumers are used to seeing - windows explorer also has that tree, it's not a itunes thing.

I'm happy to see microsoft taking on apple, they may lose, but they are likely to be the biggest competition apple has and that can only drive things forward for us consumer peeps. And besides - itunes 7 is broke and uglier than before - zune actually looks quite pretty!

[Nick @ Sep 14th 2006 2:18PM]

@ Jeff

please send me the link to that Dell that has a 17" LCD monitor, DVD-Burner, and 160 GB drive for $500 dollars. There is no way Dell would have a package that cheap even with a POS processor and no hardley any RAM.

[Goodman @ Sep 14th 2006 2:18PM]

Actually I'm 42, Nick. And the Dell came with 512 megs of RAM and has been working quite well, thank you. We use Napster, so that for a flat rate we can listen to pretty much everything in their catalog, both on the PC and on our music players. It's a lot of fun. Too bad Apple doesn't offer anything like that. (I'd use it on my iBook.)

Microsoft didn't say they made "a ton of money off of Mac Office." It may be profitable, but not so much that Microsoft is releasing much OTHER software for the Mac. (Apple releasing iWork probably doesn't help any.)

Steve Jobs has made Apple irrelevant to Enterprise, by refusing to provide companies with a development roadmap, so companies can plan their purchases. Estimates of Apple's share of the CONSUMER market range from 6% to 15%, still easily ignorable if you want to put your limited development resources into products that will reach the maximum number of consumers.

[Goodman @ Sep 14th 2006 2:22PM]

>please send me the link to that Dell that has a 17" LCD monitor, DVD-Burner, and 160 GB drive for $500 dollars. There is no way Dell would have a package that cheap even with a POS processor and no hardley any RAM.

My bad. It's currently $419, not $500. With 512 megs of RAM.

http://www.dell.com/content/products/features.aspx/featured_basdt?c=us&cs=19&l=en&s=dhs

[Chubby @ Sep 14th 2006 2:31PM]

Wow Nick, sounds like you just about hit it on the head. 40-ish and knows nothing about computers. He also likes to change the subject from his computer, and the inferiority of it, to napster. There is a good reason that Apple does not have a napster like service, and that is because it is not what people want. If it was then they would not use iTune music store.

[iamright @ Sep 14th 2006 2:35PM]

looks like a crappy WMP skin,

[heath @ Sep 14th 2006 2:45PM]

it's funny to hear people bash Microsoft and say they ripped off iTunes, when their beloved Apple had to settle a patent infringement case with Creative... i say this and I own an iPod, but think about things when you start saying one company ripped off or copied another company.. also remember, competition is good for the comsumers....

[Hokorii @ Sep 14th 2006 3:23PM]

It's not anything special. Certainly nothing thats going to make me throw my iPod/iTunes out the window and switch. Though I'm sure all the Microsoft lovers are pissing in their pants with glee right now. It is pretty similar to iTunes interface, but in all fairness there isn't much you can change about an online music store..

...A Dell for $500? You get what you pay for and no it wouldn't be be cool to run OS X on a piece of garbage. Thats like a Honda sporting a Mercedes emblem on the front. No thanks.

[Joel Ivory Johnson @ Sep 14th 2006 3:31PM]

This interface looks very much like Windows Media Player 11 (I've been running Vista since one of the earlier beta's from 2004, so this interface has been around for a while). It also reminds me of Urge (which integrates nicely into WMP11). I can't say that I have any strong feelings on how successful or unsuccessful that Microsoft will be with this. But I do feel that this will be interesting.

Even if it dies it may seed the market with some rather interesting ideas that extend beyond those that we associate with a typical media player.

[Joe @ Sep 14th 2006 4:26PM]

Apple ripped off Xerox. Microsoft ripped off Apple. That's what happens in business. Quit complaining.

[Rikko @ Sep 14th 2006 4:53PM]

By the way, guys, Apple's market share is such crap among techies largely because we consider the "think different" marketing line, and then read comments posted by retards like Chubby and are promptly turned away.

It's nice you feel like a king, but your arrogance and regality mean little when you sit on a tiny little neglected throne when everyone hates you. YOU, not your computer, not your OS, not your media player. YOU and your little shit attitude.

[Uchendu Nwachukwu @ Sep 14th 2006 5:23PM]

Why they couldn't just make it work with Windows Media Player 11 is beyond me.

[Chubby @ Sep 14th 2006 5:38PM]

Sounds like Rikko has an inferiority complex.

[Tony @ Sep 14th 2006 5:38PM]

Funny how Microsoft apologists will call the same people "iPod/iTunes lemmings" out of one side of the mouth, then call the Mac's market share insignificant out of the other.

So, let me get this straight: you're NOT a lemming for using an demonstrably inferior operating system that happens to be the market leader? But, someone who uses what has, to this point, had the most usable interface (iPod) and the first mass market music store (iTunes) IS a lemming?

Funny how that works.

[Galley @ Sep 14th 2006 6:00PM]

Microsoft supporting AAC; Hell must've frozen over.

[Yawwwwn @ Sep 14th 2006 6:35PM]

God, this is depressing.

[h0mi @ Sep 14th 2006 6:59PM]

It doesn't look much different from itunes; it looks better to me only because it's different and has that dark grey hue. But the play button at the bottom... it ought to have had the track title display somewhere. I'd expect podcasts to be called Zunecasts or something else.

So here's my questions. I buy a zune. I buy a zen. Can I use both with this thing? Can I use both with Napster, or yahoo music?

[crescentdave @ Sep 14th 2006 7:16PM]

It is very much like Urge, which I've used for awhile. The interface is NOT an iTunes ripoff- because it's clearly superior. I think it's visually a lot more appealing than Napster and YME and AOL as well. Yes, I've used ALL these services. As a music fan- as opposed to a corporate zealot- it pays to actually USE a service. You don't sound so ignorant, for starters.

When some applet actually uses Urge, they know. It's a shame they can't actually experience the program on a daily basis, as opposed to fulminate from a point of profound ignorance.

Finally, you either "get" subscription, to-go music, or you don't. I've learned not to waste my breath on folks tethered to the old-skool paradigm- they just can't see the value of having access and the ability to transport all that music into every listening situation. They're like the folks who couldn't understand video rentals.

Of course, they also can't grasp the fact that every subscription/to-go music provider also provides for actual track sales- anywhere from .79 to .99 per track.

It's not about just subscribing OR buying. It's about choice.

[Desert @ Sep 14th 2006 7:23PM]

God Rikko, I hate it when jealousy does this to a person. Why is it when people voice their opinion about something (such as I prefer OSX or iPods), they are snide and arrogant? Aren't you being a little hypocritical? Get a mind of your own neocon.

[Kirby @ Sep 14th 2006 7:33PM]

"Microsoft supporting AAC; Hell must've frozen over."

No, it's just a bit chilly. It'll freeze over when Apple supports WMA/WMV. ;-)

[Gumjo @ Sep 14th 2006 8:12PM]

Well Microsoft atleast has the interface right. Sleek, attractive and not boring like iTunes - and looks much simpler too. Now if MS can get the marketing right and convince people the advantages of Wi-Fi (though it may be too much for the average iPod user) then there's no doubt in my mind Zune will become one of iPod's better competitors. It all comes down to marketing really, and MS has the cash to do it.

[Alex @ Sep 14th 2006 8:20PM]

They should've integrated the Zune into WMP11 or something. That really would've given them an advantage among the majority of PC-users.