It's been a long, arduous trip prying our way into Microsoft's inner workings this past year, but we finally got a chance to sit down with all three
and get some serious play time with the damned things. It may be a little early to give final impressions, but let's just say what we saw is a very decent start. The player was responsive and fast; all functions worked flawlessly and without delay. The software and storefront has a lot of new, unique features that make browsing and finding music a more engrossing, enjoyable experience. Obviously Apple is the game to beat -- and a tough game at that -- but something tells us this little player's got some fight in it. We're not going to talk too much about the device itself, namely because we'd rather show you; later today expect a walkthrough of every nook and cranny of the device, and a demo of its wireless functionality. But in the mean time, click on for loads more high res shots of the Zune family, software, Marketplace, and, um, executive briefcase.
White, black (with blue double-shot), and brown (with green double-shot). You'll be seeing a lot more of that detailing momentarily.
So what was hardware revision 1, anyway?
Another picture which helps illustrate that double-shot effect; the translucent white was nearly as good as the brown/green.
The white happened to be the most photogenic, but we'll have plenty of shots of all the devices.
The double-shot kind of makes you forget that it's a little thicker than you might like it to be. Sorry, that'll be the last time we mention the double-shot.
The rear, as you may know, has a small circular indentation exactly opposite the circular d-pad on the other side. Supposedly it's so your hand feels the symmetry and is more comfortable when it's in portrait mode.
P.S. -"Hello from Seattle."
The matte finish is very good at reflecting fingerprints, and overall the body feels extremely solid. It's not a metal body, but it doesn't really need to be.
So it was pretty obvious they had to do a stark white Zune, right? We're going to go out on a limb with the iPod lovers in the house and say we liked it more. Again, the body repelled fingerprints, and felt solid and scratch resistant. We were happy to learn the back and play/pause buttons to the left and right weren't touch-sensitive (ala the 3G iPod), but were actual buttons with tactility. Bullet dodged.
The dock connector was hard to capture, but what do you need to see? It pretty much looks like every other dock connector out there.
The top of the unit is very minimalist: hold switch and headphone jack and that's it. Refreshing, considering the only thing we didn't like about the
Gigabeat S was the bevy of buttons wrapped around every side and corner.
We're not done.
Here we've got the ZuneCase. It's a ZeroHalliburton; we asked if the combination was 007, but we were fed the standard-issue "If I told you I'd have to kill you..."
Precious cargo. Do you have any idea what these would sell for on the black market?
Let's move on to the software.
So we got a chance to play with the very media-heavy Zune software and
Marketplace. At first blush it looks a lot like your usual
PlaysForSure operation, but the devil's in the details. Outside the obvious differences (photo and movie manager, etc.), Microsoft's attempted to take the music store to the next step. We didn't get to the downloading-syncing-loading-listening part of the process, but what we did see we liked.
You've got your highlighted content, top artist / album / song, etc., dynamic leads per genre, recommended music, the usual fare.
Drilling down a little further, however, you can get some more interesting categorizations. Styles, year, playlists, and new releases are some of the methods one can use to get in good with the Zune store's content.
From here things look familiar enough; snag the track for X or Y amount of dollars/points, track info, etc.
But start looking at artists, genres, albums, and what have you, you'll see "depth" per stack based on how much content is available. It's an interesting and remarkable new way of quickly visually assessing where your content is (and isn't).
Finally, in here we've got the cached index of shared tracks between Zunes. Convenient for a) you remembering a song someone sent your Zune, and b) Microsoft remembering a song someone sent your Zune. Kinda makes it hard to get sent that song again, or to stay away from aggregate statistical customer analysis.
Generally the software seemed very responsive, especially search. This may have had to do with the fact that the Zune software stores an index of every artist, album, and track on your hard drive for faster access (don't worry, they say it's minuscule, which we've got our doubts about), as well as all the images you pull up while browsing.
As for the hardware, again, we'll reserve judgment here and let you see for yourself in our forthcoming Zune video. There isn't much we can say at this point about the
crippled functionality of the wireless, but if you haven't already come to terms with what features the Zune is and isn't launching with, then you might want to try and look at it for its merits as a player (while ignoring the wireless) -- or simply keep looking for another device. See you in a few!
posted Nov 3rd 2006 at 10:23AM
Reader Comments (Page 1 of 2)
Chocolate Starfish @ Nov 3rd 2006 11:08AM
@ Jarod
"Because its from Microsoft" is the same argument used to explain the success the iPod "from Apple" which is also a piece of shit music player, but that doesn't stop everyone and their sister from buying them. You could do better than either product for less money, but most people can only handle comparing two of something. For that reason, it stands a chance.
Rohit Kapur @ Nov 3rd 2006 11:12AM
PLEASE tell me that's sarcastic. If not...
Peter @ Nov 3rd 2006 10:30AM
why are the pictures all grainy? lol
chris @ Nov 3rd 2006 10:36AM
A high iso to compensate for low light?
jamie @ Nov 3rd 2006 10:36AM
If only it was smaller.
JL @ Nov 3rd 2006 11:16AM
If it were smaller, what would be the point in trying to watch
video on it? Not to nit-pick or anything but I would think with
regards to ergonomic concerns there is a "realistic" size that
is optimal for viewing video. Remember also that the Zune player
isn't just a music player with "bolted-on" video capabilities.
It is designed to be a multimedia player. It would be nice if
it were slimmer in size from a thickness standpoint. I'm one of
those that also bemoans MS's wireless implementation in Zune
it's the one thing that kills it for me..
Shayer @ Nov 3rd 2006 10:37AM
Digg it here:
http://digg.com/gadgets/Microsoft_Zune_player_and_software_hands_on_gallery_w_pics_Engadget
Rick Lyon @ Nov 3rd 2006 10:42AM
I dunno, those pics make it look cheap. Like it's powered soft plastic case is just like those plastics they use on some trash cans. Not sure why they didn't go more of a solid look, not necessarily glossy, but not that soft matte plastic look. ANd the case? Come on, that's like a little over kill for such a small device, lol. Can't help but to see iTunes music store glorified in that Zune store.
Andy @ Nov 3rd 2006 10:44AM
The more I see these the more I actually start to like the Zune. Then again, Apple will just introduce the touch sensitive iPod and blow them away again. I can see this turning into a good battle though. MS certainly has the money and market research to get into the market easier than any other company.
Rich @ Nov 3rd 2006 11:22AM
Err, isn't the Zune player just a reskinned Windows Media Player 11? That certainly does the stacking thing...
rjj130 @ Nov 3rd 2006 10:46AM
Just curious if anyone knows if the input plug on the bottom is the same size as the iPod's? I know in a CNet review I watched they said it was a proprietary USB input, but it looks roughly the same dimensions as an iPod adapter from all the photogs that I have seen.
I'd love to look into a Zune but only if I'd be able to use it with my existing iPod2Car installation.
TIA.
Aaron @ Nov 3rd 2006 9:55PM
Wow, look the batterys are almost dead already...
Jeff @ Nov 3rd 2006 10:56AM
"Like it's powered soft plastic case is just like those plastics they use on some trash cans."
Yeah, it looks like it's in one of those "iSkin" neoprene gel cases or whatever they're made of. Those things are the quickest way to take an iPod and make it look like trailer trash. MS didn't quite take the right design cues here - those cases may be popular, but they are ugly as sin and while a lot of iPod users have them, a lot of other iPod users wouldn't be caught dead with that look.
Anyway, this thing is just too big and bulky, especially for a 30GB model. As ugly as it is and as reliant on Windows Media Player (which is probably the only jukebox software more bloated than iTunes), I really still don't see how this thing even has a snowball's chance in hell.
btw, what's up with the "Hardware Version: 2.0" on the LCD screen at the top? Did they already go through one revision that they simply junked before it even hit the market? Wouldn't they just reset the clock if that's the case?
Lou @ Nov 3rd 2006 12:06PM
I'm a big apple fanboy, and I've had every iPod since the beginning.
However, I like the Zune. The screen looks really nice and it does one thing well, it makes the iPod screen look outdated.
Also, I think Microsoft didn't do what other companies fail at, scrutinizing the product and not the software. If the software works well, I would consider one. Now if I could just unlock my iTunes music.
Spoonie @ Nov 3rd 2006 11:00AM
Can the fine folks at Engadget dive into details about the DRM on Zune? I'm intrigued, but not if it means I lose all the songs/videos I purchased legally through iTunes.
Does anyone know a good DRM hack? This business is really starting to frustrate me. Imagine if digital cameras worked the same way - all saving your pictures in a proprietary format that could only be viewed using their software. Imagine you trade your Cannon in for a newer model of a Nikon, and voila! - all your pictures are now useless. Can't believe the digital music industry is getting away with this.
doctorSpoc @ Nov 3rd 2006 12:07PM
That's what i haven't seen... what are the Zune's DRM terms?
i.e. how many computers can you transfer the song to, how many times can you burn it to CD etc.. is it different for 'rented' or purchased music.. i've not seen any of this.. Apple DRM terms are very liberal but what about Zunes?
Beaver6813 @ Nov 3rd 2006 1:21PM
And will it be only able to play content from the Microsoft downloads? If so then i'll just stay with my creative zen vision:m thank you very much. I can't be doing with all that content locking stuff.
Lt_Ladle @ Nov 4th 2006 5:24PM
you didn't hear it from me, but as long as you didn't buy too much off iTunes, its easy enough to burn protected AAC tracks to an audio CD (use a rewritable) and then rip them to whatever format you like. sure you lose some quality in the process, and its legality is in the gray zone, and its a hassle if you bought alot of tracks, but it gets the job done (as long as the new iTunes hasn't fixed this "hack")
Retep @ Nov 4th 2006 3:04PM
Probably because iPod is the market leader and considered the defacto standard. It makes more sense to measure each player against the iPod.
LittleJoe @ Nov 3rd 2006 11:07AM
Wow... I myself am an Apple fanboy but some of you Anti-Microsoft people are ridiculous.
I personally think this looks more promising than most wanna-be "iPod Killer" out there. Sure there are other players that have a ton of features that make them more appealing than either the iPod or the Zune, but the difference is in the feel of the product, emotional, visual and physical when it is in your possession. I think very few players have that and I would definitely like to get a zune in my hand to compare it to the competition because it looks very promising.
Of course as with most players you can be assured I would steer away from anything having to do with their music store and DRM infested tracks. I upload my own music to my DAP.
Matt @ Nov 4th 2006 3:23AM
Sorry buddy no mac support.. if only microsoft was as nice as apple by letting then use ipods on windows.
Marlow @ Nov 3rd 2006 11:12AM
@Spoonie
I think many people already know how to rip the DRM from Play for Sure and iTUNE purchases to enable these purchased songs to play on any music player as long as that file type is supported. If it isnt supported, rip the DRM off the file then recode it to something that will play on your targeted music player!
kevin @ Nov 3rd 2006 11:46PM
People are dumb to buy ANYTHING FROM ANY of these online stores. Buy from iTunes and you're stuck with Apple. Buy from Zune and you're stuck with Zune. Removing DRM only helps if a competing player will play the file. That may be the case with Zune, but for the most part, it's not the case with M4A. And yes, you could transcode to the other format, but didn't you already compromise enough when you bought that low quality audio file? Do you really want to take a less than spectacular source and make it sound even worse?
Buy CD's. If an artist only has one good song, don't buy it. Maybe labels will start investing more in artists that make albums. Then again, I sometimes think people want albums to be a collection of singles, and very few great albums are made up of songs that were all destined for the radio.
Jake @ Nov 3rd 2006 11:15AM
Microsoft releases a superior online experience for their product (which, itself, is clearly just as good if not better than the precious iPod) and Apple fanboys the world over weep.
Sorry--as much as you might deny it, the Zune Arts site is pretty damn neat already and has lots of potential. And the regular Zune site is a whole helluva lot more appealing than Apple's. Don't worry hipsters and hipsterettes, you're still and always will be the coolest in the room though.
popstand @ Nov 3rd 2006 11:34AM
Has anyone commented on the site at all here?
GraveDigger @ Nov 3rd 2006 11:17AM
That music store looks exactly like URGE, which is a good thing.
SportsUnit @ Nov 3rd 2006 11:40AM
Ipod Lemmings Am Cry....
LOL. The Ipod guys are really touchy over other players aren't they. You would think Apple pays them or something. Anyway, looks good, has subscription music, and I'm in need for a bigger player anyway... Day one purchase for me. Gotta get two, one for the wife. And, I will get the Brown one. BTW, I don't know if I'm the only one that does this, but anytime I hear a brown/excrement remark, I immediately tag the moron who said it as an ignorant, racist.
I just don't have this deep Microsoft hate that the Ipod Lemmings have. If it looks good, I'm getting it. And, that it does. It'll go nice right alongside my 360 and flat panel in the living room.
Coshan @ Nov 4th 2006 3:38AM
@Bravo
Looks like someone had God-complex for breakfast. Do you need to be burped? GTFU, dude. Stop cutting your English class...it shows. If you don't like the spot, why come here in the first place? Asscrack.
Shaun @ Nov 3rd 2006 11:47AM
I wonder when Apple will tell Microsoft they patented 'Stacks' some time back already.
Mark @ Nov 3rd 2006 11:22AM
The more I read and look at the Zune, the more I'm interested in it. I love my 4G U2 iPod, but this has me interested in switching.
sammy mazola jr @ Nov 3rd 2006 11:22AM
1999: "The one thing Apple's providing now is leadership in colors. It won't take long for us to catch up with that, I don't think." -- Bill Gates
2006: Zune. Brown.
Jay Tyler @ Nov 3rd 2006 1:08PM
But start looking at artists, genres, albums, and what have you, you'll see "depth" per stack based on how much content is available. It's an interesting and remarkable new way of quickly visually assessing where your content is (and isn't).
- I'm pretty sure that Apple has an unused patent for this idea that was supposedly going to be added the the Finder. In any case, it's certainly not a new idea and if you google hard enough, i'm sure you'll find out its history
doctorSpoc @ Nov 3rd 2006 12:16PM
"But start looking at artists, genres, albums, and what have you, you'll see "depth" per stack based on how much content is available. It's an interesting and remarkable new way of quickly visually assessing where your content is (and isn't).
- I'm pretty sure that Apple has an unused patent for this idea that was supposedly going to be added the the Finder. In any case, it's certainly not a new idea and if you google hard enough, i'm sure you'll find out its history"
hey Jay Tyler,
i do remember seeing Apple's "piles" patent application... last year or the year before... a lawsuit may be in the near future for MS Zune...
The Grand Master @ Nov 3rd 2006 11:24AM
The Zune won't play your iTunes tracks that are DRMed up, but then again, neither will any player.
The best way to deDRM (you can have so much fun with a two letter pre/suffix) is to either burn them, but the audiophiles out there don't like that solution. They usually cry 'lossy', but I don't notice it at all.
The other way is to record the output from your iPod. If you have an input on your PC and some audio recording software (ala, Audacity) you can just record them through the input, but that could be mighty impractical as they will arrive with not ID tags at all.
Hope some of that has been helpfull, just reply back if you want anything else.
LittleJoe @ Nov 3rd 2006 11:25AM
Can someone answer me this cause I havent been following it to well.
Has anyone gone over the compatibility of the Zune player/store with a Mac?
I'm open to either player, but I hesitate on the Zune as I use a Mac and fear it being like iTunes on a PC.
rxden @ Nov 3rd 2006 11:31AM
Oh and the brown is extremely attactive - looks like an old magnavox TV remote - 25" with a brown cabinet. the design group at ms is horrible -
Kiteless @ Nov 3rd 2006 11:35AM
I think that this looks like a great product. I hope Microsoft pulls off a successful launch. FOr now I am still an Apple guy at heart (recent convert) but this device gets my nerd juices flowing!
Engadget, thanks for posting all the pictures.
- Kiteless
2Ghz MacBook - 5.0Gen iPod
AMD 64bit Tower.
Kevin @ Nov 3rd 2006 11:36AM
@LittleJoe
Yeah I know what the compatibility is like. There won't be any. Which means I won't be buying since I have a Mac.
LittleJoe @ Nov 3rd 2006 11:42AM
I figured it'd be more of a hassle then its worth. Thanks.
doctorSpoc @ Nov 3rd 2006 12:24PM
i don't understand the subscription thing.. i would sooner just use satellite radio than subscription.. especially if subscription ties me into a particular player.. if i don't want to use that subscription provider any more i have to dump the player...
if the satellite providers were smart they would just create an iPod add-on that would let you pipe satellite radio into an iPod... if Apple was smart they would assist the satellite providers all they can... just to satisfy anyone who was so inclined.
Dave95 @ Nov 3rd 2006 11:47AM
I am stuck on the thickness of this player. Do we have to buy a man purse to carry this thing around? And if the Wifi will be so crippled, why should I buy such a thick 'music' player?
opm @ Nov 3rd 2006 11:53AM
what will make me buy this is if the community hacks this thing and lets us share without restrictions. until then it just doesn't do enough for me to switch.
i do love it's look, the entire marketing campaign has been visually brilliant and countered the clean, almost sterile ipod with this rugged urban look that has been awesome.
i also think the interface is going to be far superior.
apeguero @ Nov 3rd 2006 11:56AM
One of the main reasons why I decided to go with an iPod last year was because of the huge number of accessories and the market penetration of the thing. Looks like Zune might be off to a good start if it can have the accesories avaialable once it comes out, as it appears to be.
Too bad though that I wouldn't consider it because: 1.) a bit too big, 2.) It would be a pain in the ass to have to convert all of my lossless music over to work with the Zune, 3.) I'm happy with my 5G iPod.
So is Microsoft a little bit too late to join the party? Will they succeed with the Zune? They may still get some of my hard-earned cash if they release a competitor for the nano with 8gb or even 10gb. I have considered buying a Meizu M6 but I'm not too sure. I need a small DAP for workouts and also for when I don't want to carry my 5G but I'm not too convinced with the nano at this time. Has any of you used the Meizu M6 and how do you like it?
CARLOS @ Nov 3rd 2006 6:13PM
Does the Zune have gapless playback, chapters for audio books, podcast support, calendar sync, phone book sync, import photos on the go, let you create multiple playlist on the go, Nike2Go etc etc..
The iPod has had years of development and refining, I hardly want to start all over with that brick of a ZUNE.
Also the iTunes music store has audio books, TV shows, movies, a huge collection of free podcast... come on its not even a contest.
Its just Microsoft recycling the Gigabeat S player and branding it as their own.
If Microsoft was serious about going up against the iPod they would have done it right and started from the ground up just like Apple did 5 years ago. Then we would have something to talk about, instead we are trying to give credit to Microsoft for rebranding someone elses MP3 player and recycling their failed URGE/PlayForSure music software.
lame
Fred @ Nov 3rd 2006 12:11PM
This is very unlikely to beat the ipod, I'll wait for the side by side reviews before making a final choice but I think that a) lack of a decent control system b) physical size and c) not doing anything that ordinary consumers want better than the ipod (the wireless thing is, let's be honest, a geeks only zone) will mean the player is stillborn.
Purrrrrrr @ Nov 3rd 2006 12:15PM
Shopping for Xmas just got easier for me!!!!
sean Katz @ Nov 3rd 2006 12:24PM
I dont know if this belongs here, but..CostCo is going to be selling zunes. I was uplaoding a file to Costcos FTP site for a client and Saw a file marked ZUNECOSTCOBASE.sit I have the file and a sceen shot if Engad want to post it
shon Dempsey @ Nov 3rd 2006 12:23PM
did i see the price per track is .79? must be incentive.
willieboy @ Nov 3rd 2006 12:41PM
Still can't get over that bezel surrounding the screen and pod wheel looking thingy.... Why? Does not make a design sense to me... It is visually intrusive, and not what I think they were trying for,,,,,, (visual unity?)
Of course, it does move your eye away from the screen backgrounds, that is a good thing !!!....
Although, those screen backgrounds do keep you from having to focus on the gestalt of thing...
Dan @ Nov 3rd 2006 12:47PM
The brown once is perhaps the ugliest piece of consumer electronics ever conceived. Brown is great for people, beer bottles and chocolate and not much else.