Zune fire sale sees reductions of up to sixty bucks
By Conrad Quilty-Harper 
posted June 10th 2007 3:02PM
posted June 10th 2007 3:02PM
Hey wait Microsoft, weren't you supposed to be working on reducing the prices for that other consumer electronics device? The Zune appears to be in the middle of a sale at the moment, as several US retailers have put the price of the portable media player down with reductions being above 20% in the case of Staples's $60-off promotion. We all know how fickle retailers are when it comes to pricing -- if one does it, they all do it -- but surely it's not a great sign for the Zune to get such significant discounts under a year after its launch. This could be an indication of an impending announcement of a successor for the Zune (in which case this price cut is doubleplusgood), but it's not like you know who ever had to lower prices to raise interest in their outgoing PMP models.[Thanks, Bryan P]
Read - BestBuy ($220)
Read - Amazon ($209)
Read - CircuitCity ($200)
Read - Staples ($190)
Read - Wal-Mart ($199)
Why is it that Apple fans need to be so pronounced in defending their favorite products? I have a Zune, it works fine, end of story. I don't understand why an article mentioning reduced prices on a PMP results in the Apple army coming out and launching an attack. Oh wait, thats right, those commercials... ermmm, Apple does a good job at training its customers.
Apple is good at telling you whats bad with there rival products. Even there mac vs pc add dont really show a Mac you never see a Mac add showing there actural product in use? why is that? and if those Iphone ads are are not fact there is no way you can zoom through google maps that fast on Edge and I have Edge on my Blackberry and it so slow
personally, i think zune was an ok MP3 player that arrived fashionably late to an overcrowded MP3 party. with so much choice around, it was always going to be difficult for them to stand out.
and when your top feature relies on many other people having one to squirt songs to.... they didn't exactly make it easy for themselves.
GODDAMN I HATE BEST BUY.
$220?
They overcharge on every damn thing. Xbox360 accessories that should be $19.99 cost $21.99 there.
BestBuy overcharges on DVD's, CD's, everything else.
GO SHOP AT CIRCUIT CITY.
Anyone else think that M$ is going to throw out some sort of internet-ready Zune to cater to those who want everything the IPhone offers, without the phone? Personally, I've been holding off for that exact product- regardless of who it's from. I know Archos 704 is close, but all the reviews say the internet is broken. Nokia 800 is a thought too. Still if there ever was a perfect place to put out a spoiler product, it's after WWDC and before the Iphone launch. If the Zune even just did what the Sansa Connect did, I'd be happy.
I'd probably say wait for the 5th Gen Archos with they will anounce soon
Microsoft might put more internet integration on the next Zune but it won't be very open
Microsoft likes to keep a leash on their products, requiring the use of their Zune Marketplace and using only their own file formats and integrating only with their own products and services
Apple is good at telling you whats bad with there rival products. Even there mac vs pc add dont really show a Mac you never see a Mac add showing there actural product in use?
--
You want a TV spot showing some guy sitting at his computer, narrating what he's doing? Dude, never go into advertising. Wanna see OS X? Go to any Apple Store or Licensed Reseller...They're everywhere. That's where Apple shows off its shit, not on TV. TV spots are meant to do one thing and one thing only: maintain marketshare.
A new zune would be great. Im getting tired of my iPod and its slow processor, and would have a zune if it was compatible with macs. But its not, so do the "Apple fanboys" have a reason to hate Zune? Sure, they cant use with their Macs.
A mac compatible, higher resolution, slimmed down zune would be great.
you don't have to be an Apple fanboy to see the reasons why a Zune is bad
proprietary software, no harddisk mode, bad screen (half an inch bigger, but the same QVGA resolution and only 26,000 colors of the iPod LCD), bad formats (WMV for Video is worse than iPod's MP4 and other PMP's XviD support)
compared to the iPod it doesn't have nearly the number of accesories and Zune Marketplace isn't as extensive as iTunes
come on
i dont like the zune !! i have 5 ipods , i dont want to know any news about the zune and i dont care ...
the microsoft fanboys are so annoing why are you guys trying to convince everybody that you zune is the best .. my ipod does everyting i want and never let me down ...
zune = no thanks !!!
One million more Zunes will be sold in a month for $200 apiece. Three million iPhones will be sold in a week for $500 or $600 apiece. Wow! Now that's some mighty trendy selling power. Paris Hilton wanted to leave jail to pick up an iPhone and that's why she was upset. The jail only had Zunes for inmate use. Now that's doing hard time.
Popularity matters in the long run, because it affects how easily you'll be able to download new music to your device, etc. Go ask the consumers who bought into PlaysForSure devices if they think their music stores will still be around in 3 years. Sure, you can buy a CD and rip it, but that's missing the point, and forgoing some functionality.
And what will the next Zunes do, that the current ones can't? You sure you want a v1?
"forgoing some functionality"
I'm curious. How does ripping a CD limit some functionality?
I have a brown Zune and I love it,it does everything I need it to do and works fine,I dont care for sales numbers or apple fanboys mocking sales.
I've had a number of mp3 players (going back to the Intel Pocket Concert, and including the much-lauded Karma). I eventually settled on an Ipod, even trying and ultimately rejecting Rockbox (the battery consumption rate was appalling).
The fact is, I'm a big "facts and figures" dork, so I get a kick out of the ratings and smart playlist system. Drag and drop doesn't really work for me (though I didn't mind working with Foobar's mass "rename or copy" option while using Rockbox). While Microsoft (and WMP11 players) now use that system, they weren't ready for me when I was ready for them... and, aside from the interesting feature of "songs that I play at specific times," the itunes method is much more refined.
My next mp3 player may not be an iPod (the Meizu and Sansa lines are starting to look very interesting), but Apple definitely has a headstart in my mind that has nothing to do with its "cool" factor.
I have several iPods because I can just walk out to my VW, open the glovebox, plug in my 60GB 5G iPod and control it from my factory stereo. Sure, the interface has limited functionality and, I know, "factory stereos suck", but it’s reliable, easy to use and “just works”, like everything else Apple. I take my 2G shuffle on my runs everyday (Apple leaving the screen off was the best move ever for a small DAP like that). I will wait in line for the iPhone as well, because it’ll also just plug right into my car and be compatible with most of the iPod accessories I own.
I also have thousands of accessories to choose from for the iPod ranging from the Nike+ kit to alarm clocks. I don’t want some “obscure” DAP that you might wonder if it’s compatible with anything. It’s amazing how the MS fanboys love to side with Windows based on “more software and hardware choices” yet when it comes to the OS and accessory limited Zune, they support its obscurity.
Plus, the iPod integrates with the industry leading online music store with the largest catalog: the iTunes Store.
too bad this price reduction will not:
* allow it to save my computer files to it
* allow it to truly share without 3-days-or-3-plays restrictions
* allow it to work with other operating systems
* allow it to play open source, royalty-free formats unencumbered by patents and royalties which are sucking the life out of independent music free from corporate objectives
* prevent it from being a restrictive RIAA-approved device
http://flac.sourceforge.net
http://www.vorbis.com
tekdroid:
when you can't use an online download service to quickly get a native format for your device, and instead have to buy and rip a CD, that's forgoing the functionality of quick purchases and downloads, obviously.
I recently bought a Zune when it was on sale at Best Buy for nearly 200 bucks. Price was a major deciding factor in my purchase. Its not that I needed to save money but comparing the iPod to the Zune, I saw the Zune to be a better deal. WIFI (OK its limited but its there) and that 3in screen drew me in. Yes its a little chunky but I love the soft case that doesnt attract fingerprints. Had the Zune been the same price as the iPod I would have been tempted to get one but that low price pushed me over the edge. Im happy with my player and I bought a 2 year warranty so if it "breaks" when the new version of the Zune comes out I wont be too disappointed ;) In the end, when it comes to first time buyers I think price is a big deciding factor.
Has no one considered it's father's day this weekend?
I've had my Zune since December, and I'm very happy with it. When I was getting ready to buy, I was looking for a combined audio/video device for a reasonable price. My emphasis was on the video features, since I didn't plan to buy music, just rip from my CD's. I didn't care which company made it, so I looked at iPod, Zune, Creative Zen, Archos, and a few others that I can't remember. I thought that the Zune was the best deal for the money. There were some players that had better features, but were a lot more expensive. In the Zune price range, I thought it was the best player, mainly due to the bigger and better screen. I love watching videos while waiting at appointments, or when traveling, and Zune is great for that. It works just fine to listen to music while working in the yard, too.
I'm not sure why people are making a big deal in the price cut. In case you haven't noticed, prices for ALL electronic devices have been going down for as long as I can remember, all the while getting better and better. How much did you pay for your first Walkman? Or first DVD player? Or first PC? Or first camcorder? In a year or two, I bet the 80 GB Zunes/iPods will be selling for the same price as the 30 GB models are today. Or maybe even the 120 GB models.
I can think of several improvements they could make in the Zune software, and it would be real nice if it could handle more video formats. That's why I would give it a 4 out of 5 instead of 5 out of 5. But I sure don't regret buying it.
Rick
i got mine off amazon for 135