Microsoft reveals 46 new Zune Originals designs -- how will you ever choose?

First it was just new colors; now, it's just more Zune Originals designs to choose from. A half year after Microsoft tapped a gaggle of Canadian artists for a few more Originals designs, the suits up in Redmond have evidently deemed it suitable to give prospective Zune buyers another handful of choices. Or, you know, forty-six new choices. The new options include "exclusive artwork of Eastern and Western astrology from Catalina Estrada and Iosefatu Sua," all of which can be selected now from the online design studio. Unfortunately, you'll probably have to burn a vacation day just to sift through 'em all, but at least you'll be having fun. Maybe.

[Via Zunerama]

[John P @ Nov 9th 2008 12:43PM]

Who needs a vacation day when you can just peruse through them at work?

[Samboini @ Nov 9th 2008 1:18PM]

Not I, said the walrus. That aside, it won't be long before we can submit our own design for these things.

[Paul Chapel @ Nov 9th 2008 2:15PM]

I actually bought the first Zune and then like five days later, Apple came out with the iPhone and I was completely floored and a little upset that Microsoft didn't get there first. I played around with it for a couple more weeks, but ended up selling it to my brother, who got mad at me when he didn't like it. I tried to return to Best Buy, but it was too late. I finally sold it on Ebay for one-third what I paid.

I want an iPod Touch now, but I blasted my friend's iPhone so bad that I would just look like a big hypocrite.

[Paul Chapel @ Nov 9th 2008 2:39PM]

Does anyone actually think these designs are cool? It looks like something an emo kid would buy. Just saying.


Sometimes Microsoft reminds me of a seventy year old guy who tries to be cool by dressing up like Emineim. It just doesn't work.

[The Dude @ Nov 9th 2008 2:53PM]

@Paul Chapel:

Yeah, the Zodiac series screams TOTAL EMO. For someone who claims Microsoft is out of touch, you sure as hell don't know what typifies emo culture (and therefore what an emo kid would have affinity for.)

[MioTheGreat @ Nov 9th 2008 2:56PM]

"I want an iPod Touch now"

You may think that. But between the constant lockups and device crashes, the fact that every day the UI seems to get slower and slower, and the fact that I have to let iTunes anywhere near my computer make it a pretty lousy device. I hate mine.

[John P @ Nov 9th 2008 2:58PM]

Emo kid or not, its all dollars for Microsoft in the end. So your criticism of their artist choices probably won't phase them much.

[Paul Chapel @ Nov 9th 2008 3:14PM]

@MioTheGreat, who said: "But between the constant lockups and device crashes, the fact that every day the UI seems to get slower and slower..."

Sounds to me like every small device which tries to be a personal computer. That's no doubt why Apple was so resistant against allowing third party apps in the first place, but I really don't need a bazillion apps. I just want music good music playback and maybe watch a couple of movies from time to time.

To tell you the truth, the thing that really attracted me to the iPhone and now the iPod Touch, are those headphones with the buttons that let you to skip back and forth through songs and adjust the volume. I hate the click wheel or whatever you call it on the iPod Classic and the imitation one on the Zune. I just want to start a playlist and put the player in my pocket and not have to look at it again. Because of those headphones, I can do that.


But to each his own.

[Sam @ Nov 9th 2008 3:51PM]

@Samboini

THAT would be a great feature. I wonder how hard that would be to implement at the current cost....

[Paul Chapel @ Nov 9th 2008 4:28PM]

Wow, I guess when I said that I liked Apple's new headphones I crossed some imaginary fanboy line. Shame on me!

[Paul Chapel @ Nov 9th 2008 5:31PM]

For anyone interested in what I was talking about.

http://www.apple.com/ipod/inearheadphones/

Basically, if you don't like reaching in your pocket to hit the click wheel or the click thing on the Zune (what's it called again?) or if you even don't like a Touch Screen for whatever reason, Apple provides these headphones with the iPhone and the new iPod Touch.

My best friend let me play around with his iPhone and being the PC lover I am, of course I lied and said that it sucked, but I really wanted it after playing around with those headphones. They solved my biggest gripe about MP3 players. And don't let the fanboys ruin making an informed decision. They're stuck on the PC versus Mac drama. I'm not. I buy what works better and at the present time, Apple makes better MP3 players.

[kidcanuck @ Nov 9th 2008 5:55PM]

I thought headphones with buttons on the were really common. Almost every cellphone my brother has came with a pair of headphones with some sort of button on the cord, as did my psp (albeit in a separate piece of hardware, but only minimally). The iPhone was the last adopter or the tech in his cell phone family tree. At least that's what I thought, it could be that these new buttons that apple released are revolutionary buttons, on course to change the world of pushing buttons forever?

[Paul Chapel @ Nov 9th 2008 6:03PM]

@kidcanuck

I've been talking about the iPod Touch, which is not a phone, but an MP3 player. I don't know of any MP3 players with this technology, but if there are, then my mistake. And while I understand that most phones have headphones with mics on them, I haven't personally seen any that will work with your music. But I'm not an expert on cell phones by any means.

I'm starting to get the feeling that if you say anything on Engadget even slightly positive about Apple, even if you're a PC user, then there will be a line of people to either Low Rank you or say, hey, so and so company has had this feature first or something to that effect. People are really paranoid about praise for Apple.

I just like some of their stuff, folks. I'm not trying to imply anything about your manhood or anything. Relax.

[Ian @ Nov 9th 2008 6:28PM]

I'm a Mac user as well, but you just sound like a pathetic fanboy.

[Paul Chapel @ Nov 9th 2008 6:40PM]

Liking a company's headphones makes me a fanboy? Huh?

[kidcanuck @ Nov 9th 2008 6:41PM]

@paul chapel: I am an apple user, I am just raising a point by saying that headphones with controls on them aren't exactly revolutionary.

[Paul Chapel @ Nov 9th 2008 6:52PM]

@kidcanuck

I never said that Apple's headphones were revolutionary. I said that I preferred the iPod Touch over the Zune because the iPod had headphones with buttons (and a microphone) and the Zune didn't. But now that you bring it up, if this feature isn't revolutionary, why doesn't all MP3 players have it?

[kidcanuck @ Nov 9th 2008 7:04PM]

@paul chapel: because most companies don't necessarily intend their earbuds to be an overly remarkable feature. I think they halfway expect people (at least those wanting reasonable sound quality) to upgrade to a third-party earbud, and most third party earbuds have clickers on them.

[Paul Chapel @ Nov 9th 2008 7:14PM]

@kidcanuck, who said: "most third party earbuds have clickers on them."


Well, that's great. Link me to some of those and maybe I'll buy one.

[kidcanuck @ Nov 9th 2008 7:41PM]

@paul chapel:

v-moda vibe duo, Skullcandy INK'D Earbuds, Griffin Tunebuds, Shure I2c-m Stereo Mobile Headset, Ultimate Ears super.fi 4vi, all off a google search for "earbuds clicker"

[kidcanuck @ Nov 9th 2008 7:55PM]

I couldn't post links for them, engadget wouldn't let me or something, sorry.

[Paul Chapel @ Nov 9th 2008 8:11PM]

@kidcanuck

Let's see.

The V-moda Vibe duo are just heaphones, no button functionality. The Skullcandy INK'D Earbuds are in-ear headphones, but no button functionality. The Griffin Tunebuds are just in-ear headphones, no button functionality. Shure I2c-m Stereo Mobile Headset are for PHONES, but is compatible with the iPhone, but I see nothing for the Zune. I also don't see any button functionality again.

Dude, you DO understand that Apple's headphones allow you to click through your music without touching the player, right? They're not just headphones.

From Apple's web site: "The control capsule located on the cable of the right earpiece includes a microphone and three buttons. With this convenient remote, you can adjust the volume, control music or video playback — including play/pause and next/previous — and record voice memos."

I think you've been arguing about cake, when you should have been talking about pie.

[kidcanuck @ Nov 9th 2008 8:24PM]

@paul chapel:

-From the v-moda website: Microphone’s call control button quickly answers phone calls and operates music playback/fast forward features
-I suppose I should have specified when I said Griffin Tunebuds, I mean Griffin Tunebuds Mobile.
-I was wrong about the skullcandy ink'd, although they offer different models with the same functionality.
-You sort of proved my point about the shures.

All I am trying to say is that it is not new technology, or a new idea.

[Reece @ Nov 9th 2008 8:26PM]

You're talking about an inline remote?

You mean like the ones they had on minidisc players, way back when?

[kidcanuck @ Nov 9th 2008 8:29PM]

@Reece- Yeah, exactly! I couldn't think of the word, but that's what I've been trying to say this whole time. Thank you.

[Paul Chapel @ Nov 9th 2008 8:57PM]

@kidcanuck

Well, I still don't see how these cell phone headphones make the Zune in the same league as the iPod Touch. The iPod Touch is not a phone. None of the headphones you mention work with the Zune (that I can see) and I've already conceded that cell phones have had similar features, that is, built in microphones as the headphones for the Touch. However, the functionality that I like the most on the iPod Touch, cycles your music. Until the Zune gets that functionality on their headphones, it won't be attractive to ME.

Got that? There are plenty other things I don't like about the Zune, no movies being one, but the headphone thing is the one that matters the most to me.

But this is Microsoft's pattern. They keep copying other people, thinking they can do the "good enough" scenario that they used when they designed Windows from the Mac GUI. But Apple is too smart for that now. They keep moving the target. Every once and while, Microsoft will throw on a feature like Wi-Fi, but their implementation sucks.

I would for once like to see them just knock something out the park, but the Zune is not it.

[KAIKAI @ Nov 9th 2008 9:18PM]

@paul

"There are plenty other things I don't like about the Zune, no movies being one."
WTF are you talking about all the zunes support video !!!

Every once and while, Microsoft will throw on a feature like Wi-Fi, but their implementation sucks.
and explain to me how the implementation sucks ??
it does what they intended to do with it and there you go


"I would for once like to see them just knock something out the park, but the Zune is not it"
and thats why it was the second best selling mp3 a week after it came out ???

[Paul Chapel @ Nov 9th 2008 9:36PM]

@KaiKai

Dude, if I was talking about video, I would have used the word "video." M-O-V-I-E-S. Like the kind you can buy in the Zune marketplace. Like you get on iTunes.

And the reason for Wi-Fi is to get ON THE INTERNET. If Microsoft wants me to care about Wi-Fi, they better put on an Internet browser.

And I thought the Zune was in fourth place, behind Apple, SanDisk and Creative?

[kidcanuck @ Nov 9th 2008 9:40PM]

@paul chapel:

Never once did I mention the zune. Not even close to once. I was arguing that the iPod headphones were a shallow reason to buy an iPod touch. I am an iPod guy, I have 6, I'm just saying there are better reasons. That's all.

[Paul Chapel @ Nov 9th 2008 10:03PM]

@kidcanuck

So wait a second. You don't have a problem with the people who want Zunes because it has some ENGRAVINGS that only the back of your hand can see. You have a problem with the one guy who wants more functionality for his headphones?

[eggothewaffle @ Nov 10th 2008 1:57AM]

Hey Paul, you know what's really cool? My headphones let me skip back and forward through songs, pause them, control the volume, and the best part? There's no wires to worry about!

http://www.mobiletechreview.com/tips/Samsung-SBH500.htm

They only cost $50! And to these ears which get pampered by an EMU 1616M and MOTU 2408 every day, they sound great for daily portable music use! You should check them ou...Oh wait, there's still no A2DP on the iPhone, right?

Wow, I thought every phone in 2008 would have such a basic feature.

[Paul Chapel @ Nov 10th 2008 6:57AM]

@eggothewaffle

Uh, thanks for joining the discussion but we've been comparing the Zune and the iPod Touch, not the iPhone. But now that you bring it up, does the Zune have A2DP? Because that would be really something. And for those just tuning in, this is what makes the iPod Touch better in my opinion. Check it out.

http://www.apple.com/ipod/inearheadphones/

I hope Microsoft gets something like this for the Zune in the future.

[Forrest @ Nov 10th 2008 10:49AM]

"M-O-V-I-E-S. Like the kind you can buy in the Zune marketplace. Like you get on iTunes."

Wait...so you can buy M-O-V-I-E-S in the Zune marketplace, but you can't put them on the Zune? I'm confused.

Also, I really like how you base your opinion on the Zune after owning an original for a few days. If only you had kept that original Zune. You could've put the new firmware on it, for FREE!

Honestly what has kept the Zune down are the original EXTREMELY INFLATED expectations of the device. Its first iteration didn't live up to what everyone wanted to see, and so of course it sucks. Except it doesn't suck anymore. The PC software is elegant and simple, and most importantly it's not iTunes. The device functions beautifully and the sound is great. The screen is gorgeous. I guess if the ONE feature you MUST have with a media player is the ability to skip tracks with an attachment on your headphones, then the Zune isn't for you. But I sense more to your shoveled shit than that, fanboi.

[yopopoy @ Nov 9th 2008 12:45PM]

*snifs air* I sense a anti MS or and Apple war heading this way fast

[SteveJr_Ri @ Nov 9th 2008 2:21PM]

careful sir, them are fighting words....

[J-Rad @ Nov 9th 2008 3:13PM]

^fightin'

[aeth @ Nov 9th 2008 4:05PM]

Something wicked this way comes

[Reader @ Nov 9th 2008 4:52PM]

So foul and fair a day I have not seen...

okay not really, this is how a third of the comments on engadget turn out

[iEye @ Nov 9th 2008 5:41PM]

i choose none, fancy shite is still shite!

[Sam @ Nov 9th 2008 12:47PM]

As someone who switched from iPod to Zune this week, i feel the need to comment here.
First off, let me say that I live in a Mac house (one PC in 16 years) and getting away from the locked-in Mac world was no easy task. I have had an iPod video since the day it was released but when i filled my 30GB, I stripped all of my DRM, installed a virtual XP machine, and got ready for a Zune 120.

Now the relevant part:
I did not get a Zune original. Why? The price. These things look awesome but frankly i think it should be $0-5, not $10-15. This will not entice new users if it is a feature that costs money. I'll take my $15 and buy a case for my non-original Zune.

[josh @ Nov 9th 2008 1:52PM]

It was much more compelling when it did not increase the zune price (that's when I got mine), but that said, it is a heck of a lot more than just some laser engravings. MS completely redid the packaging (in a good, if tree terrorism way), and threw in both a 3x5 lithograph, a slightly larger (maybe 8x10- I don't have it handy to measure) "poster" of the artwork, as well as a little fabric bag to keep the zune in. It's actually a pretty impressive unboxing, and I am sure it costs them a decent bit to do since it can't be happening in much quantity. That said, I don't have any of the stuff they originally threw in as extra anymore and I think largely most people would be willing to forgo the extras if the price was a bit less (or back to being a free service).

[Shenzhov @ Nov 9th 2008 3:01PM]

Locked in Mac World? That's what gave you away as a Microsoft troll. Microsoft is not locked in? Have you used the Zune desktop software. It screen redraws like it was written in Windows 3.1. It's slow and buggy.

[Paul Chapel @ Nov 9th 2008 3:18PM]

Really, I was half expecting him to blurt out, "Windows not Walls."

[Sam @ Nov 9th 2008 3:48PM]

I hate to argue in comments but I need to respond to the accusation that I am a Microsoft Troll

First of all I have, up until the point when I ordered a Zune, despised and refused to buy anything Microsoft or Windows unless it was absolutely necessary.

My two computers are a PPC iMac and an Ubuntu 8.04 Asus Eee PC.

Yeah, sounds like a Microsoft Troll to me

[ALCie @ Nov 9th 2008 4:03PM]

I think the extra $10-$15 is worth it for the Original on the back. The only problem is, if you go to Amazon and buy it, the Original seems like its a $30-$40 premium. Now THAT is not worth it at all.

I have actually been thinking of getting another Zune, since the 80 that I have is too big for working out. Id use something else but the podcast support is unmatched. Ill wait until I get a new phone and see what it has to offer.

[Paul Chapel @ Nov 9th 2008 4:08PM]

@Sam

Sam, if you have a Mac and Linux computer, how exactly do you load music on to your Zune? I'm just curious. I wasn't aware that Microsoft had made it possible to do that yet. Or is there some third party software out there that I don't know about it?

And just for the record, I'm a PC user (Windows XP FTW), who hates Vista, the Zune and just about everything Microsoft has released in the last three years. The only consumer electronic that they make that I actually like is the Xbox 360 and I've already had two RRODs. I'm back to PC gaming now and will switch to Mac if Microsoft doesn't fix their gaming problems with Windows 7.

[Paul Chapel @ Nov 9th 2008 5:34PM]

Well now, Sam never answered my queston, so I guess he was either lying about having a Zune or having a Mac or both. How sad.

[John P @ Nov 9th 2008 6:11PM]

@ Paul

While I realize that an entire hour is almost an eternity have to wait for a reply, it is marginally possible that good old Sam went somewhere. Maybe on a date. Or perhaps to throw a football outside. Maybe he needed a new pair of pants and had to go to a mall to get them. Whatever the case may be, I seriously doubt that he has been GASP! lying to us about using Linux and Mac OS X.

[Sam @ Nov 9th 2008 6:22PM]

Ok I did try to reply, but thanks John P at least someone gets it.

anyway
@ ALCie, i got my Zune for $230 on Amazon, you're exactly right

@ Paul
Google: virtualbox

[Paul Chapel @ Nov 9th 2008 6:24PM]

@John P

Well, if Sam has so much to do, why did he come back to complain in the first place? But, now that YOU'RE HERE, maybe you can explain to me how Sam loads music on a Zune when he has a Mac and a PC with Linux. If it is indeed possible, it shouldn't be too hard to answer, right?