Fear not,
Zune lovers, your beloved media player isn't going anywhere just yet. Interviewed at the McGraw-Hill media conference, Microsoft's head honcho Steve Ballmer said that the hardware will continue to improve, but reaffirmed that its future may be as software / ecosystem found on other devices. "I won't say full steam ahead because that implies acceleration of investment," he said, "but we're going to sustain our investment." It's unclear from the transcription -- much of it paraphrased by
The Wall Street Journal -- whether or not Ballmer had given any indication as to the future of the hardware itself. Of course, should one of those mentioned hardware improvements managed to take a notable bite out of Apple's iPod business, we reckon those investments will see an uptick. We've already heard that the service would find its way on
non-Zune devices sometime this year, but mum's still the word on any details thereof.
posted March 23rd 2009 7:10PM
Dunes tombstone will read" death by iPod/touch"
What the , people still pay for music in 2009????
Wow ,insane!!!!
I have a serious question,,,,does iPod touch superiority have anything to do with zunes major failure in sales,.,.?
What continues to boggle my mind is why Steve or MSFT gets any news coverage at all. The company is a perpetual under performer. The only story is their ability to plow billions into R&D, follow others lead then, under deliver. Not a good business model.
I love my Zune!
I LOVE my Zune. To tell you the truth, the software is what really makes it the iPod killer. The zune pass is awesome and the store is really easy to navigate. By comparison, I try my damnedest to avoid starting up iTunes: I can't find anything in the store and the menu system is HORRIBLE. I really believe that the Zune is the most underrated device in recent history.
I didn't know where to post this so I'll do it here:
I have NEVER been so frustrated with Engadget or its readers in my 2+ years of reading this site many times per day.
I just went to cast my votes for the 2008 Engadget awards. I'm an Apple fan but you guys are the most illogical cult-like fanboys I have ever seen. Any category with an Apple device was flooded with votes for that device. Apple TV? Really? Don't honestly tell me you think that is the most capable media streaming device on the market. And how about the votes for Zune 3.0 as worst gadget of the year? In what way was it bad? I don't know anybody who was disappointed by Zune 3.0, in fact most people comsidered it a step by Microsoft towards challenging the iPod. And you guys vote it as THE WORST DEVICE OF THE YEAR! Really? You find Zune to be so completely useless that it deserves to win the worst device? This actually angers me.
I don't think I've ever posted something close to to "trolling" as what you see above but I needed to express my disappointment once I saw those voting results. Good job people, today I lost faith in Engadget. I'll be moving Gizmodo to the #1 slot in my Bookmarks.
HEAR FUCKING HEAR.
MS never actually "ditched" Plays for Sure, though I don't know how many services still actually use it.
...and if Microsoft adopted AAC support for the Zune, you wouldn't even really NEED the Zune Marketplace anymore, anyway.
(think this is far fetched? H.264 support is coming in Win7...)
The Zune is already AAC compatible as long as the tracks are DRM free.
What? Zune hardware was the best part of the Zune, make the software better
This is hardly surprising. Microsoft already planned of making the Zune as a software solution, not hardware. The current Zune hardware are simply a test bed. The question is, how quick can Microsoft make their move?
Everyone wishing for an iTouch or an iPhone competitor has obviously been under a rock for the 5 years, since Windows Mobile has been the dominating smart phone OS for years.
The Zune hardware is great, and Im seeing it grab hold here. More and more am I finally seeing other Zunes, and everyone I meet that has one, loves it. If they actually keep with their hardware, maybe update it more, then I think they could steal even more market share.
Jumping ship should not be an option right now.
I do think the software will be big market for them, but the hardware should still be there, and the outside software implements should really only be allowed as secondary, so it doesnt cut into the hardware business.
Actually Nokia dominates the smartphone market with a good 40% share. Ever since before WinCE was renamed WinMo in 2003, it cornered a 12% world share. iPhone OS X was launched in 2007 and in a little over 2 years Apple has managed to reach 10% world share. In only 8 months Apple's App store surpassed WinMo's number of available applications. Many apps are still simple things but as developers mature, the sophistication and quality will become unparalleled in the mobile world and second to none.
It looks like you're the only one who thinks the Zune is good. Have you seen the vote tally in the Engadget 2008 Awards? The Zune 3.0 is leading the count in Worst Gadget of the Year. Ever since the Zune came out in 2006 I've seen 2 people using them. Two.
"steal more market share" LOL. Check out what NPD Group statistics says about the market share for Microsoft's Zune device in the U.S. among hard-drive based portable music players:
10.2% in December, 2008
9.9% in January,2009
8.7% in February, 2009 !!!
So in other words, the Zune is tanking SO bad that Ballmer does not see a future in it as a dedicated hardware product. His last ditch effort is to float the Zune as software only to be picked up by 3rd party music players, thus severely fragmenting its user base and further reducing it into the irrelevance it is so well aquatinted.
FoxKenji:
"It looks like you're the only one who thinks the Zune is good. Have you seen the vote tally in the Engadget 2008 Awards? The Zune 3.0 is leading the count in Worst Gadget of the Year. Ever since the Zune came out in 2006 I've seen 2 people using them. Two."
Well you just contradicted yourself. You said that "you're the only one who thinks the Zune is good" and you can clearly see that many people in this threads think that Zunes are good. Stop clinging on that iPod propaganda of being the best mp3 player out there. Please get off that bandwagon.
The engadget awards are rigged. You can see that there are so many people, including you, that just seem to bash the Zune just because its from Microsoft. I bet you haven't even used one. You are generalizing the Zune by using your statistics there.
By the apparent hate of Zunes in this post, you can clearly see that the Engadget Awards are rigged against Zunes.
I love my Zune and I'm planning of buying another one when I go back to the US for vacation.
The fact is, I don't want to swipe like crazy, what a pain. I want one continuous flowing movement that the click wheel provides.
Ballmer is the Dick Cheney of Microsoft.
You got the dick part right, but no way is he like Cheney. Say what you like about his politics, Dick Cheney was a successful CEO who earned money for his shareholders. Ballmer is just a lucky SOB (FOB?) with some nice cash cows roaming the pasture. Put him out in the real world and I doubt he could run a lemonade stand at a profit.
Microsoft used to have "PlayForSure" as a sort of competing platform against the iPod and they dumped it for the Zune. The other participating companies also stopped using that platform once they saw Microsoft as a competitor. Why would a company license software from Microsoft if Microsoft is still building Zune hardware. I figured by the end of the year we will see a discontinuation of the Zune hardware as they focus more of their dwindling resources on just the software. The Zune is no iPod Touch/iPhone killer, but is definitely better than any iPod classic released up until now. The navigation is more intuitive and the screen is much larger and video friendly. I also think the locked down nature of the Zune coupled with the lack of decent accessories is another reason for the lack of market performance.
I'm very happy with my Zune player. It feels right, works right. The display and functionality are superb. The software, on the other hand... Okay, the Zune's OS is fine-ish, but the Zune software that goes on my PC is a source of constant irritation. It seems to have a lot of trouble with certain albums. If I drop them into it's folder it may or may not recognise them, despite being ripped with its own software. I usually have to go to iTunes to get the job done right. The same goes with podcasts. No easy way to do it directly. I have to subscribe via iTunes, transfer the file to my Zune folder, and then subscribe again. It's ridiculous.
Don't get me started on how Zune social services are still not available in Canada, despite selling Zunes here for the past year. WTF?
All to say, considering my on-going disappointment with Vista and just about every other piece of software produced by Microsoft, but my generally respect for their mice, keyboards and the Zune, I think Balmer, as usual, has it bass ackwards. Microsoft should really consider getting out of the software business and concentrating on hardware. They have a MUCH better average there.
I am sure it works the same across the northern border, so I honestly do not understand why you have a hard time subscribing to podcasts on the Zune. IMHO, it is the easiest program to use for podcasts. There are two ways to go about it:
1.) Click on "Marketplace" then select "Podcasts." In that section, you can look at all the podcasts or search through two categories -- audio and video podcasts, or check out the popular/recommended podcasts in the same page; or,
2.)Just type the name of a podcast or artist in the search bar on the upper right-hand corner. When the results come up, look at the "Zune Marketplace" half of the page, then look at all the search results on the "Podcasts" section. I do not see how it can be any easier than that.
Microsoft did a great job on the Zune, and it really is a solid competitor to an ipod. They incorporated new innovation and styling to a device that wasn't just some generic knock-off. I'm dying for Zune 3.0!
how crazy would it be if they released the zune software for the blackberry, android, and windows mobile platforms.
@ Mar 23rd 2009 7:13PM
Zunes are for degenerate people who sniff their own farts...
And ipods are for degenerates who sniff steve jobs farts.
Not a good plan. Should always make the hardware for this specific market.....
I agree that Zune is the most underrated device in recent history. :(
I have owned both Ipods and Zunes. I currently own a 80 gig and 8 gig zune. These devices have been fantastic! In the time frame that I have had the 80 gig version, I had one problem with it. Microsoft paid the overnight freight both ways and it has been working great. What I really loved was not having to go to a goofy store and deal with a geek who is going to tell me that they are not going to cover my problems, until I threatened to twist his neck off. LOL
Long and short...I sincerely hope they continue to tweak their software. Its gotten a lot better, but it still needs some help. I also hope that their line of Zune devices continues to mature. Its a great device and a lot easier to use than the iplod.