This has to be one of the most bias reviews I have ever read. The reviewer slams WinMo without specifics like its a bad thing. Yes, WinMo, like any other OS (iPhone Included) has its flaws. However, I find WinMo's OS to be the most reliable. I have used it for years and its dated but reliable. Yes, WinMo, at present, requires the use of a stylus. That's OK. It keeps me from having to constatly touch the screen. The reviewer says in the review that when you go deep enough, WinMo's menu would pop up. So what?? At least I get to use the Huge library of software its designed for, while getting a new and clean interface.

Nowhere in this review, does the reviewer talks about the ADVANTAGES this phone has over the iPhone... GPS for starters. BIAS BIAS BIAS.... I suspect Apple loving, Microsoft HATING Engadget's review will be no better, but at least Engadget try to make it APPEAR that they aren't bias.

To Me, This sounds like a simple business decision. In my opinion, it would be smarter for the WB to go Blu-Ray. Think about it. If they go red (HD-DVD) they will definetly prolong the format war another 2 years at least, during which time the Blu-Ray players will get cheaper (Cheapest is 500 bucks now), the PS3's will definetly get cheaper, and HDTV's will definetly be cheaper. So, by next Christmas, price won't matter a great deal, and people would be left with these choices:

1 chose which type of player they want (Which means choosing which movies and tv shows you want to see in HD).

2 purchase a combo player (Which will definetly prolong the war and force customers to buy more expensive players)

or

3 Buy both types of players (which would be silly when you could buy a combo player). It would be smarter to wait another year to see which format wins.

The best decision is for the WB to go Blue (Blu-Ray) and thus, shift the market over to Blu-Ray. By doing this, HD-DVD will die a slow death as people will realize that HD-DVD is a silly investment when the majority of content will be on Blu-Ray. By next Christmas, when Blu-Ray players are more affordable, HD-DVD will go the way of BetaMax. The WB will have made a smart investment here, where if they go red, the future will be uncertain. The choice is simple. Go one way, and the future is uncertain and there is no way to be sure if it will be profitable. Go the other way and the future certain to turn profits.

And hopefully, 6 months after next X-mas, when the new Star Trek movie is released in stores, it will be on Blu-Ray.

gawd, is Circuit City the only store that had them? I tried buy.com, bestbuy.com, amazon.com, walmart.com, and target.com. They were all out for a few days or weeks even. CC had them ready to ship, and I got a 25 dollar gift card. I am probably going to use that on a case when some good ones come out. But I did notice that the CC units were moving out quickly as I watched as stores that had them available for instore pick up vanished from the list of options. I just had one overnighted. Glad I got my Zune 80. I get to be smug for a couple of weeks :)

Well, I just got mine today. I ordered it next-day-air at circuitcity.com. I must say this is one classy and nice looking device. My co-worker saw it when the fedex guy came and was amazed. He said "Wow, now THAT is sexy. It makes the iPod look dated!" He is now trying to get one.

Cool. So, how will this compare to Microsoft's Online TV servise for WMC? Is the video quality going tro be HD, SD, DVD quality at least... I would love to see a mass HD IPTV rollout here in the US.

Actually, Sprint is about to get this phone in Q4. when it does, the touch interface will be revamped and the processor will be the 400 MHZ Qualcomm processor. It will also have twice the RAM and be 3G CDMA. So, the touch should run more smoothly when its released in the US.

bye bye HD-DVD your short-lived 15 minutes of fame is now OVER. Blu-Ray is a welcome and viable successor to DVD.

Marian,
I do not deny that the iPod is a nice mp3 player. It is my belief that the ZVM much better. I think the Zune and the ipod are almost on equal lengths with the Zune edging it out slightly. The iPod has a better user interface (clickwheel), more content through itunes, and games. The Zune has a better GUI (awsome menu system), offers more customization, has a radio and a bigger screen than the iPod.

I owned an iPod, but returned it because as an early adopter, I was frustrated with its video capabilities and all the video on my computer (about 15 Gigs worth) would have to be converted.

Lucky for me, the ZVM was released shortly after and all was good. I purchased a zune because I liked the design, awesome GUI, and screen. Its a work in progress so consider it mor of an investment. I don't refret buying a Zune. I knew exactly what I was getting myself into. I jus wish that Microsoft would grow a pair. Perhaps it could borrow one from Apple?

Creative's Zen Vision:M is the best mp3 player (with video) out there right now. This is coming from a current Zune owner. Yes, I sold my ZVM to purchase a Zune. And there are lots of times that I regret doing so (like when converting videos that I would have just had to drag and drop on my ZVM.). The GUI on the Zune is superior to that of the ZVM and thus I was won over. The UI on the ZVM is no less difficult to grasp than the iPod(yes, I owned one of them as well). Its the same concept. I will admit that the iPod is a tad easier, but I am not in 3rd grade and not mentally retarded (sorry, was that not PC?). Thus, I was easily able to figure out the controls on the ZVM when I first got one. It may be a little more dificult and bigger than the iPod, but that's the price you pay for more features (radio, radio recording, voice recording, 252k colors as opposed to the 64K on the ipod and Zune, more battery life with video, more format support, more user customization like user backgrounds and user EQ, photo zoom, video zoom and more.). and small increase in size is just a small price to pay.

Now, to this comment. I think Microsoft needs to get their shit together. They may very well have started out in the beginning with an "everything but the kitchen sink" design but got caught up in a tangled web trying to Kiss everyone's (The RIAA, Universal) ass. Come on Misrosoft!!! put more video codec support on your device, add support for 640 x 480 resolution, get rid of the 3x3 rule or at least make it 20x10 and no limit for subscribers, make it compatible with your own Windows Media Player, drop the price to $200, promote the hell out of it and tell the RIAA and Universal to Kiss your ass. You debuted your player a year after Creative and theirs is still superior. I think you slightly edged out the iPod with your design but you guys should flushed them down the toilet. Either you're serious about getting in the game or you're not. Decide now.

Ok, I am no fan of the RIAA. I hope XM kinks their A$$es. But, I do agree partially with the judge. Over the air "free" radio sucks. You don't even get the full song that they play because the radio DJ's talk during the beginning and the end of the new songs. It is my understanding that they do this intentionally, so that Over The Air recodings aren't nearly as good as the original store bought recordings. Add to that, you get some filtered and sensored versions of songs that have profanity in them (i. e. "I wanna 'LOVE' you"). Plus, FM quality radio pales in comparison the quality of Satellite radio, let alone store bought cassettes.

Also, you have to admit that digitally recorded music from a source as good as Satellite is easily more "distributable" (i.e P2P software, torrents, general digital copies) than the analog cassette recording devices that were mainstream back in 1992. Digital technology has allowed us to copy digital media like songs and video with NO LOSS IN QUALITY to other computers, storage devices and digital media players. So Bob can copy from me, John can copy from Bob, Keith can copy from John, Michael can copy from Keith and so on and so forth. This can go on and on hundreds of times from either source with absolutely NO loss in quality from the original source. Not to mention that it takes less than 3 seconds for a computer (mine anyway) or a storage device to copy a song. Analog recording devices such as Cassettes were incapable of these kinds of feats. So, you see, the judge has a point.

I do believe that the judge was out of line when he said that XM was trying to be a distributer. They are not. They are simply trying to provide their PAYING customers with the same benefits you get with OTA. I suppose its possible to record without their recording devices but it should be as easy as a touch of a button like it is with cassette recording OTA. If XM was smart they'd license their tech to third party companies and let them build satellite recording devices to use on their XM's network ala Apple's iPod (If they aren't already doing this.) They'd make a fortune from licensing fees.

The RIAA is dumb. the more they try to police this stuff, the more people are going to look for "other" (and not all that difficult) means to get their music and other media. They should be trying to work with ISP's, Satellite companies, mp3 and PMP manufactorers, internet music distributers and the like, intead of suing everybody. This makes everyone bitter, hateful, resentful, and defiant. The RIAA should try being more likable, then maybe people would be more willing to be more sympatheitic to their goals. They are going at it like the Greedy, glutonous, monsters that they are.