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Review roundup: Pogue and Mossberg on the Zune experience
After having already seen photo galleries, video walkthroughs, and endless spec sheets focused on Microsoft's upcoming Zune player, there's no real need to hear Walt Mossberg's and David Pogue's take on the attempted iPod-assassin -- but we'd be lying if we said that we had absolutely no interest in learning the opinions of two of the day's most influential tech journalists with regard to one of the most hyped consumer electronics products of the year. In their thorough write-ups, both Pogue and Mossberg tell us what we pretty much already knew about the device, and which can best be summed up by this variation on a famous political retort: "Mr. Ballmer, I served with the iPod; I knew the iPod; the iPod was a friend of mine. Mr. Ballmer, your Zune is no iPod." Specifically, each of these esteemed reviewers found the Zune lacking in terms of portability ("The Zune looks big and blocky, sort of like a prototype for a gadget, rather than a finished product," said Mossberg), battery life (less than the iPod's, or even Microsoft's own claims), and content selection (there are currently no movies, TV shows, or podcasts available on the Zune Marketplace, although a last-minute deal with Universal does bulk up the offerings somewhat). Furthermore, Zune's one potential "iPod-killing" feature -- music sharing over WiFi -- is judged to be a complete dud; instead of truly helping the consumer discover new music, Pogue opines that "you can't shake the feeling that it's all just a big plug for Microsoft's music store." Mossberg goes on to knock the Marketplace's point system -- you can only buy points in $5 blocks -- and both gentlemen lament the dearth of accessories and the perceived "screw you" to all parties who have already invested in the PlaysForSure microcosm. So, is there nothing positive to say about the ol' Zune? Of course not: the device gets high marks for its smooth syncing, polished GUI, intuitive navigation, ability to dock with an Xbox 360, and solid build quality. The problem is, these niceties don't outweigh the missing or frustrating features -- so although it may be a decent player on its own merits, it falls far short in the inevitable comparisons to Apple's darling. Still, we're reminded once again that this is only the first generation of Microsoft's entry into portable audio hardware, and like so many other products from Redmond, it promises to only get better with time.Read- PogueRead- Mossberg
Uncle Walt still likes iPods, and iTunes too
Walt Mossberg, the king of tech journalists, offers up his review of Apple's latest iterations of the iPod and iTunes. Walt was impressed with the evolution of the iPod, along with the cut in price, and the redesign of the Shuffle, however, he thinks that the real action is happening in iTunes 7. It seems Walt really likes Coverflow, a feature that does very little for me but it is kinda cool the first time you see it. Walt likens it to browsing LPs in yesterdays (LPs, for our younger readers, were like big CDs that you played on a turntable).Overall, Walt gives iTunes and the iPod a thumbs up.
Holy crap, Mossberg reviews toilet seat
It's a rare occurrence when we're more interested in a product's reviewer than the product itself, but when esteemed and influential tech journalist Walt Mossberg dropped his pants to get the scoop on a high-tech toilet seat, well, we knew there was some fun to be had. Unkie Walt (as he's affectionately known around here) and his trusty sidekick Katie decided to throw modesty to the wind and have Brondell's $800 Swash 800 electronic toilet seats installed in their respective homes; since the main draws of this product are its twin bidet-like spray wands (one for him and two for her), we couldn't help but picture the distinguished Mr. Mossberg enjoying the morning's Wall Street Journal while having his nether regions blasted with SuperSoaker-like jets of water -- a simultaneously amusing and disturbing image. The Swash 800 also features a heated seat and air drying feature that supposedly eliminates the need for toilet paper, but both Walt and Katie found that it was inefficient for completely, um, cleansing themselves after answering nature's call. Another downside to this model is that you need to hook it up to an electrical outlet, so unless you already have one conveniently placed behind the toilet (for your iPod dock / toilet paper dispenser, perhaps), you'll either have to get one installed or run an unsightly extension cord to the closest socket. In the end, toilets come across a lot like Mossberg himself: the old-fashioned ones just seem to do the job better.[Via Slashdot]
Uncle Walt says run to get an iPod + Nike Sport Kit
Walt Mossberg, the elder statesman of tech journalism, continues the good press for the iPod + Nike Sport Kit. He, and Katherine Boehret, both gave the gizmo a whirl during their normal running/walking routines and felt their workouts transformed from solitary drudgery to running with a training (a disembodied trainer, but a trainer nonetheless).They both wish it included a heart monitor, and that it was a little easier to use it with non-Nike shoes, but give it high marks for doing what it is billed to do.
Stringer: The Xbox 360 is an "obsession"
Well, you know what they say about what to do when you have nothing nice to say ... erm, say that the competing gaming platform (in this case, the 360) is an "obsession"?That's exactly what Sony CEO Howard Stringer had to offer in an interview with Walt Mossberg of The Wall Street Journal recently. While sharing how The Da Vinci Code from Sony beat up on "X-Men 3" (aka The Last Stand) over in Europe, he seemed to mistakenly throw in "Xbox 3" in the stead of Fox's great summer blockbuster hope. Following Mossberg's correction, Stringer is reported to have retorted, laughing, "There's an obsession!"We don't know if he's referring to the media's obsession with the corporate gaming rivalry, his own obsession with the console that would dethrone the PlayStation, or some combination of the two (irony really doesn't help here), but he does seem to at least outwardly admire Bill Gates' salesmanship (as well as his hypocrisy in delaying Windows Vista while lambasting the PS3 delay). Of course, a lot of supposed compliments could go both ways, so we've provided a few handy links below to check out what other "nice" things hardware execs have had to say about their competitors lately. We're sure it's all in good fun.[Thanks, JC & SickNic; also via GameDaily BIZ]See also: Nice words -- "Thanks," "flattered," and "flattering." Not-so-nice words -- "Plagiarism," "no need for PC," "not mainstream for most games," and "same old experiences with new graphics."
Uncle Walt says Apple is working on an iPhone
Walt Mossberg, Uncle Walt to me, is the top tech journalist without a doubt. When he says something in his Wall Street Journal column people pay attention. Contrast that with the fact that when I say something on TUAW I am often mocked until I cry.Now, Walt's most recent column is all about how Apple's model of controlling the device from end to end is the way to go. Not too newsworthy, in and of itself, however, that's not the bit that has the Mac web all aflutter. Here's the juicy bit, 'Now, Apple is working on other projects built on the same end-to-end model as the iPod: a media-playing cellphone and a home-media hub.'OMG! WALT JUST SPILLED THE BEANS! iPHONE! iPHONE!Everyone just calm down. Take a deep breath. Ok, good. Now, I don't know if Walt has some inside information (he probably does), but I can assure you that it doesn't take insider knowledge to figure out that Apple is working on an iPhone and a media hub. The real question is: will it ever be released? Apple works on all kinds of nifty gear in their R&D labs, many of which never see the light of day.With all that said, wouldn't an Apple cellphone be pretty cool?Thanks, Brendan.
Sony's ICF-B01 emergency radio with hand crank
Thanks to Walt Mossberg, we know how important it is to keep a crank-powered radio around the house, and now Sony has joined the likes of Eton and Freeplay in offering one of these necessities to its Japanese customers. The ICF-B01 isn't as full-featured as some of the models we've seen -- for instance, it doesn't seem to charge your cellphone -- but it does manage to pack in an LED flashlight to help you change stations while you're trapped in the dark. We're not sure how much loot Sony wants for this radio, but if it's more than $30, you're probably better off stocking up on batteries for your old Walkman.
Video of 2 of Apple's new ads
.Mac user brianbobcat1 has posted two of Apple's new ads to his .Mac account for us all to enjoy.The first I shall call 'Don't be a hero' is the one that Dan saw earlier. The second, which I shall call 'Awesome computer review weekly,' features the same two actors discussing Walt Mossberg's review of the new iMac (believe me it is more entertaining than my description).Go have a look, if you can't wait until Apple posts them.UPDATE: Well, that was fast! brainbobcat1 is over his bandwidth limit (sorry!), so here's a link to Don't be a hero on YouTube. And here's the other one on YouTube.
