It’s Too Zune to Say

04 Dec It’s Too Zune to Say

Who wants a Zune? I mean, really? Who is this product targeting?

You’re an iPod user, through and through: Well, Mr. Gates just relented on the “iPod Killer” moniker, stating that the Zune has more modest goals. Besides, if you’re an iPod user, you can kiss goodbye all of your iTunes-purchased tracks and videos. FairPlay doesn’t play fair with the Zune. ADHEREL

You’re a Microsoft music consumer: Sorry again. PlaysForSure plays not at all on the Zune. You have to purchase your tracks from the Zune Marketplace now. Sorry, Rhapsody and Napster users.
You just want portable video, and the iPod’s screen is too small: Well, if you are that savvy about portable video, you probably already know that Apple is rumored to have a full screen video iPod in the works. As well, you probably already know about the alternatives.

You have a friend that is recommending the Zune: Well, your friend probably already has a Zune and wants someone with which to share music wirelessly. Good luck. The Zune adds DRM (Digital Rights Management) to any shared track, whether you own that track yourself or not. That’s bad news across the board. Say, for instance, that your friend is in a band and has created some MP3 tracks of his group’s music. He can transfer those to you wirelessly, which then gives you 3 days or 3 plays, whichever comes first, to see if you would like to mark the tracks for purchase. Then you get home, and the tracks cannot be purchased because they are not available on the Zune Marketplace. What a crock! Microsoft just told your friend how he can use his own intellectual property.

The Zune itself is solid, albeit larger and heavier than the video iPod. The interface is clean and intuitive and easy-to-use while remaining responsive. But the accompanying software is clunky. The Zune doesn’t even sync up with Windows Media Player!

So, here’s the deal: if you don’t have any DRM’ed music purchased online and if you want video, and 30GB isn’t too small a unit, and you can’t wait for Apple’s fullscreen Video iPod, then by all means, go get yourself a Zune.

As for me, I’m sticking with my Archos 504.