Glad I didn’t fall for Windows hand-held junk again. I learned my expensive lesson with the Dell Axim and whatever crappy, crash-prone Windows software was on that.
No idea why you have the Axim hate, I think it’s amazing. I still use my x51v on a regular basis, though more for reading, but also for general PIM stuff as well as I can sync it at work without having to get IT to jump through hoops.
I don’t use a lot of weird and crazy apps though so it never crashes on me. I think in the 5 years I’ve had my x51v I’ve had to hit the reset button less than a dozen times, and that was generally only when I was playing around with beta roms that aren’t officially supported.
I find it odd that ZunePass didn’t dig (or hasn’t dug) iTunes’ grave, but I don’t collect anything & so don’t really grok the need to own copies of songs/DVDs/whatever.
I don’t think we’re close to that attitude catching on big time mainstream, but even if it did, there are similar streaming subscriptions available for the Apple (and Android) devices these days anyway.
The problem with the ZunePass, and their marketplace in general is that it was only available in the US until recently, and even then it’s still missing some key market places and has limitations in the new areas it’s expanded to.
I’m really surprised at how poorly Microsoft has been rolling out the marketplace. From a music perspective it’s been total garbage outside of the US, and not even sure what it’s like in the US.
I really liked the Zune pass along with the marketplace, made it really easy to go dig up an artist I may have heard on KEXP that I wanted to hear more from. It was way more useful to me than iTunes (but then, like jeffd I’m ex-Microsoft, so my opinion should probably be taken with a grain of salt). Really sorry to hear the hardware is going away, I’ve got a 64GB Zune HD that I take everywhere.
I think we totally are. Look how popular Netflix is. The main reason more people don’t do streaming music is because it hasn’t been functional enough – if you can’t stream it to your stereo, can’t listen in your car, etc., then who cares if you can get all the music in the world on your MP3 player.
That plus marketing. Rhapsody just doesn’t have much name recognition, and Microsoft can’t market for shit. But if Apple ever introduces a subscription plan, I expect nobody to ever buy music again.
The ZunePass isn’t streaming though, it is just a DRM system. It reminds me of the old Napster days - just download whatever the hell you want. Plus now you get ten DRM-less downloads a month, so you can build a permanent collection slowly but surely. With five of us sharing two accounts, it has saved me thousands of dollars & let me explore many new artists I would have passed up at 99 cents a track.
And I don’t work for MS. :)
Actually, the Zune Pass is streaming if you either have a Windows Phone 7 device, or use the zune.net web site.
Also, if you do a Bing search for a song, you can usually play the entire song for free, but just once. If you have a Zune Pass though, you can play it an unlimited number of times.
Clarification since it seems people are confused: The Zune Pass allows for both streaming and downloading. I’ve got a huge collection of Zune Pass music - at least 40 gigabytes. Honestly it’s the only thing that’s enabled me to (drastically) expand my musical horizons over the past three years; without Zune Pass there is no way I’d have taken a chance and bought some of the tracks that I really love today. Zune Pass + Smart DJ is basically a Pandora equivalent; I can point it an an artist I like and send it out onto the service to find me similar tracks that I don’t yet possess.
I am fed up with the lousiness of iTunes and would happily buy a Zune if I didn’t think they were abandoning it. As other people have mentioned, I think the Zune could have really worked if they had committed to it and gotten the marketing and distribution right. I wish Microsoft would learn how to stop shooting themselves in the foot… seems unlikely though.
commodity hardware wasn’t a market that it makes sense for Microsoft to be in…
You could have said that about Apple back when they launched the iPod!
Really, I would happily buy any good audio player that just lets me copy music files onto the device, rather than suffering some 6-hour-long process.
MS put the final nail in the coffin today with the quiet announcement that Zune players are no longer being produced.
Of course the actual decision was made about eighteen months ago; I’m sort of shocked it took them this long to shut down manufacturing.
They just changed Zunepass terms for new subscribers as well; 10$/month for the pass, but not song credits. Older users are grandfathered in on the old terms of 15$/month with 10 song credits. Like the unlimited AT&T accounts, once you let the old plan go, there is no going back.
Listening to music on my Zune right now. I got it exactly 4 years ago today. Still love it.
The song credit thing must not have panned out; I’m sure the labels made them pay for it. I know I usually forgot to get my free ten songs, and I freakin worked there!
The song credit thing drew me in; that it didn’t accrue but expire every month rather sucked, esp for a casual music user like myself, who also let them expire with frequent regularity. The other issues is that more often than not you’ll have to spend more to complete an album.
OTOH, i used it to get songs for the iPhone, and listen to all sorts of music at work. I might get a Windows phone next time…
Yeah, I love my Zune HD. I’ll cry if it breaks and I can’t get it replaced under warranty.
I’m annoyed by the recent confirmation of halting production. I had had my hope renewed last week when I was on a United Airlines flight and saw a Zune commercial! On the other hand, it was accompanying the first “Queen of Jordan” episode of 30 Rock, and there wasn’t anything else indicating the tape was recent, so maybe it was just a reused tape? If MS intentionally is advertising the Zune NOW, that’s criminal.
I’m really surprised at how poorly Microsoft has been rolling out the marketplace. From a music perspective it’s been total garbage outside of the US, and not even sure what it’s like in the US.
It’s a joke in the UK. They rebranded the Xbox video marketplace as the Zune marketplace despite the fact that they don’t even sell the Zune here, and they removed a whole bunch of videos at the same time. Great branding and service, MS! There are about 10 decent films on the store now, all of which I’ve got on DVD already. The only film I watched from the store in the last year was the new Star Trek film. Even Lovefilm’s streaming selection is better.
I actually bought a backup Zune HD last week after the announcement, because it’s invaluable at the gym. BestBuy.com has refurb 16GB units for $99 and 32GB for $139.
GY, bummer the UK selection’s not good. It’s surprisingly rich in the US. Since I cancelled our satellite, we use Zune to fill in the TV shows that we used to get on non-broadcast channels, like Dr. Who and Mythbusters. The great thing is that along with watching them on the 360, I can transfer them to my Zune HD to watch at the gym. (Thus my desire to get them as backup; I’d have to get them from iTunes to watch them on my ancient iPod Touch at the gym, and the 360’s a much better solution for watching on the big screen.)