Microsoft this week dropped the price of its Zune HD personal media player, improving the device's pricing edge over the Apple iPod touch. The 16GB version of the Zune HD, which previously retailed for $229, now costs $199. And the 32GB version dropped from $299 to $269.
By comparison, Apple sells an 8GB version of the iPod touch, using dated technology, for $199. A 32GB version that features modern underpinnings costs $299, or $30 more than the comparable Zune HD.
Granted, Apple's products have some built-in advantages, not the least of which is compatibility with the applications available from the voluminous iTunes App Store. Zune HD, by comparison, only offers a small handful of free apps.
But the Zune HD is a better music player than the iPod, and offers a superior OLED screen, as well as other unique features, including HD Radio and HD video-out. So far, it hasn't made a dent in the market. While the iPod touch continues to be the best-selling MP3 player, the Zune HD is an also-ran.
Contributing to this issue is the fact that the Zune HD is currently only available in the United States. And while a recent Zune PC software update revealed new support for Italy and Germany, that refers only to the PC software and doesn't suggest that Microsoft will soon sell its Zune HD devices internationally. The company has refused to discuss non-US access to the Zune HD
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Chuckb84 is probably right.
Zune Phone is likely to be almost identical to Zune HD, but with phone capabilities. Probably also will be a consumer oriented release followed by business version at a later date.
Of course, that's just a guess.
I bought the Zune HD because Microsoft claimed that they would have a decent app store. I sold it for the same reason.
@ roteague
"It will be my third Zune."
Nice. So you and Paul are the entire Zune marketshare :)
Can we now have a statement about you declaring the iPod having to support WMA or die (made shortly after the iPod was introduced) because the MS business model is sooooo much better and WMA "superior" (especially the DRM part)?
Reading your constant nonsense about beeing a better product than is boring especially since you are most of the time far away from the truth.
Alas, writing boring ads - the fate of a shill ..
Yes, I've heard that the OLED screens are only good indoors and are horrible in bright light. The reason that LCD screens do better is that they are "transreflective" displays. That is, they both transmit light (i.e., can utilize backlighting) and they can reflect ambient light including direct sunlight. So the LCD display on your wristwatch is easy to read even in direct sunlight. In contrast, an OLED display relies entirely on light emitted by the display, which gets overpowered by direct sunlight.
As for the Zune HD's "advantages" of HD radio and HD video out, I agree with smiddlehurst. A few geeks might buy Zune HD's for those things, but the vast majority of people couldn't care less about HD radio and HD video out. I'm amazed that the people at Microsoft would think that these features would be major selling points. But then again, these are the same people who thought that the color brown would become cool and hip, and that "squirting" would develop into a major fad.
@lotsa:
From Paul's mailbag, December 26th -- someone asked him why the Zunes weren't listed on the "What I Use" page. Paul's response:
"Part of [the reason] is here . The rest involves closed captioning support. Apple supports it, Microsoft does not. My son, who is deaf, needs it."
If you go to the link in Paul's response, you'll note that he lays out the dilemma in quite a bit of detail.
Meh. I think they're just clearing out inventory.
The only thing possibly interesting here is that, if it is channel clearing, then is there a new Zune coming soon?
Great, I'm getting ready to buy one ... It will be my third Zune.
Another story about Microsoft and Paul the Nutjob feels the need, once again, to try to sneak in a few punts about Apple, this time its technology.
It's the same technology Micro$oft has been copying for over five years now and still hasn't been able to implement it well.
The zune is a piece of crap machine with a display that only works indoors and you're left to wonder what the UI means with 'Marketplac', which is a blunder of the highest level.
Microsoft doesn't innovate, it copies. And it can't even do that.
THE ZUNE DOES NOT SELL!
Paul Thurrott: "the Zune HD is a better music player than the iPod"
Paul Thurrott: "I have three iPods that see regular use. Among them are a late 2009 iPod touch with 32 GB of storage, a late 2009 green iPod nano with 8 GB of storage, and an older 30 GB iPod, which I use in my car, a Volkswagen New Beetle, connected via an iPod-friendly Alpine stereo. I primarily use the iPods on trips and at the gym."
If the Zune is so damn superior, why doesn't Paulie list it on his "What I Use" page? And exactly how is the Zune a "better music player"? What is it about the Zune that makes it play music better than an iPod?
Umm, OLED screens are TERRIBLE outdoors. A friend of mine imported a Zune HD to the UK and let me play with it just before Christmas, it was unusable the instant we had it in daylight. HD Radio and HD Video Out just aren't features that appeal to any but the geeky and, frankly, the vast majority of users only really care about sound quality to the point that it's good enough.
Hardly surprising that the Zune HD has flopped to be honest, it just doesn't have anything special about it. It's a me-too product which duplicates the iPod Touch, adds a few features that don't really mean much to normal users and drops the huge benefits of the iPod ecosystem and the app store.
