# Is Microsoft's "Zune" dead? **URL:** \ **Category:** Cafe Society\ **Created:** [February 23, 2007, 4:10am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-microsofts-zune-dead/393336 "2007-02-23T04:10:48Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 16\ **Page:** 2
**Author:** ![corkboard](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/e9bcb4/32.png) [@corkboard](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/corkboard)\ **Post date:** [February 23, 2007, 9:36pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-microsofts-zune-dead/393336/21 "2007-02-23T21:36:10Z")
The closest thing I’ve seen to the white whale that is the “iPod killer” is the Toshiba Gigabeat. Plays all PlaysForSure media, big hard drive, easy to navigate, cheaper than the iPod… If I didn’t already have an iPod I might get one. ---
**Author:** ![Finagle](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/b19c9b/32.png) [@Finagle](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Finagle)\ **Post date:** [February 23, 2007, 9:52pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-microsofts-zune-dead/393336/22 "2007-02-23T21:52:58Z")
I’d guess that if Microsoft is willing to absorb some initial financial pounding, the Zune will eventually become moderately competitive in the market. Apple certainly staked themselves out a wide territory, but they haven’t done a lot towards increasing the functionality of their product in a long time. The iPod still has no FM transmitter, the reviews of the remote control on the Apple Store web page are pretty scathing, and the software is looking a bit dated (how come I can’t delete a song from my iPod without hooking it up to my computer?) Now it’s quite possible (even likely) that Apple is about to release the widescreen iPod with the touch screen (iPhone - the phone). But there’s at least a window of opportunity for Microsoft. But they haven’t \* yet \* done anything that’s truly compelling feature-wise or cost-wise. That said – on the Amazon “most popular list”, the first Zune appears at number 15, below 10 models and colors of iPods. ---
**Author:** ![St\_Ides](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/ccd318/32.png) [@St\_Ides](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/St_Ides)\ **Post date:** [February 23, 2007, 9:59pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-microsofts-zune-dead/393336/23 "2007-02-23T21:59:19Z")
[QUOTE=RickJay] It’s been out for what, six months? I’ve NEVER seen one. Not a single one. I am not acquainted with a single person who owns one. I was in Best Buy last week and they had oodles and scads of shit for your iPod, but I didn’t notice any Zune stuff. Is it pretty much dead and buried or what? What are its sales numbers? Does it have a future? [/QUOTE] I have a friend who was on a quest to locate a Zune. Couldn’t find one anywhere. Then I said “hey, maybe they haven’t released it in Canada” and he was like “yeah” So I was like “hey let’s look it up” and he was all like “yeah” So I looked it up. Turns out it wasn’t released here… and there are no plans to do so, so it’s no surprise you haven’t seen one. So I told him “dude, it’s not out in Canada” and he was like “oh, damn.” True story. ---
**Author:** ![Morbo](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/morbo/32/389_2.png) [@Morbo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Morbo)\ **Post date:** [February 23, 2007, 10:00pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-microsofts-zune-dead/393336/24 "2007-02-23T22:00:34Z")
[QUOTE=Slacker] **Dooku** , why bother posting if you can’t say anything? Your messages about how you can’t post aren’t particularly compelling reading. [/QUOTE] Oh, I know. I just didn’t want everyone to think I bailed on the thread. But, I **can’t** talk about it. Trust me. As long as I’m here, let me just say to MS that I apologize unreservedly. I offer a complete and utter retraction. The imputation was totally without basis in fact, and was in no way fair comment, and was motivated purely by malice, and I deeply regret any distress that my comments may have caused you, or your shareholders, and I hereby undertake not to repeat any such slander at any time in the future. ---
**Author:** ![Stranger\_On\_A\_Train](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/13edae/32.png) [@Stranger\_On\_A\_Train](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Stranger_On_A_Train)\ **Post date:** [February 23, 2007, 10:14pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-microsofts-zune-dead/393336/25 "2007-02-23T22:14:06Z")
[QUOTE=St\_Ides] I have a friend who was on a quest to locate a Zune. Couldn’t find one anywhere. Then I said “hey, maybe they haven’t released it in Canada” and he was like “yeah” So I was like “hey let’s look it up” and he was all like “yeah” So I looked it up. Turns out it wasn’t released here… and there are no plans to do so, so it’s no surprise you haven’t seen one. So I told him “dude, it’s not out in Canada” and he was like “oh, damn.” True story. [/QUOTE] That would make a perfect Apple Switch ad. Stranger ---
**Author:** ![Thirty-Nine](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/f0a364/32.png) [@Thirty-Nine](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Thirty-Nine)\ **Post date:** [February 23, 2007, 11:37pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-microsofts-zune-dead/393336/26 "2007-02-23T23:37:02Z")
The Trekstor Vibez could be an iPod killer, if only they’d make one with a bigger hard drive and a better name. ---
**Author:** ![scotandrsn](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/a4c791/32.png) [@scotandrsn](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/scotandrsn)\ **Post date:** [February 23, 2007, 11:54pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-microsofts-zune-dead/393336/27 "2007-02-23T23:54:31Z")
Oh my God! **Dooku** ’s posts are showing up under the name **Morbo** , now! Microsoft’s erased him for saying too much!!! :eek: ---
**Author:** ![Morbo](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/morbo/32/389_2.png) [@Morbo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Morbo)\ **Post date:** [February 24, 2007, 12:01am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-microsofts-zune-dead/393336/28 "2007-02-24T00:01:20Z")
[QUOTE=scotandrsn] Oh my God! **Dooku** ’s posts are showing up under the name **Morbo** , now! Microsoft’s erased him for saying too much!!! :eek: [/QUOTE] Long uninteresting story, but you get the drift. My old name was tired anyway. ---
**Author:** ![Mister\_Rik](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/mister_rik/32/491_2.png) [@Mister\_Rik](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mister_Rik)\ **Post date:** [February 24, 2007, 1:19am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-microsofts-zune-dead/393336/29 "2007-02-24T01:19:50Z")
[QUOTE=jayjay] [Penny Arcade](http://www.penny-arcade.com/comic/2007/01/03) has an opinion… [/QUOTE] So does AppleGeeks. ---
**Author:** ![RickJay](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/bb73d2/32.png) [@RickJay](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/RickJay)\ **Post date:** [February 24, 2007, 2:36am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-microsofts-zune-dead/393336/30 "2007-02-24T02:36:21Z")
[QUOTE=Morbo] Oh, I know. I just didn’t want everyone to think I bailed on the thread. But, I **can’t** talk about it. Trust me. As long as I’m here, let me just say to MS that I apologize unreservedly. I offer a complete and utter retraction. The imputation was totally without basis in fact, and was in no way fair comment, and was motivated purely by malice, and I deeply regret any distress that my comments may have caused you, or your shareholders, and I hereby undertake not to repeat any such slander at any time in the future. [/QUOTE] Do you actually have anything useful to add to my thread, or not? As to the released-in-Canada bit, I actually did know that; the thing is, I spend more than half my working time in the States. _And I don’t see any Zunes there either._ Frankly, it’s probably not a very good sign that it ISN’T released in Canada yet. Almost everything techie is released in both countries at the same time. ---
**Author:** ![Sunspace](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/sunspace/32/1250_2.png) [@Sunspace](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sunspace)\ **Post date:** [February 24, 2007, 3:41am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-microsofts-zune-dead/393336/31 "2007-02-24T03:41:50Z")
[QUOTE=RickJay] Frankly, it’s probably not a very good sign that it ISN’T released in Canada yet. Almost everything techie is released in both countries at the same time. [/QUOTE] Except the iPhone. ---
**Author:** ![elfkin477](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/a9a28c/32.png) [@elfkin477](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/elfkin477)\ **Post date:** [February 25, 2007, 5:46pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-microsofts-zune-dead/393336/32 "2007-02-25T17:46:09Z")
**Rickjay** , ccording to Amazon, they weren’t released until November 14th. They’re in stores all over this area (central NH), and I already know someone who loves theirs. [Here’s an article](http://www.zunecanada.com/content/view/24/2/) about why Zune hasn’t been released in Canada yet. ---
**Author:** ![Tuckerfan](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/eada6e/32.png) [@Tuckerfan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Tuckerfan)\ **Post date:** [February 25, 2007, 6:52pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-microsofts-zune-dead/393336/33 "2007-02-25T18:52:16Z")
Just wait until the [Zune phone is released.](http://crunchgear.com/2007/02/01/source-microsoft-zune-phone-in-the-works/) > [@](#): > > We’ve just received a sound tip that Microsoft is working on its very own phone to be branded under the Zune moniker. Our tipsters inform us that Microsoft execs are in meetings today hammering out details of the device and developing strategies and timescales for its release. I can hardly wait. ---
**Author:** ![Stranger\_On\_A\_Train](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/13edae/32.png) [@Stranger\_On\_A\_Train](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Stranger_On_A_Train)\ **Post date:** [February 25, 2007, 6:58pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-microsofts-zune-dead/393336/34 "2007-02-25T18:58:33Z")
[QUOTE=Tuckerfan] Just wait until the [Zune phone is released.](http://crunchgear.com/2007/02/01/source-microsoft-zune-phone-in-the-works/) > [@](#): > > We’ve just received a sound tip that Microsoft is working on its very own phone to be branded under the Zune moniker. Our tipsters inform us that Microsoft execs are in meetings today hammering out details of the device and developing strategies and timescales for its release. I can hardly wait. [/QUOTE] When it crashes, does it make The Blue Noise of Death? Stranger ---
**Author:** ![Steve\_MB](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/steve_mb/32/5339_2.png) [@Steve\_MB](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Steve_MB)\ **Post date:** [February 25, 2007, 9:51pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-microsofts-zune-dead/393336/35 "2007-02-25T21:51:35Z")
[QUOTE=Count Blucher] If a company was looking to make a lot of money, they’d come out with an 80 gig MP3 car stereo which will upload songs from any generic MP3 player. Docking stations in the dash are silly, cable interfaces mean your player is constantly falling off the passenger seat, and FM transmitters are hit & miss at best. [/QUOTE] Getting the software to work with a range of players could be dicey. It might be more practical to integrate it with a CD player so it could rip audio and/or MP3 CDs. ---
**Author:** ![Tuckerfan](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/eada6e/32.png) [@Tuckerfan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Tuckerfan)\ **Post date:** [February 26, 2007, 12:35am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-microsofts-zune-dead/393336/36 "2007-02-26T00:35:16Z")
[QUOTE=Stranger On A Train] When it crashes, does it make The Blue Noise of Death? Stranger [/QUOTE] Well, it’s _not_ going to running Windows CE, so I’d say crashing won’t be a problem! 😉 [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-microsofts-zune-dead/393336.md?page=1)