# What's wrong with Zunes? **URL:** \ **Category:** Cafe Society\ **Created:** [November 4, 2008, 7:55pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-wrong-with-zunes/471127 "2008-11-04T19:55:48Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![Frylock](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/ce7236/32.png) [@Frylock](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Frylock)\ **Post date:** [November 4, 2008, 7:55pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-wrong-with-zunes/471127/1 "2008-11-04T19:55:48Z")
I just found out that with a Zune, for fifteen dollars a month, you can play any song in their library, any time, as many times as you want. That seems awesome. But I have the impression people think of the zune as being in some way inferior to the ipod. Why is this? (Or is my impression of others’ opinions simply off for some reason?) Why get an ipod instead of a zune, given the feature I just mentioned? -FrL- ---
**Author:** ![shy\_guy](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/a6a055/32.png) [@shy\_guy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/shy_guy)\ **Post date:** [November 4, 2008, 8:05pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-wrong-with-zunes/471127/2 "2008-11-04T20:05:11Z")
Because when you _stop_ paying that $15 a month, you no longer have access to any of that music. Some people are fine with that. I prefer actually owning a music library, so buying CDs and albums off the iTunes store works better for me. In general, people like the ease of use of the iPod. Plugging it into my computer, dragging songs onto it, and using it couldn’t possibly be easier. I don’t think there’s really anything _wrong_ with Zunes, it’s just that almost nobody has any idea what they are and they’ll never escape the stigma of being off-brand iPods. ---
**Author:** ![SmackFu](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/53a042/32.png) [@SmackFu](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/SmackFu)\ **Post date:** [November 4, 2008, 8:08pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-wrong-with-zunes/471127/3 "2008-11-04T20:08:24Z")
When they were first released they had some issues. They only had hard-drive based ones, and they weren’t especially compelling. The original Zune software was pretty buggy. The Ars review of the Zune Flash covers it pretty well: > **[The agony and the ecstasy: a review of the Zune Flash](https://arstechnica.com/gadgets/2007/11/zune-redux/)** > > Microsoft has redesigned the new Zunes from scratch, rebuilt the software from … The third-gen one is supposed to be quite good too: > **[Redmond strikes back: a review of the new 3G Zune](https://arstechnica.com/gadgets/2008/09/microsoft-zune-review/)** > > The third-generation Zune lineup is here, and it turns out to be more of a … ---
**Author:** ![Sanity\_Challenged](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/9de053/32.png) [@Sanity\_Challenged](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sanity_Challenged)\ **Post date:** [November 4, 2008, 8:19pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-wrong-with-zunes/471127/4 "2008-11-04T20:19:32Z")
What’s wrong with Zune? Marketing. Apple is a marketing wizard. Microsoft…not so much. But the device is great. The software is great (now - it had some issues when I first got it, but they’ve all been fixed by updates). I took a good two weeks to choose my Zune over an iPod, and I’m still happy with that choice today. ---
**Author:** ![Yodalicious](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/yodalicious/32/8195_2.png) [@Yodalicious](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Yodalicious)\ **Post date:** [November 4, 2008, 8:40pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-wrong-with-zunes/471127/5 "2008-11-04T20:40:54Z")
I’ve asked Hannukah Harry for a 120 GB Zune for the holidays. ---
**Author:** ![Kinthalis](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/kinthalis/32/16084_2.png) [@Kinthalis](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Kinthalis)\ **Post date:** [November 4, 2008, 8:42pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-wrong-with-zunes/471127/6 "2008-11-04T20:42:20Z")
Right, it’s all about branding, and Apple is just better at it. The Zune is just as good as an iPod (only different), and some models are even better than ipods current offerings. ---
**Author:** ![tr0psn4j](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/958977/32.png) [@tr0psn4j](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/tr0psn4j)\ **Post date:** [November 5, 2008, 12:39am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-wrong-with-zunes/471127/7 "2008-11-05T00:39:55Z")
I’m a Zune owner. I’d recommend buying it too. I haven’t had anything go wrong with it and the user interface is simple enough. Plus there are a few hacks that for it if you’re interested in that kind of stuff. ---
**Author:** ![JSexton](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/96bed5/32.png) [@JSexton](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/JSexton)\ **Post date:** [November 5, 2008, 12:42am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-wrong-with-zunes/471127/8 "2008-11-05T00:42:58Z")
Which one is better for watching video? ---
**Author:** ![gazpacho](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/6f9a4e/32.png) [@gazpacho](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/gazpacho)\ **Post date:** [November 5, 2008, 12:56am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-wrong-with-zunes/471127/9 "2008-11-05T00:56:59Z")
I am curious about the squirting thing with Zunes. Do you find that you use it? It seems like a total gimmick to me. ---
**Author:** ![HeyHomie](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/heyhomie/32/207_2.png) [@HeyHomie](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/HeyHomie)\ **Post date:** [November 5, 2008, 2:58am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-wrong-with-zunes/471127/10 "2008-11-05T02:58:42Z")
I have a Zune and I have no real complaints. ---
**Author:** ![Jeff](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/e19b73/32.png) [@Jeff](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Jeff)\ **Post date:** [November 5, 2008, 3:04am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-wrong-with-zunes/471127/11 "2008-11-05T03:04:45Z")
Why would anyone in their right mind rent music? ---
**Author:** ![Hero\_From\_Sector\_7G](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/h/65b543/32.png) [@Hero\_From\_Sector\_7G](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Hero_From_Sector_7G)\ **Post date:** [November 5, 2008, 3:28am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-wrong-with-zunes/471127/12 "2008-11-05T03:28:55Z")
I have owned a Zune since launch and really like mine. The software was missing a few features initially, but now is great. In general, it plays much nicer with my PC than iTunes for windows. I did the $15 buck a month thing and loved it. I was cribbing playlists off [artofthemix.com](http://artofthemix.com) and adding them to my Zune all the time. If you don’t steal music it is a logical choice, as it costs roughly the same as one CD purchase, which is far more than most music lovers make in a month. ---
**Author:** ![Jeff](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/e19b73/32.png) [@Jeff](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Jeff)\ **Post date:** [November 5, 2008, 4:02am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-wrong-with-zunes/471127/13 "2008-11-05T04:02:02Z")
Can you burn the music to cd and listen to it in your car? On your computer? Or just on the Zune? ---
**Author:** ![dehacker](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/bbe5ce/32.png) [@dehacker](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/dehacker)\ **Post date:** [November 5, 2008, 7:19am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-wrong-with-zunes/471127/14 "2008-11-05T07:19:27Z")
> [@Jeff](#): > > Why would anyone in their right mind rent music? Why do we rent cars, houses, movies, storage space or computers? Because it makes sense in certain situations. For myself, it enables my entire family to fill an array of media players with hundreds of gigabytes of various styles of music, all for $15 a month (we use [rhapsody](http://www.rhapsody.com/home.html)). Believe me, that money is well spent, as I no longer find Kazaa and its kin on my home computers, and I don’t have nightmares anymore of the RIAA trying to extort millions of dollars from me. Teenage daughters have a strange way making you find practical solutions. ---
**Author:** ![cainxinth](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/7bcc69/32.png) [@cainxinth](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/cainxinth)\ **Post date:** [November 5, 2008, 7:50am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-wrong-with-zunes/471127/15 "2008-11-05T07:50:12Z")
Everywhere I go these days has an ipod dock. I’ve yet to stay at a hotel with a Zune charger. It’s just easier to use the defacto standard, and luckily it’s a pretty good product in this case. ---
**Author:** ![Dreamy\_B](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/f07891/32.png) [@Dreamy\_B](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Dreamy_B)\ **Post date:** [November 5, 2008, 1:04pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-wrong-with-zunes/471127/16 "2008-11-05T13:04:32Z")
Apple had pretty much saturated the market before the Zune was even released so Microsoft was fighting an uphill battle from the start. iPod has a huge amount of aftermarket accessories. I’d guess if you were looking into buying your first mp3 player and were looking at the shelf at Walmart that has the chargers/cases/etc for iPod and it’s 95% covered with iPod accessories and the rest of the shelf is for every other mp3 player, that may taint your decision. It’s not so much what’s wrong with Zune (I guess the new ones have the bugs worked out) it’s that it’s not an iPod. The kids aren’t asking the grandparents for a mp3 player, they’re asking for an iPod. ---
**Author:** ![MOIDALIZE](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/e274bd/32.png) [@MOIDALIZE](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/MOIDALIZE)\ **Post date:** [November 5, 2008, 2:13pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-wrong-with-zunes/471127/17 "2008-11-05T14:13:21Z")
Creative Zen Vision:M \> ---
**Author:** ![Critical1](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/3e96dc/32.png) [@Critical1](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Critical1)\ **Post date:** [November 5, 2008, 3:18pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-wrong-with-zunes/471127/18 "2008-11-05T15:18:28Z")
> [@shy\_guy](#): > > In general, people like the ease of use of the iPod. Plugging it into my computer, dragging songs onto it, and using it couldn’t possibly be easier. ??? when did that happen? last I checked you had to have Itunes to run an Ipod on a pc not that I really care all that much, I snagged a Sansa which is basically a flash drive with a built in player. but Itunes (and Quicktime) is one of those programs on my permanent list of shit I hate finding on someones pc because it NEVER SHUTS DOWN (the software that is) of the 3 most common run on start up but do nothing usefull 99% of the time other than slow down your computer its funny that 2 of those are friggin Mac programs. ---
**Author:** ![E-Sabbath](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/e19adc/32.png) [@E-Sabbath](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/E-Sabbath)\ **Post date:** [November 5, 2008, 4:15pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-wrong-with-zunes/471127/19 "2008-11-05T16:15:11Z")
I use WinAmp for my iPod, actually. Works just fine! ---
**Author:** ![Jeff](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/e19b73/32.png) [@Jeff](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Jeff)\ **Post date:** [November 5, 2008, 4:52pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-wrong-with-zunes/471127/20 "2008-11-05T16:52:57Z")
> [@Critical1](#): > > ??? > > when did that happen? last I checked you had to have Itunes to run an Ipod on a pc > > not that I really care all that much, I snagged a Sansa which is basically a flash drive with a built in player. but Itunes (and Quicktime) is one of those programs on my permanent list of shit I hate finding on someones pc because it NEVER SHUTS DOWN (the software that is) of the 3 most common run on start up but do nothing usefull 99% of the time other than slow down your computer its funny that 2 of those are friggin Mac programs. Blah blah blah. Wonderful. Also irrelevant. You don’t need iTunes to use your ipod. [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-wrong-with-zunes/471127.md?page=2)