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>I never understood why the Zune never succeeded. It was a great little player. I think it was primarily due to three things: (1) it didn't get released until
by stevenj 9y ago
>I never understood why the Zune never succeeded. It was a great little player.
I think it was primarily due to three things: (1) it didn't get released until 5 years after the iPod; (2) while many people loathe iTunes it was widely used and liked by everyday people, and it was introduced 8.5 months before the iPod released; (3) Microsoft wasn't viewed as a "cool" consumer brand.
- Kipters 9y agoAnother big issue is that it was only available in USA and Canada, I had to get mine on ebay, shipping from US
- soylentcola 9y agoEven when they were still new and roughly equivalent (arguably better in some ways, worse in others), the narrative seemed to be that Zunes were just wannabe iPods. They were the punchline to several late night TV jokes. Basically, the market (or at least the marketers) decided that they were the uncool poseur in the room so whatever potential they had was undermined by public perception if nothing else. I also had one after only using cheaper Sansa Clip type mp3 players prior to that. I believe it was on sale and was a more affordable alternative to an iPod when I wanted to try something that could hold a lot of music, do podcasts, had an FM radio, and essentially avoid iTunes (which I'd tried and disliked). Sadly, it was stolen after a few months and I gave up on the idea. I still have an old Sansa Clip in a drawer somewhere for occasional use. Otherwise, even back in the Zune days I often just streamed Shoutcast stations on my old Treos and PPCs before moving on to more modern smartphones which are more likely to be used now. I load up a USB stick to keep connected in the car for specific things I want to listen to. Otherwise it's just Youtube Music or (still) streaming Shoutcast stations.