Or is it Zoo-nay?

I'm not about to buy a Zune or an iPhone. I'm fine with my b&w display, 3rd-gen (or something) ipod that I got for free a couple years ago.

I will say that I've looked into the Creative Zen players, and they seem pretty cool. Much cheaper than either of these guys, and they seem to have everything they do plus an FM tuner and a recording input and/or microphone. You can even record vinyl directly into your damn MP3 player, magically split into songs! At under $100, that is tempting.

i know. like, with my iPod i can share...oh wait, no i can't. but at least songs i download from iTunes can work on another player... oh, wait.

how many folks got their iPhones disabled by apple for daring to try to switch their service from the NSAT&T?

the zoon is nothing new or innovative. i'll not be rushing out to buy a new one anytime...ever, i should think.

but is anyone gonna start giving apple a little bit of a harder time for their monopolistic all-us-or-nothing approach to business anytime soon?

pots and kettles, all.

The ipod and iphone work. Unlike my Windows Mobile PDA, which is constantly turning off the Bluetooth function on it's own for no reason, or just freezing up completely, or freezing up my PC when I try to sync it with Windows Media Player. I'm not a huge Apple fan, but they do digital music much better than Microsoft.

I lerv my iPod just fine, but it'd be nice to see some competition push Apple into some improvement.

iTunes is easily the worst application I use on any regular basis, and the proprietary .m4u file type is bullshit.

My iPhone-owning boss says: "iPhone doesn't sync wirelessly, what're you talking about?"

The headline to this post echoes my reaction to the picture when I saw it in the P-I - why have these two total nerds as the spokesmodels?

Couldn't they at least get Randy Quaid? I hear he's available.

@6 har har! good one!

@5 I think what i meant was download music from iTunes. which Zune can't do, even from it's windows media site. But i think the iPhone can. correct kate's boss?

sorry i don't have the dosh for one yet, so i'm not sure how that works.

the article says:

Zune's wireless capabilities will expand to let people synchronize content from a PC over a home network, as an alternative to plugging in. Microsoft says it envisions people synching their Zunes from the kitchen or even from the car in the garage, if the home network reaches. But Zune isn't enabling over-the-air music downloads, as does Apple in the iPod Touch and iPhone.

sorry. kate's boss, my bad. that does sound pretty cool, wish apple would get on that.....

One really cool thing about the announcement is that all of the features and new device software (with the new user interface) will be given away as a free upgrade for people who own the existing Zune (v1) devices.

But since there isn't a snarky and/or misinformed quip to be placed after that, I guess it doesn't really fit into your bullet points.

Yes, the iPod touch does synch through wifi, which is cool. Sadly, it only comes in 8 or 16GB models and costs $300-400. Such a deal!

@3, no, Apple doesn't do digital music better. They do marketing and catering to their snobbish cult of believers better, though. I have both, marketplace is better and faster than itunes and the selection is better/different (each has things the other lacks - depends on your taste). I do want to kick someone in the nards for not providing video content in marketplace, no doubt somebody needs to get their shit together as far as delivering video for the zune.

It's zoon, btw.

Also, the 4 and 8GB zunelets will have the same software, features and functions (including wireless) as the 30 and 80GB zunes, whereas the nano remains a player only.

Listen, I love my zune. I'll defend it and it's quality against an ipod any day, and happily admit I was sent into a frothy rage when the ipod touch launched with features the zune should have built in 6 months earlier. It's far from perfect, and they need to get their shit together with further development. But the mac snobs really need to get a grip. ipod has its own problems with freezing, battery and software issues and isn't perfect either. Both are good products - ipod is mature, having been in the market for nearly 7 years now, and the zune is definitely playing catchup. Both have strengths and weaknesses.

But it may be time for folks to admit that ipod touch exists because apple saw what zune...(grits teeth in anger again) was (or, really, should have been) developing...and knew they were in danger of being passed if zune was first with wireless downloads. That's competition, and it's good for both apple and microsoft. Enjoy your player, but don't be a dick about it - good advice for anyone.

you won't see an 80gb iPhone for a long long time...you have to wait for the Flash Memory technology to catch up (they won't make the iPhone with a hard drive) and right now it is only available/cost effective in 16gb levels (as seen in the iPod Touch)...the best you can hope for is to get a 30GB iPhone next year and I wouldn't hold my breath for that one.

@9: music videos and video podcasts in Zune Marketplace in time for the holidays this year. plus drm-free music.

"In addition to offering more than 3 million songs, the updated version of Zune Marketplace will launch with thousands of music videos for sale and over 1,000 of the top audio and video podcasts available for free. Consumers will also be able to choose from a selection of more than 1 million digital rights management (DRM)-free MP3s, which can be played with Zune or any other digital media player."

From http://www.microsoft.com/presspass/press/2007/oct07/10-02ZuneNextGenPR.mspx