[Kaxmax]

Let me preface, I own an ipod, and have no plans on buying a Zune

Originally Posted by Millie

1) The design is pretty ugly. Granted, you get a bigger screen and more "colorful" interface than you do with an iPod. But let's be honest; this advantage is going to last all of 1 or 2 months, before Apple puts a bigger screen on its next iPods. Not enough of a competitive advantage, in my opinion, to warrant a Zune purchase.

I actually really like the shell they put on the Zune. Grips very nicely, and doesn't attract fingerprints/scratches like an ipod. The screen is very nice, although I agree that Apple will probably be competitive here by the next generation of ipods. I was very impressed by the Zune interface, it's superior to the ipod at the moment in my opinion.

Furthermore, Microsoft's DRM is even worse than Apple's: ALL your non-MS-purchased (read: iTunes-bought, downloaded, etc) music will be nonfunctional with the Zune. You must re-purchase EVERYTHING from the Zune store in order to use it on your Zune. This is complete BS.

Not exactly true. You can burn your iTunes songs to CD and rip, and Plays-for-sure has been cracked already. As for the Zune store, it has one thing over iTunes that I really want: subscription. I'd gladly pay $15 a month for a subscription service in iTunes

3) The Zune's trademark feature, "squirting" (Who came up with that name? It's disgusting.) songs from one Zune to the next, is pretty worthless. The songs you zap to your friends (and vice versa) will last 3 plays before disappearing, or 3 days if unplayed before that period expires. Either way, you get a maximum of 3 days or 3 plays on each song you receive in this fashion.

Agreed, they could have done this better

4) The iPod is the industry leader by such a significant margin that it makes owning a competing device risky to a certain degree. You don't know if that Zune will still be supported 1 or 2 years down the line, whereas you can almost guarantee that iPods and iTunes will still be alive and kicking.

With any other company I'd agree, but not with MS. They've shown repeatedly that once they decide to get into a market they're willing to bleed money until they make it work. The portable audio market is huge, and they want a piece of the pie. I'd expect them to throw even more money at it than console gaming.