Initial online reviews of the Microsoft’s Zune media player are mixed; and nobody is tipping it as an iPod killer.

Zune: no iPod killer

Here’s a round up of a couple of early reviews from influential writers:

David Pogue of the New York Times says the player is excellent, and while not as cool as the iPod, he says that it is certainly more practical with a coating of rubberized plastic that won’t easily get marked or scratched. He does however think that it’s ridiculous that Zune doesn’t work with Windows Media Player, and instead comes with its own music management system. “Why not just develop a Zune plug-in for Windows Media Player 11?” he asks.

Pogue is also dismayed by the digital rights management system, which, for example, means that songs transmitted to your Zune through its Wi-Fi feature can only be played three times – even if it’s music you’ve created yourself.

Walt Mossberg of the Wall Street Journal likes the Zune’s larger screen, the Wi-Fi features, and the built-in FM radio. He also likes the user interface. What he doesn’t like is the pricing structure for the Zune Marketplace online music store, pointing out that to buy a 99 cent song, you have to buy a blocks of Microsoft “points”. The minimum block value is $5. He also thinks the point system is deceptive; songs are priced at 79 points, which are actually worth 99 cents.

It’ll be interesting to see whether Zune can really make inroads into iPod’s market domination. So far the signs are not looking good, but then again, this is IT, where anything is possible.

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Entry was posted on Monday, November 13th, 2006 at 8:29 am under Media players, Microsoft, Technology.

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