Earlier today one individual asked in a form I frequent:
Does anyone own a Zune? I’ve never even seen one in real life other than at a store.
Why would one choose a Zune over an iPod?I pray this thread doesn’t turn into an Apple vs. Microsoft thread – I’m just wondering what the allure is to own a Zune.
I was inspired and went through the 5 reasons I asked for and received a Zune this past Christmas & love it.
1. Zune Pass
2. WiFi + Zune Marketplace + Zune Pass = win
3. FM Tuner
4. games
5. Cheaper then iPod
1. Zune Pass
I want to pay for my music and I don’t want to waist money. Zune pass enables me to do both. I am still on my first full month (had a 2 week trial before). Since I have not picked up a lot of music in recent years there is a lot of both old stuff I never got a CD for & new stuff that I am either discovering or just never got the CD.
$5 per month for unlimited music is great price & that is how I look at it. Technically you pay $15 per month and receive credits for 10 songs + the unlimited all you can eat music that they have in the marketplace. To me that means I buy 10 tracks for $10 that I keep & pay $5 per month for the unlimited. My plan is to get a month of all I can eat music when I know I there are at least 10 MP3 tracks in the marketplace that I want.
The funny thing is the more I explore and find new bands, the longer my “tracks I want” list gets, thus the longer I expect to keep the monthly fee paid up.
2. WiFi + Zune Marketplace + Zune Pass = win
Here is the deal, when you have the zune pass and can get to the net via wifi (like an unsecured spot) you can search for a song or CD and download directly. So if you are out and about and someone mentions a song or what not, you can just pull it down. Since you have the Zune Pass, there is no additional charge.
This is great when you here a song somewhere or just want something new. They have a few options, like new releases by category or top songs and/or album.
3. FM Tuner
I live in a city with multiple sports and talk radio stations on the FM dial, so I might be listening to a Predators game, or theMMA show on 104.5, or listening to Dave Ramsey or other talk guys on 99.7 in the car and when I walk into a store or the guy I can go and not miss a beat.
4. games
The are basically flash games, but there are three that I have played a good bit:
- Suduku – pretty good version considering it is basically joystick movement with the thumbpad and three buttons
- Hexic – I have played this other palces (I think on someone’s Xbox 360 marketplace – I don’t have one myself)
- Space Battle – a simple sidescroller shooter deal where you fly and shoot stuff – how could this not be great time killer?
The games are good for times when you are listening to something and want to do one more thing for a short period of time.
5. Cheaper then iPod
Fact is I picked up this 16gb flash based system + a car pack (does FM transmission & recharges the Zune) for right around $150. A 16gb iPod Nano retails for $199.00 on the Apple website. This was not a huge deal, but if I find a great deal on a 4gb one (like under about $80) I will pull the trigger just to have another one in the family.
So far I have loved it, I like finding the old stuff and the new stuff … and I love that it is all legal & legit. I believe in supporting artists that I want to continue to produce the art that they do … at the same time, I don’t want to purchase a CD just to see if I like it.
Two *Bonus* – I can add my own wallpaper, so I have a picture that I took (well, really my wife did) of me that shows up in the background when at the main menu and other places. Also, I have my Zune profile and we can be friends.
