Zune

Somewhat unsurprisingly, Microsoft’s much-hyped Zune player hasn’t exactly been well-received…thus far. To quote an article:

” Speaking of basic functionality, what else does iPod/iTunes offer that the Zune lacks?

Contacts and calendars, the ability to use the player as a removable drive, audiobook support, alarm clock, games, notes, clock and stopwatch, screen lock, photo transfer (with accessory), voice recording (with accessory), Sound Check, volume limit, gapless playback, fades, Party Shuffle, iMix, gift certificates, allowances, videos for sale, artist alerts, burning MP3 CDs, shared libraries, parental controls.

Oh, and style.

And what does the Zune have that iPod/iTunes lacks?

Squirting, FM radio, larger screen, horizontal view of pictures and videos, music subscription service.

And, of course, brown. ”

But I’m certain Zune will evolve very quickly into something much better than what it now is. One need only look at how well the Windows Mobile 5 platform now compares to the Palm OS – how different from the early days of Pocket PC vs Palm OS, when the former was hopelessly outclassed!