Zune: The Failed iPod Killer - Krazy Ken’s Tech Talk

[@ComputerClan]

Enjoy the new episode! And subscribe stay tuned for my next SCAM-BUSTER on June 20 where Krazy Ken travels to California to try and debunk a fake "hard drive recovery" product. 🔔

[@animatsuri]

Is Windows Phone still available? Maybe you could do a video about them.

[@zuzoscorner]

Brillant is basically a paywall youtube, but with less content lol

[@danielmf1839]

May segoe-like font be used on Sailfish OS? Well, an other Metro ideas....

[@ComputerClan]

@@zuzoscorner Brilliant has web apps though. I find it way more interactive than KZbin, and learning by doing usually helps a subject stick in one's brain more than passively watching a lecture/tutorial video. To each their own! But I highly recommend you try it out : ) There's some big KZbinrs who have contributed content on there, too-like Kurzgesagt - In a Nutshell.

[@zuzoscorner]

@@ComputerClan oh yes, sorry forgot about the who interactivity part. my bad.

[@SeniorCharry]

Years ago I asked my dad for an iPod for Christmas. The day came and I opened the package and saw a Zune. I was never one to throw fits or act like a brat, so even though I was disappointed I acted happy and excited. My dad works hard and is a great man, the last thing I want is to hurt him, you know? After using the Zune for a while I actually started to like it, I guess not getting an iPod wasn't the worst thing.

[@VBottasG]

even then, a Zune wasn’t even that bad, at least it wasn’t a craig nugget

[@cs8712]

anything to avoid having to use itunes

[@_framedlife]

I had a walkman whcih was compatible with zune software. It was much better than iPods technically

[@97nelsn]

@@VBottasG Craig nugget, I see you’re a person of culture

[@La-Diamond]

@@VBottasG Craig nugget eh? The ones you blow up with the mojo? Or perhaps a Diablo?

[@zollotech]

The Zune Player was by far my favorite Music player software ever. Really wish the interface took off on Windows Phone too, but oh well…

[@lucasRem-ku6eb]

Metro was the CE skin we loved !

[@lucasRem-ku6eb]

@Super Nostalgia Gods on KZbin, how real !

[@chronometa]

I held onto my windows phone as long as I could

[@DrewTNaylor]

@@lucasRem-ku6eb To be fair, there is a KZbin channel run by a Jesus cosplayer.

[@DrewTNaylor]

Based, I miss Windows Phone so much, it actually had personality compared to everything else available nowadays.

[@RussellFlowers]

Over 10 years ago, I was working in a small software team, and one of the guys had a Zune. He told us about the "squirt" song loaning feature. We were like, "Oh, neat, that work pretty well?" He said, "I dunno, I've never run into anybody else with a Zune."

[@ssjaken]

Its wild. My highschool was full of Zunes. We were squirting all over.

[@edmac1090]

@@ssjaken one of my first girlfriends was a squirter. I miss it.

[@aarspar]

All of this sounds so, so wrong

[@Random-ed2xf]

​@@ssjaken Most people would be in the office for squirting in school.

[@minhduong1484]

That unfortunately was one of the problems with that social feature. The other problem people pointed out was how temporary the sharing was. 3 days or 3 plays whichever was first was very short. Also this limitation was on all audio/video media regardless of source or DRM. Sharing an audio recording of a child's first words with the grandparents would expire after 3 days max.

[@wamrainc176]

When’s Zune first came out, my girlfriend at that time got it for me for my birthday, and quite honestly, I loved it more than the iPod I used to have. The fact is, you can put your MP3s in there without having to convert or rely on iTunes was a big seller for me.

[@minhduong1484]

Why would you have to convert? Apple suggests AAC which is the successor to MP3 but iPods play MP3s fine.

[@wamrainc176]

@@minhduong1484 not back then, whenever I tried transferring mp3s to my iPod back then it wouldn’t play. And my ox then had issues running iTunes

[@harrison00xXx]

@@wamrainc176 i had absolutely no troubles with iPods (Mini from 2003, a classic with b/w display and a first gen Nano)

[@wamrainc176]

@@harrison00xXx hmm I don’t know why I did then. But when you used to put them in your iPod, were you able to get the track information like you would normally do using iTunes?

[@harrison00xXx]

@@wamrainc176 sure, not even troubles with a iPod Mini from 2003/2004 with 4 GB HDD upgraded to a 64GB CF card and 3000+ titles on it tho it ran a bit slower with that many tracks indexed

[@gardiner_bryant]

I had a first-gen Zune and it was awesome. Despite the DRM and other stupid crap, it was a fabulous device with a great UI and I remember using it as my primary dedicated music player. I still have it in my car and it plays music well!

[@kjriwoutube]

The Linux Gardner had a zone omg 😮

[@jttech44]

I had mine on a phone mount that connected to my cassette player slot. Looked OEM. Totalled that car. Walked away with no major injury, but, when I went to the tow lot to get my stuff out of the car, the zune was gone. Went all-in to smartphone media at that point, bought a big SD card, loaded it into my phone with all my music, and.... well it was fine, but it wasn't the same.

[@Frowdo]

Man, I loved my Zune back in the day. The Zune pass was fantastic and the built in HD radio was a great feature.

[@coreybabcock2025]

I loved that hd radio with rds

[@c0smoKram3r]

Zune software/store was like an early Spotify. I discovered so much music with it that I still listen to today.

[@volvo09]

I still have my original Zune. The battery even still works.

[@ThatPhilBurgGuy]

I begged my mom for a zune when i was like 12. I finally got it and it lasted me like 10 years with the original songs i out on it. I loved that thing.

[@towjam2359]

Serena Maneesh - "Drain Cosmetics" AMIRITE???? (I played the hell out of that video!)

[@mattstone8878]

​@@towjam2359I just pooped into a tortilla and rolled it into a poop burrito. 💩 🌯 Delicioso en mi estomigo

[@basicfacekick]

I remember I had won an iPod Mini from a contest, and I was pretty happy with it. I didn't buy many songs from Apple... my library was mostly ripped songs from CDs. Then I accidentally dropped said Mini and ran it over backing out of a driverway for a trip. I ended up buying a Zune on that trip and loved that little player. I still have it to this day.

[@SavvySage]

Special thanks to Ken for (once again) having me onboard with the research for this episode! Here's a few other Zune facts that weren't brought up in the video: 1. The Zune Marketplace was originally codenamed "Alexandria". 2. The 2nd-gen Zune flash models were originally in development as early as 2006 under the codename "Pyxis". (Also, while we're on the topic of the 2nd-gen Zune, all of those models were manufactured by Flextronics.) 3. The Zune Social service predated Apple's attempt at a social network dedicated to music (iTunes Ping) by almost 4 years. 4. The Zune was sold exclusively in the US for its first 1.5 years on sale-the 2nd-gen Zune was the first to sell outside the US, beginning June 13th, 2008 in Canada. 5. A September 2008 firmware update brought in new features to existing Zune devices, most notably sample games (Hexic and Texas Hold' Em), a clock, a screen lock feature, and the ability to purchase songs directly onto the device through the Zune marketplace...exactly one year after the iTunes Music Store was brought over to the iPod Touch-ouch.

[@alextoolstudio]

METRO!

[@victorkreig6089]

You forgot the part where the Zune 2nd edition was actually what the original release was supposed to be but because Microsoft was in a crunch for time they decided to put out what became the first gen as it was going to take a while to get the parts and manufacturing down for the 2's much more advanced design. Apple as always has never actually invented anything, they simply take something someone else has made and thrown millions in marketing at it to make it seem "sexy" and then they overprice it to make it seem "exclusive" to shallow people

[@ThatTonybo]

Thanks for giving our beloved Zune a much needed & well put together retrospective without being too negative. You really hit it on the head with all the goods of what the Zune is for us. I love mine and love the community, and it'll always be better than the iPod to me.

[@codix__]

Being in the Zune community for 3 years, making a fix to sync videos on Windows 10 builds higher than 1509, having my nickname onto a Zune tutorial onto the Microsoft official KZbin channel and this video was still able to learn to me so much stuff about the Zune ! I was really happy because I watch every videos of Computer Clan for 2~3 years now to see Apple content a bit and I was very happy to learn about a video talking about the Zune. Thanks for your hard work and I'll see you in your next video. 😆😉

[@konstidog]

Oh shit hey codix!!

[@codix__]

​@@konstidog Hello random citizen !

[@TheHatMan69]

Hi Codix! It's always nice to see a fellow Zune Goon in the comments

[@codix__]

@@TheHatMan69 *ZUNE CREEEEW*

[@DanaTheInsane]

I didn’t know you could do that! I always wanted to play around with one. I’ll keep my eye out for a nice swamp water cello.

[@rampdavidson6397]

I love my Zune. I bought a refurbished one in like 2010 or something and still use it. It has died, but I've just been keeping it going with repairs. Thanks for the great video!

[@soogymoogi]

As someone who likes owning their music (and a LOT of it,) I miss dedicated music players. My ipod classic finally bit the dust a year or two ago and watching this just makes me miss the days of not having to stream music off my phone to listen on the go.

[@MarcosRobertoDosSantosJF]

I still use my ipod classic (bought it in 2009). Battery is not so good right now, so I’m planning to replace it using an ifix kit.

[@chamber_hiro256]

I download my music and have backedup rips on a backup drive. Never used Spotify or KZbin consistently to listen to music

[@RocketboyX]

The stand alone Plex music player is my Zune replacement.

[@CantankerousDave]

@@MarcosRobertoDosSantosJF I still use my (formerly) 30gb iPod Video that I bought back in 2003 or 2004, whenever it was when it launched. I put in a new battery and an SD card mod years ago. It works great with a 128gb card - I’d put in a 256, but I don’t think it has the memory to index that many tracks.

[@harrison00xXx]

i would recommend just loading the music to the phone… Streaming sucks anyways, always internet needed

[@TruFalco]

I was SO CLOSE to buying a Zune HD back in 2010, but ended up getting an iPod Touch 4th gen. I loved my Touch, but I still adore the design of the Zune HD. It's just SUPER sharp looking, even now.

[@TheHatMan69]

The Zune was AWESOME. I have a ton of them and I've made some neat videos about it. Also, I'M u/Emendo12 and THANKS for including me in the video!!!!!

[@Kravlock]

I loved my Zune HD. Mine was a high school graduation gift, and it was even more awesome because it came with a white Gears of War Logo on the back of it. Before phones carried all our music it was either Ipod or Zune, and I think Zune was by far the better choice.

[@trevorgreen7324]

I had a Zune and Microsoft phone. Zune was at that time was far superior to iTunes. The content in terms of music, images, videos and easy of use blew the rest away. Unfortunately Microsoft was “uncool” and did didn’t have the backing of celebrities. But damn it was a good product and so intuitive. Between iPhone and Google’s Android, the Microsoft phone and Zune died far too prematurely.

[@Fauxkerykes]

Well said comment

[@bd604]

zune 4.8 desktop software UI is STILL better looking than Spotify imo!

[@DanaTheInsane]

I didn’t find out until much later that the problem was iTunes for PC sucked. At the time I was using Anapod by red chair software. I never saw iTunes actually work properly until I got a Mac.

[@MrMackievelli]

Loved my zune. The zune service also let you keep some music for free, forever.

[@stevewilson6193]

I mean... Steve Balmer really did make MSFT uncool. That clip of him saying "Metro metro metro!" is cringe. Was Zune pretty great? yes, but so were other competitors to the iPod, but they were late to the party, and by the time they really dialed Zune in, the die was cast and they were already dead. Android and iOS rising, nobody wanted zunes or iPods anymore.

[@n.s.3812]

I actually bought one, only because there was such an amazing deal on it with the nice premium leather case, and… I loved it! To this day I’m bummed I don’t still have it. It was a genuinely good DAP, and I didn’t care about access to any music store like iTunes (or whatever the zune / Microsoft had ), so it was perfect

[@okbruh098]

I hate how Wade from DankPods just made the Zune seem inferior to iPods in every possible way without actually trying to do research on Zunes. Thank you Ken for doing an amazing video on this device!

[@AtrocityEquine01]

To give Wade some credit, he did praise some things of it. I don't think he was trying to be that brutal with it, he just saw wasted potential. But I can see why you'd feel that way, he does have some bias against Microsoft.

[@12pagani]

I feel like most of his point where well founded, especially being that the zune had a huge company backing it up and they still made mistakes launching it! Just inexcusable. But him getting the squirting part wrong and not digging deeper into it’s true features when the site was still active definitely disappointed. But he needs a zune 80!

[@AtrocityEquine01]

@@12pagani It'd be interesting to see him tackle the Zune and address some issues of it, especially with his "semi-review" like format now.

[@sunnohh]

I had a zune and good god was it a pos, actually it’s still bricked in my basement

[@lucasRem-ku6eb]

ok no apps, nobody b ought them ...

[@towjam2359]

Props to you Ken. I'm a computer and technology history buff and subscribe to a butt ton of these types of YT channels. That said, this is the best balanced/objective presentation of the Zune I've seen yet. 👍👍

[@97nelsn]

The Zune came out during the worst possible time which was ‘Peak iPod” and only a few months before Apple themselves decided to destroy the iPod market with the iPhone. Had the Zune came out in 02 or 03, it would’ve been a great competitor to the iPod. Nevertheless, I do have a used Zune HD I purchased on Mercari for $45 in 2020 before prices when up and well before GOTG Vol. 3

[@BewareTheLilyOfTheValley]

That seller is probably kicking themselves at the moment, lol. But as a Zune owner who got theirs in 2010, I still feel they undervalued their Zune if they sold it for only $45.

[@mojoblues66]

When you never invent but just copy, you're always too late aren't you?

[@97nelsn]

@@BewareTheLilyOfTheValley I only use the Zune HD to listen to HD Radio stations. Do wish the radio industry had advertised HD Radio much better instead of being a languishing tech that no one cares about, yet is included in every new car that’s on the road (including electric vehicles).

[@victorkreig6089]

HA! You think THIS is prices going up? In 2015 in box Zunes had shot up to well into the 500 and 600 USD range

[@nanaholic01]

@@mojoblues66 not true at all. Apple doesn't really invent - what they are good at is identify a handful of essential core feature which they polish the crap out and makes the UX top notch, Samsung doesn't invent much either but they are the top dog of Android etc. Innovation or "first to market" is highly overrated - if you drill it down many big business aren't first in their market.

[@PartiHippo]

I had an iPod classic 160 gig and a Zune 60 gig. Man the zune was awesome. The fact that we could share share like music and audiobooks I think made it absolutely incredible and better than the competition It just wasn't considered cool sadly.

[@SeattleSandro]

When the Zunes came out, I owned an iPod, but I worked at Microsoft. You'd get stink-eye if other employees saw you with white earbuds, so I'd just use my over-the-ear headphones. The internal buzz about the Zune was intense in the beginning, but every month you could feel it die down to where there was more enthusiasm about a new flavor of seltzer water in the fridges then there was about a new model of Zune.

[@mojoblues66]

Did you ever meet the intern who didn't know the modulo operator and instead hacked the a while loop into the leap year code?

[@PJ-sv4iw]

@@mojoblues66no

[@jttech44]

The only reason the zune failed was the apple fed microsoft their lunch when it came to marketing. They needed to hire in a young firm and cut them a blank check, it would have been very, very different. Like, all of the things that myself and others loved about the zune were... absent, like they were somehow coy about flat out advertising it as "the better ipod", and it was, by all measures better. Better UI, better feel in the hand, better screens, hell, even the DACs were lightyears better. None of that mattered -only- because nobody knew about it.

[@monhi64]

That’s wild, well not that wild but unless ya give me a zune can’t expect me to use it. Reminds me of a vid a saw going around a BMW dealership asking what they drive and out of maybe 11 employees only ~2 owned a BMW at all. And that was considering the fact a bunch owned 2 even 3 cars, so much worse than one Microsoft employee not having a zune.

[@kenbrandon6434]

I generally always went for the underdog. I loved the much larger screen on the with the large hard drive memory with the square-ish touch pad. They lost me with the Zune HD. The flash memory wasn’t large enough for me yet and the screen felt smaller. I had invested in a 160gb iPod, loving having most of my collection on it. I eventually got a 64gb iPod Touch, using it as a trial run before eventually getting all-in on the iPhone, mainly because of all the available accessories, the feeling of full support from Apple and that it wasn’t going to fade away like the Zune. I kept it going for as long as I could until I basically lost all the movies and half my music licenses. The hard drive did go out on me and it took a couple tries to get Walmart’s Asurion to honor the extended warranty. And since Microsoft was getting ready to stop support and replacement parts were getting harder to come by, they put in a 160gb hard disk instead of the original 120gb, though the Zune page still kept calling it 120gb. When I synced it, it usually had about the 160gb of space (minus space for the OS and other features).

[@alisonb4898]

I’ve had my zune decades and still love it. I’ve got 4 films and quite a few albums on it and it’s never let me down.

[@EpicureMammon]

I still use my Zune. I upgraded the 30gig to 128gig SSD, and keep it on the dock (with a remote) for music on my bedroom stereo. Works great! The Zune software still works on windows and has a clean, intuitive interface. It helps that I got it on clearance from Woot for around 80 bucks. :)

[@paulv2411]

I also bought my brown zune from woot. Used it in my car until one day I found my window broken and my zune gone.

[@EpicureMammon]

@@paulv2411 :(

[@ObiWanBillKenobi]

When a friend brought over a chocolate-colored Zune 30 to our nearly-weekly LAN party, I immediately noticed it and the interface design, and asked what it was. It would be another couple years before I bought one used on eBay, but I used it until it would not stay turned on. (As I later learned, that was because the internal HDD died, and I have never bothered to have it replaced. It still worked if I kept it constantly plugged in to an electric outlet, but it never stayed on long enough to sync when plugged into my computer.) I used and used and used my Zune 30. I loved its matte finish, the gorgeous font, the directional pad, the big physical size, and the huge amount of storage. I loaded music, pictures, audio books, and even some video clips onto it. It was quite the enjoyable portable library for me before smartphones became omnipresent.

[@Vykk_Draygo]

If the HDD died, wouldn't it not work even if plugged in? More likely to be the battery. If the HDD died it would exhibit different symptoms (such as not being able to access anything stored on the drive).

[@ObiWanBillKenobi]

@ Sounds correct. It is still in a desk drawer. If I ever get it fixed, I will find out.

[@RickHansbury]

I agree. It sounds more like a battery or charging problem. Especially in an older unit it can be tricky to determine. It can seem charged but not be strong enough under load for extended periods.

[@AnesuC]

Haven't watched the video yet, but literally ordered a zunehd last week, waiting for it to arrive lol. Was my dream device when it was released

[@hrq007]

Always used iPod but I absolutely adored the Zune Desktop software. It was my go-to music player on Windows for years. The SmartDJ feature was absolutely insane. You'd pick a few songs to listen from your library, hit SmartDJ, and it would build you an amazing playlist based on your current one, similar to what KZbin Music does nowadays. It was so cool.

[@Carahan]

The Zune software was the best podcast software for many years. Spotify eat your heart out.

[@jttech44]

I switched from the zune player back to winamp when zune was discontinued because there was absolutely nothing that was even close to as good besides winamp+skins. Eventually switched from winamp to google music, then spotify, but I do long for the zune days.

[@RivalGT]

Back then I always liked having a dedicated music player, even after getting an iphone. The iphone's battery wasn't great, and as a windows user I didnt like itunes at all, I still dont. From 2007-2012 the Zune was my player of choice. From software to hardware the Zune just worked for me.

[@tylerromero]

I liked mine a lot. It had a built in radio and the service for it was awesome you got to keep 10 songs permanently while being able to download as many other for use as you wanted every month

[@GJBricks]

I have to compliment you on how well your videos are put together! So well structured and presented. I’ve watched far too many of your videos in the last few days. Never owned a Zune being an iPod user but I always liked the look of it and the interface.

[@jheiceballos9027]

Nice review and very well detailed with snippets of what songs you are testing thank you with the review

[@lobomella]

I remember seeing the 1st gen Zune in stores and thinking "I'm perfectly happy with my Creative Zen" 😎 - I miss that little player 😊

[@tonygreenfield7820]

I had various versions of the Creative Zen and three of them are still going although smartphones have relegated them to curiosity only. The Zen that were targeted against the iPod though🙄 I had three. All dead. Nothing wrong with the operating system or controls. It's the batteries. Just won't hold a charge.

[@victorkreig6089]

@@tonygreenfield7820 Buy a new battery, you can literally buy new ones that will work just fine

[@notme22]

The 30 pin dock connector for the iPod could plugin to the Zen. Too bad it didn’t do anything

[@RoguePlanetoid]

This was a surprisingly thoughtful video, to be honest I wasn't expecting it to have the have the focus that it did. It even had me looking at my own copy of the product materials and indeed no reference to Squirting for Zune-to-Zune sharing! Appreciate someone else adding something new to the legacy of Zune and maybe in looking back others will learn to appreciate it a little more, there's an amazing community out there and did my own small part when I had my own website for it back in the day and a couple of years ago even created a digital coffee table book dedicated the Zune!

[@spacexplorer_]

I love the Metro tiles representing the myths. This channel is so great. Can we get more episodes of KKTM? It's been a while since the last one.

[@chalion8399]

I was glad I was part of the Zune social, all those years ago. I still have 2 Zunes, but haven't used them in more than a decade. It's just more convenient to use either a smartphone or tablet these days and stream media, without that blocky connector and wired headphones, but at the time, Zune was a viable piece of media. The Zune Marketplace at the time was vibrant and had users that liked to help people. I'll have to see about hooking them up again to get some nostalgia.

[@barorepor3079]

A very balanced review and avthorough analysis of the Zune - good job, Ken!!!

[@a4a72698]

Third generation looked really nice and as someone who appreciates good typography Metro was very pleasing to look at.

[@Janingham]

I remember using Windows phone with metro UI. I was shocked how beautiful their UI design was, and shocked again how little apps there were to download

[@DavidRavenMoon]

Metro was designed on Macs by an outside design firm.

[@RocketboyX]

Ok.

[@bd604]

man if I could get WinPho working today, I would be in heaven. wonder if we can skin android to behave like it 🤔

[@ImDannn]

@@DavidRavenMoon okay and?

[@kirishima638]

I’ve never heard of Metro as being beautiful.

[@112Famine]

Everyone that legally bought music for their devices, the iPod & the Zune all got screwed over, they thought they were going to own those music files for the rest of their lives, but when Apple & MicroSoft ended the lifespan of their devices they didn't give people an option to transfer their music to another medium, screwing people out of millions if not billions of dollars of music purchases. This is why it is very Important we should always buy physical medium especially now days with people owning online content, and it being edited for a more diverse group against the owners will or knowledge.

[@No_True_Scotsman]

Huh? Can't you still download purchased iTunes songs to this day?

[@Hrethgir]

I've still got my original Zune, I really liked it. Mine is the black/blue, looks awesome. Put it in a case right after I got it to protect the screen.

[@makaylaserniotti1474]

I simply think two things killed it. 1. The iPhone (as much as I dislike iPhones they are iconic) 2. The concept was way ahead of its time.

[@punxnotdead185]

I had one of the original Zunes back in like 08-09, my ex threw it out the window of my car on the highway going 60mph having a meltdown, went back and found it on the shoulder and minus some scratches it was fine lol, absolute unit.

[@jbstillman]

I still have my OG white Zune. I absolutely loved that thing. Still works flawlessly. Unfortunately, its just easier to keep it all on one device (my phone) especially with carplay/etc in vehicles now. I have a brown one too that needs some love, I wanted to mod that one with larger battery and larger drive at some point. It has such a great smooth UI, easy to navigate, looks good, and was the perfect size for your hands and pocket. I still think it's UI was much better than Apple Music on my iPhone.

[@jbstillman]

also... a whole video on Zune, and not one mention of "Squircle" !?!?

[@josiahb217]

I loved my brown brick Zune. Durable, UI was great, and the syncing was simple. Will agree on it not getting much love especially from Microsoft. The social aspect was neat and used it a few times sharing songs and I imagine if adoption was better we would have had a whole different way of consuming music.

[@benholroyd5221]

'brick' brown?

[@Gatorade69]

I like stacking brown bricks in Minecrapft.

[@matthewcarl7811]

I love my Zune I had the black one, had the screen replaced twice and when it failed the 3rd time I put it on the shelf. I still look at it today and would still use it if the screen worked. Sometimes it is nice to have a separate music player from my smartphone. Loved the FM radio feature, used it all the time!

[@nticompass]

I absolutely love my Zune. I still use it! It's a Zune 30 that now has a 120GB SSD in it 🙂

[@Flash1857]

I need to look for a ssd for my old zune, thanks

[@JordonBeal]

I miss my Zune. Had one of the original blown/green ones. I adored that thing, and that’s coming from someone who was at the time, and still is, a die-hard Apple dude. The Zune just rocked for me.

[@momjyandavit]

*Happy DankPods noises*

[@_FaUlti_]

Nah bro got the goofy andoird personalised icon and his second comment is getting priority placement

[@sopvwastaken]

Poop brown

[@momjyandavit]

@@sopvwastaken Mushy Peas

[@sopvwastaken]

​@@momjyandavit na-no

[@graphicsgod]

Frank!! Franky!! ..Wake up!! They're talking about the Zoooooonnne..

[@PtolemiosFrost]

I still have my old zune hd. Loved that thing. It even survived a house fire lol. I think I'm gonna pull it out of storage and play with it soon.

[@ModItBetter]

I always thought the bonus of the Zune was you were able to copy your own library of mp3's over to it.. .. It seemed ms let go of lots of projects.. I have a couple of land line cordless phones from m.s .. I absolutely loved them because back in the day it was pretty cool to have a layered answering machine with ms voice and Speech recognition ect.... Plus the funny bonus was when people called and were going through the process of pushing 1 ..pushing 2 . ect.. for different options, I could hear them. Same thing during the answering voice prompt.. Lots of people talk to them selves before they leave a message lol.

[@Illerhas]

I just wanted to say i was an early adopter of the Zune and absolutely loved it. I used it every day and even paid the subscription service so i can just download as much music as i wanted. Sadly my Zune broke and is just sitting as a brick in a drawer.

[@Speed.Racer.5]

I had a Zune. Say what you want, but the UI was great. I finally got rid of mine a couple years ago and it's amazing how modern it still felt.

[@RocketboyX]

I wish that Metro never went away.

[@baandoptager]

The battery life on the Zune HD was insane. Still got all my Zunes. They all still run.

[@DOSdaze]

Thanks for doing the Zune justice here, definitely one of Microsoft's more underrated products.

[@ComputerClan]

My pleasure! It was a lot of fun.

[@TalesOfBrandino]

OMG I remember my dad buying me a zune for my 17th birthday and i loved the thing. It was super easy to set up and it was a life saver that allowed me to watch Higurashi at school and listen to music. I even had the 2nd slim model when i was serving in the Air Force. I miss that little thing

[@ComradeRachel]

I had a brown original zune and loved it. The subscription to download all the music you wanted was way ahead of its time. It was a good product but I think Apple just has such a strong hold of the market. Maybe if there was also a smartphone it would have been better idk.

[@teejayroyal]

I have never heard anyone in my life pronounce aluminum like that. That’s cool asf, you got my sub😂😂

[@gammaboost]

Fun fact, if you dig deep into modern versions of Windows (such as accessing the mysterious WindowsApps folder) then you'll find references to the Zune name still being used for some of Windows' software. I didn't have a Zune, but I remember my dad getting me a Nokia Lumia 800 which I really liked. Then I lost it at a museum.

[@chumarirunning5370]

I had a Zune back in the day. Was freaking great, and also a precurser to Spotify as well for monthly payment service to sync up with your Zune

[@mikerichards6065]

I love the elegant minimalism of the Zune's Metro interface which was developed into that for in Windows Phone. Zunes never really made it here to the UK, but Windows Phone did arrive - although with very little hype. The user-configurable tiles that came in different sizes and the ability to put shortcuts right on the Home Screen were wonderful ideas. It was really easy to set up a Lumia for my Mum with all her necessary contacts right there rather than hidden behind cryptic icons. It's a shame Microsoft decided to abandon the OS as it had some terrific ideas and it ran smoothly even on the most basic of hardware.

[@benholroyd5221]

Yes I like the window phone setup too. Got my android phone set up like that still

[@KILLERONROAD]

I had a Zune 8 and absolutely loved it. I went to a couple high schools during the peak of the MP3 player wars and one of them had Zunes EVERYWHERE. I knew more people with them than iPods, it was wild. Everywhere else though it was iPod central. I never used the Squirt feature oddly enough, had plenty of chances to try it... Phenomenal device for its time, glad it was a thing. Even if it didn't dethrone the iPod.

[@usaturnuranus]

I got one of the big zunes as a xmas gift many years ago. The thing had surprisingly good sound, despite having no equalizer - it just worked which kind of blew my mind. Everything sounded right, and I'm a picky sort of listener. The only problem was that it was on the delicate side which I discovered when I accidentally dropped it. Busted the screen. I should mention that I still use the earbuds that came with it since they have a really nice balance with solid bass response. Zune was much better than the critical reviews at the time.

[@redslate]

The Zune had one of the best DACs you could get in a portable device at the time, far better than that of the iPod.

[@usaturnuranus]

@@redslate That makes a lot of sense. This is the first time I've heard that explanation, so thanks. That device had remarkable sound quality even when playing crappy 128k mp3s made by a friend who was inspired to buy one after hearing mine.

[@FrostySumo]

I had the original Zune through my last years of high school. It was awesome. Especially with Zune pass.

[@Brentastrophe]

The best part of mp3 players and DAPs is they never went away. It's just the ipod was the entry level music player for everyone and the masses moved away from it. We've got tons of stuff like the Zune now if you're willing to look around.

[@banagan4604]

Loved my 2nd gen Zune. Served me well on a 1 year world trip in 2008.

[@harshbarj]

I loved the Zune. I had the Zune 80 first, then got the Zune 120. In it's day it was a really solid device. Though the one thing I complained about from day one was the lack of a clock. By default you could not tell what time it was. To see the time you had to go into the apps section and launch a dedicated clock. Sad part was how many Zune users felt this was good enough. Poll after poll at the time reflected the vast majority did not feel adding a clock to the interface was a priority. Luckily Microsoft did eventually add one. Though a lot of people complained. For me one of the biggest problems with the Zune was you HAD to use the software to add new songs. I was used to SanDisk players that you copied music to the device like a flash drive and it would just work. I expected the same from the Zune. Nope, user uploaded files just sat there in storage. I eventually gave up my Zune for a sandisk clip zip. I still have that clip zip and it's still running off the last charge I gave it back in about 2013. I power it up every year or two to check it.

[@BewareTheLilyOfTheValley]

My favorite game on my Zune HD was the one where you hit targets in tune to the bass of your music. It was a fun way to listen to your music and still do something with the Zune. Also happy there's still an active community for the devices. Wonder if they have a community for parts replacements as I can definitely tell the battery in mine is waning.

[@johnmickey5017]

Audiosurf on the Zune was AWESOME, the perfect implementation of that game. Looked GORGEOUS on the OLED screen.

[@392hellscat7]

I remember that game! I made a similar version called Groove. The nice thing about the SDK is that you could access the raw FFT data instead of writing your own. I only wish that same ability was transferred to Windows Phone when it was updated to the metro style.

[@392hellscat7]

When Xbox launched the XNA toolkit I built several games and apps for the Zune HD and 128. It's actually what got me into programming in C# & WPF (more like Silverlight). Zunited was a huge forum that I helped moderate and manage, all centered around MS products specifically Zune and eventually Windows 7.

[@Aeoringas]

While I enjoyed the deep dive into the technical aspects of the Zune in this video, there was a significant omission that marred it somewhat. That omission being no mention of the fact that the Zune was only ever released in the US and Canada. It was so controlled that Microsoft spent a significant amount of time and effort in preventing anyone from outside of North America from accessing the store or any other services. This for me was a major cause for the Zune's failure as for reasons best known to Microsoft, they chose to ignore the rest of the world when selling it. Meanwhile the opposite is true for the iPod, which Apple distributed across the world. So there are four reasons why the Zune ultimately failed, the last being preventing its use and sale outside of North America. As a sign off I would say that this lack of appreciation that a product a video is investigating fails to acknowledge that there are other countries outside of the territory they originate from is pretty unforgivable these days and the author needs to have word with themselves if they continue to take this approach.

[@isaacfortner]

I had both a Zune 30 and a Zune HD, and I still contend they were exceptionally great media players, let down by the Zune software and music subscription model being ahead of its time in an era of very clunky music DRM), and having annoying incompatibilities with music codecs that even Windows Media Player natively supported just fine. The Zune HD in particular had 3D gaming capabilities far superior to anything on the iPod and early iPhones thanks to the Tegra processor, and all Zunes felt like they were built to withstand the apocolypse. I have an iPhone, and I'll readily admit the Zune was a failure, but I'm tempted to pick one up on eBay again.

[@ElNeroDiablo]

Man, I vaguely remember Zune being a "thing" on the market, that I never considered (nor the iPod). Not when I had my great 1GB SanDisk MP3 Player that cost a whopping $120 AUD in 2004 (when other MP3 players were going for $40 AUD per-256MB) and ran on a single AAA, was a USB flash drive (it used a Type-A to Mini-A cable and mounted as a regular flash drive to the PC), dictaphone and FM radio in one smol unit that you could wrap your hand around when making a fist. Damn thing still works, if I can hunt down a cable to hook it up to my PC with to move data... Later on, when I got my Huawei Y625 (first touchscreen smartphone) that became my music player, before I retired that for a 32GB iPhone 6 (was $300 AUD straight-up, came with a pre-paid 4G data plan) that I ran from 2016 to 2021, where I switched to a (pre-owned) 64GB iPhone XR that cost me $500 AUD at Cash Converters and is my daily driver phone - that I use more for MFA applications, music and checking my bank when I'm out of the house than actually calling people.

[@redslate]

I think I have the same player. Did yours have expandable memory? I loaded mine with a 1GB SD card (1.5GB total), all for about half what the shitty 1GB iPod Shuffle (no screen, stick-shape, random music order only) was going for at the time. That Sandisk player also came in handy when I was modding my original Xbox (one of the few compatible flash storage devices). One of the best purchases I ever made.

[@hamsteralliance]

11:34 - hey, that's me!

[@LydianMelody]

Hameo Cameo!!! Yasss!

[@AaronFBianchiJupiter]

Yeap. That's definitely you!

[@BogeyTheBear]

Had the Zune HD, and it was a better music player than the iPod that replaced it when my sister railroaded me into the Apple walled garden. It had a much better touchscreen interface than the iPod or iPhone music app on account it used full-screen swiping for the controls. Press the side button to bring up the interface, then swipe Up/Down for volume or Left/Right to shuffle through the Now Playing list. This was much better than iOS sticking to onscreen buttons you need to locate and tap if you want to skip ahead or back.

[@brandishwar]

Market timing was definitely the bigger problem than developer adoption. Apple got out early and ahead of the pack to the point where they demolished their competition and started the Apple ecosystem. I still have my 5th Generation iPod somewhere - not entirely sure if it still works, but don't entirely care either. By the time the Zune hit the market, there had already been several competitors that had come and gone. One was the NOMAD Jukebox by Creative Labs, which was I owned before I got my iPod as a gift from my then-employer.

[@nickfelstead7559]

it had such a beautiful simplistic UI, years ahead

[@karlosgill]

I can’t get over how nice the software looks even today, shame it wasn’t a hit

[@lucasRem-ku6eb]

you ever developed anything for it ? why not ?

[@TwiztedMannix87]

When I was deployed, it was definitely useful. It was 1st gen and I had the AV cables and extras. Top thing it has over other players was higher music playback quality, the DAC on this sounds way better than iPod's at that time for ref. The video quality and ability to store video was good and useful on my "trip" around the "countryside" 😆 It feels good to bring it out to show a movie to get people's minds off things between missions, and all I needed was a tv in a convoy break room. The quality was there but they dropped the ball on being such a closed up environment, if it cooperated with the molders at that time it would've been greater. This was before Android was a thing. It could've been aiming but ahead of its time. Especially with its sound quality (the DAC)

[@redslate]

The Zune DAC was incredible.

[@TwiztedMannix87]

@REDSLATE same goes for Playstations, they're DAC's upscale to 48khz automatically. I remember looking up the spec on Zune, it was 192khz upscale. Even the N64 was capable of 48khz, II've seen it on my audio receiver show it.

[@ChaossX77]

0:46 My girlfriend also has a similar feature.

[@timtailor]

I love that you loaded this infamous U2 Album on the Zune which Steve so generously gifted EVERYBODY 😂

[@Kirschesaftmann]

I absolutely loved the Zune HD and hated how Microsoft slowly killed it. Everyone I showed it to loved the device. The Zune channels were also amazing, and Spotify and Apple Music now both have curated ever changing playlists to discover new music, exactly what Zune Channels were. Unfortunately, since I used the subscription service and "owned" very little music, once Zune Marketplace became Xbox Music and Groove, it was impossible to get any subscription music anymore on it and I switched to Spotify even though the devce even today still works :/

[@SilverAura]

Still got my ol' Zune HD here on my desk. It's gathered a lot of dust over the years but it still fires right up and works like the day I bought it, through to the day I finally, begrudgingly switched to my phone for music. I still remember hours of playing Audio Surf.

[@flatspin7]

I think in the end the Zune was just late…. By the time it was released iPods were ubiquitous and was already a tech icon.

[@strawberrylexta]

I owned every version of zune back then, as well owned iPhone, I was one few people to have both devices in my pocket, the zune for sure had less to do, I don't remember any apps or games I really used, but what kept it with me was just the pure music player experience, I've been passionate about audio sense I could remember and listened to music most hours the day, finding new ways hide earbuds so teachers wouldn't see, and the zunes amp I remember just being way better, after it died I eventually got a portable Fiio amp dac for iPhone and eventually just don't listen music on go much

[@Seed]

0:43 is that default KZbin profile pictures?

[@ComputerClan]

Hm??

[@ericchin739]

I loved the Zune. I had both iPod and Zune Zune allowed you to share songs with other Zunes, landscape video, AND an FM radio tuner. It was genuinely a great product in my opinion.

[@IrishObyrne]

Respect for the nod to TINA!

[@ComputerClan]

🙏

[@OttoTheWeim]

The Gen1 Zune is perfect. I loved the fact it had a physical control that I could use without putting eyes on it. I could reach over and skip a song in the car without taking my eyes off the road. That was the reason I returned my ZuneHD and continued to use the Gen1

[@dsr0116]

As someone who was in my early 20s, I'd say the main competitor with the first iPod generations was Creative Labs Nomad series. They were really the main competitor with having good enough features and lower price. From what I remember, the only main issues I had with it was interface: it could take forever to try to get into a full collection of music. Though granted, from what I remember of the original iPod, the interface wasn't that great either (the dial could still take forever as well). RE Microsoft being a big company but why did Zoom fail? Well they are a big tech company. They, just like any big tech company are compartmentalized. And no point did they make the Zoom the main source of income, and it didn't mean much if it failed.

[@thunderkrux7745]

Man, if I had a dollar for every “x-killer” product, I’d have enough money to buy a couple of the companies that made these claims

[@Mr-Neven]

I love my Zunes. I had them in all of my vehicles so I could push out downloads when the Zunes were sitting in the garage plugged in to the vehicles. I had a 30, Mini, and HD. Loved the HD.

[@yamigekusu]

I had a Zune. It was an interesting little device. Held a lot of music I loved, and it worked great in keeping my papers from flying away due to my desk fan

[@Devo_gx]

The 2nd gen Zune was the only ones released in Canada. I remember grabbing mine just after midnight at a local Wal-Mart when ut was open 24h. I loved my 80GB Zune!

[@Xizax41325]

Man, I loved my Gen 1 brown zune. It's still kicking around somewhere and have thought about modding it.

[@redslate]

Do it man. I bought a modded Zune several years back; it's great. Solid state memory loads quickly.

[@DaveGamesVT]

I had a Zune, loved it. Did everything it tried to do very well. I miss it.

[@addict9009]

I loved my Zunes. Yes plural. I got 3 for free around Bings' launch. I probably used them until ~2012ish. Pretty sure I still have 2 around somewhere. I still remember walking into BestBuy and asking an employee if they had any Zune accessories.

[@cypherian2]

I worked in a big box store that sold electronics back when the Zune launched. We had a paid endcap in our department for the hardware and accessories. It had all kinds of signage and cool pictures all over it introducing the product. Despite all that "noise" people tended to ignore it. We also had a similar arrangement for the iPod, and it was always needing to be restocked! THE ONE AND ONLY Zune we sold was returned because the clueless older lady who bought it thought it was "The exact same thing as an iPod". I'm guessing maybe she thought she could use it with iTunes and found out it wasn't compatible? Not sure. All I know is we had that display for six months before M$ pulled the plug on it!

[@akillersquirrel5880]

I had a zune 2 and zune hd back in the day. Zune's desktop software and device software were truly ahead of their time, and I'm still disappointed the platform died