More than a week has gone by since Microsoft  's new Zune digital media player hit the market, and all that time, reviews have kept the Internet buzzing with widely varying opinions about the device's functionality, and whether the Zune can trump Apple's iPod.
Some reviewers have praised the Zune's appearance, appreciating its basic color choices of gray, brown, and white. Some have liked its intuitive navigation. But despite the mostly positive reviews, some drawbacks have been noted as well. Most of the negative comments have centered on the Zune's weight, which is heavy for a digital media player, coming in at about six ounces.
Will Squirting Catch On?
A feature heavily hyped by Microsoft and landing in some reviews as a positive is the Zune's wireless song-sharing functions, which allow users to digitally "loan" songs to other Zunes. Those loaned songs disappear from the devices after three plays.
The song-swapping capability has been dubbed "squirting." Microsoft is working on other uses for squirting, and has called the song exchange a good first step in using the technology.
Although the wireless sharing does not allow users to expand their music libraries permanently, it could give Zune owners a way to try out music and see if they like certain songs enough to buy them.
Too Soon To Say
The amount of mixed reviews for the Zune is not surprising, but consumers should realize that it is still very early in the product's rollout, said Jupiter Research analyst Michael Gartenberg.
"So far, you're just seeing early adopters, who tend to be very vocal about what they don't like," he said. "It remains to be seen what the general buyers will think."
Zune does have some distinctive features, he noted, such as the song loan function, but there are too few devices sold right now for that functionality to be fully exploited, Gartenberg noted.
Another aspect of the Zune introduction is how well it will truly do against the iPod. Most the device's buyers are those that did not want to buy Apple's player, Gartenberg said, so Microsoft could find itself courting a different type of audience.
"We'll see how Microsoft manages to cater to that demographic," he noted. "At the end of the day, it's all about whether the device does what it advertises, and how much effect word of mouth has."
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