29 November 2007

I was one of the geeks that ran out and purchased the Zune in November of 2006 (the week it came out). I posted about it here and here and here just to give people my perspective on it. But now Zune has come full circle.

I knew from the start I wasn't really an early adopter with the Zune. That's a title I would reserve for those purchasing products that have a half life - they can't be upgraded so when the next version comes out you have to scrap the old model and move forward. But the Zune was upgradable from the start. That's probably why I risked it.

In one of my posts I talked about the negative things I had experienced with the Zune. But earlier this month Microsoft rolled out a brand new version of the Zune Marketplace (that's iTunes for the Zune if you're still in that box) and a firmware upgrade for the Zune itself.

I plugged the puppy in and within 5 minutes it felt like I had the latest Zune off store shelves - complete with new wireless functionality, podcasts, etc. Most of the complaints I had at the beginning are now resolved. And I didn't have to buy the new Zune!

The Marketplace is different and will take some getting used to, but it has also improved. Still can't download music successfully to my wife's laptop but we're working on that. Of course I don't expect stuff like this to work perfectly every time. Does any electronic device offer that luxury? I don't think so. In fact, I was at Best Buy the other day and there were at least three iPod Nano owners in line returning their defective products. So it can't just be the Zune :)

Zune + Zune Pass (monthly subscription service with unlimited downloads) = Happy boy.