Zune - Every 30GB Zune Frozen at the Exact Same Moment Last Night

Who wrote that, Tarzan? I don't get it. Where did you find such an obscure web site?

 

bash.org is a repository of chat snippets (if you were on IRC and something funny 'happens" you can archive it there)


as for the comment - operating systems are deficient in one way or another

 

Exactly. iTunes gets updated, but not all older iPods get the newer functionality.

I love my Sony players, but Sony sucks at support and firmware updates. Sony introduces new models nearly every year.

 

I've said this for a long time. The switch to PowerPC was painful for many 3rd party vendors when they had to support both 680x0 and the PPC chips for a bit; many didn't do newer versions of software for awhile and then Apple did it again when they went to the Intel architecture. Granted, the OS was better when they did the switch to Intel and could easier support both for awhile, but ultimately Apple forced people to switch - and eventually buy new hardware.

 

I note no responses to posts like this ... everyone I know who has owned iPods has had them die or be broken in some way and had to exercise AppleCare or get a new one. Most people I know are on at least their second, if not their third iPod.

Those who live in glass houses should not throw stones. Remember all of the thread on bad firmware for the iPod Classic 160 if memory serves me correctly? And the bashing of sound quality after they dropped the Wolfson chip to make it cheaper?

And Apple got off light on switching from a 160GB capacity top end to 120GB since that's what everyone else's top capacity was pretty much. People snapped 'em up.

I mean, come on ... if people took their Apple blinders off, they'd see that what happoened with the 30GB Zune was a bug, a fluke. Every piece of electronics (HW and SW) has some bug in there somewhere. Some fatal, some not. You hope QA finds everything fatal.

 

You still really havent answered any of the other points raised though.

So would you say Apple/Creative/Archos/Sansa are in the same throw away catagory? If you can say not so with a straight face.........I'll be impressed.

 

Everything's already backed up! Thanks, though!

 

Not me. I take my old iPods, and when I upgrade, I give them as gifts to friends. The last time I checked (three months ago), all were still working.

None of these devices will last forever. I could make the same argument you did for CD players, DVD players, and VHS recorders. Getting more than 9-10 years' of use out of any of these devices pushes the limit on how long they were intended to last.

 

Yeah, I don't really get the criticism either. Only thing I can add is anecdotal: I bought a used first-generation 10 GB iPod off eBay in April 2004. It's about as thick as a deck of cards and looks positively antiquated compared to the whiz-bang iTouch my kids have.

Still works fine though. I've never even replaced the battery.

It'll die eventually -- all hard drives do. But that's a far cry from the software defect that affected every Zune 30 GB player on the planet yesterday.

Jeff

 

Sorry, but that quote is just plain silly. I own 3 IPODS, and have used them for about 5 years, nearly every day.

I've never had a problem with any of them. Neither have any family members I know who have IPOD's, some of whom have had them for years as well..

Maybe we're just lucky?? I kind of doubt it.

I can't help but think your just anti-apple for whatever reason..

I personally could care less if they're made by Apple, Microsoft, or Joe Blow.

I've had other players over the years and for ME, nothing beats the IPOD. Your mileage may very of course..

 

So far as I know, all MP3 players tend to be more in the consumable catagory than in the durable goods catagory. My current MP3 player, a Motorola Razr with a few 2 GB cards, is definitely treated as a consumable by Verizon. "New every two" is their policy; a new cell phone at 2 year intervals.

 

I've had two iPods die on me. I'm not claiming they are less reliable than other players, I'd imagine they are about the same.

 

Do an ebay search and see how many broken iPods are out there. Granted there are lemons and owner abuse, but the number is rather large. There's broken Zunes too. Not as many, but probably because not many people use Zunes compared to iPods. Just do the search and see for yourself. I do understand that such a search doesn't mean iPods are unreliable.

My Zune still isn't running yet, but I did unplug the battery 3 times. Bad things happen to me when I get impatient, mostly from my own actions.

 

I could care less what computing platform people use (and I've owned a Mac in the past for music purposes; I did my main composing on it for about 5 years). I've used nearly every one over the years. Remember that for the iPod to be successful, they had to get PC folks to adopt 'em. If they kept it Mac only, it'd be a very different story today as to how much of the portable player market Apple would have.

The fact is, everyone I know has had dead iPods for one reason or another (screen, hard drive - which is inevitable, etc.). These people don't abuse 'em, either.

I think people are forgetting that the Zune is only sold in North America, and the 30GB ones probably only in the USA since they're most likely the original ones (they weren't even in Canada at that point). People are making a mountain out of a molehill on this in terms of people affected. Apple on the other hand tried to downplay tit when they shipped iPods from the factory for a brief time in 2006 with a Windows virus. It only affected a small amount of people, but that's much more egregious and horrid QC.

 

Here's a link about reliability both good and bad:
http://forums.ilounge.com/showthread.php?t=194180

Another one:
http://www.macintouch.com/reliability/ipodfailures.html

If you do research, it appears the 40GB click wheel model had a very high defect/failure rate. Failure rates in general seem to be pretty standard for the industry.

Apple was sued over the first gen Nano and how easily its screen could be scratched ... and then started to ship 'em with protection.

Any flash-based player (Apple or not) will inherently be more reliable than one that has a hard drive.

This isn't rocket science.

 

Funny...my iPod is just fine. I too have never had a problem with any Apple product...ever. Luck of the draw? Maybe, but I'm not the only one I know with the same luck as I have.

 

For me, the ipod is the best portable music player there is. However, ditching firewire for USB was a dumb move. Would Apple have gone USB if Windows users weren't buying ipods? Can't say for certain, but it makes me wish that ipod was made exclusively for the Mac.

I know one person who owns a Zune, and lucky for her, she doesn't know how to update the firmware! Crisis averted.

 

I know a lot of people that have used iPods for years and have never had them "die on them". Does that mean it doesn't have it's problems like most other electronic devices? Of course not. I'll guess though that there are a lot more people that DO NOT know of anyone who has had an iPod die on them.

My guess (and I'm guessing) is that the number of used broken iPods on Ebay and users that had issues are high is because it is by far the highest selling mp3 player since it's inception. So of course it will have a large/larger number of "duds" by the shear volume of them around the world.
The iPod is like most things reported on today-you only hear things about them when they go bad. I'm mean how many people are going to start up blogs, post around the net, etc...about how much they just love their new iPod.?

IMHO I think any MP3 player can high number of issues due to the fact that teenagers (and adults) don't realize they are carrying around basically a portable hard drive that does need to be handled with some care.

 

IPODs are great products, no doubt. Just don't knock our Zunes cause they're made by Microsoft. Seriously, have you even listened to one?

 

Speaking for myself I have always been a Windows user and will continue to be. The iPod is the only thing from Apple I have ever purchased.
I just got a 120 gb classic for X-mas but looked into the Zune quite a bit. Honestly the only thing that pushed me to the iPod is that I had a great experience with my past iPod so it was also obviously what I was used to. I just needed an upgrade in capacity size from my 30gb Video. There also seems to be be more accessaries for the iPod due to it's popularity.
I have read great things about the Zune (of course this current thread not withstanding )

 

I've had iPods. I was looking for a 120gb player a couple of months ago and got a Zune. The only thing that pushed me to a Zune over the 120GB iPod Classic was:

1) The Zune sounded better. Substantially.
2) Wi-fi, can sync to my library and podcasts anywhere in my house without plugging into my PC.

There are other bonuses (Zune Pass, which I think has some value; large wide screen; screen that doesn't scratch) but ultimately those two things were enough to make up my mind.

 

Is there any data to suggest that 120 GB Zunes sound better than the old 30 GB Zunes? Lossless files (and even 192 WMA files) sounded really good on my home rig, but I was wondering if the newer ones sound even better. I'm the only person I know with a Zune, so I can't compare in person.

 

My experience only goes with the 30Gb but using WMAPro at 192k, I've finally after using several MP3 brands settled on a player and lossy format that sounds as good as, if not better then the later versions of minidisc ATRAC.

I either now listen to my collection thru the Zune or using the lossy files (WMA Pro) archived on my PC. The CDs now rarely venture off the shelf.

 

Turns out the Toshiba Gigabeat, that the player was based on, crashed too. It wasn't even a Microsoft bug.

 

Got my 30 GB Zune back up and running earlier this week, but I ended up wiping it. Been ripping CDs constantly lately. I also got a 120 GB Zune. The 120 should be able to fit all of my collection in 192 WMA, and it's now my main player in my home rig. I'm still keeping my 30 GB for abroad use.