Idiot of the Day : Erik Sofge of Popular Mechanics

Posted by Chris Leckness on Dec 13, 2007

closeThis post was published 2 years 1 month 27 days ago which may make its actuality or expire date not be valid anymore. This site is not responsible for any misunderstanding.

Yep Erik, the Zune isn’t to many what the iPod is, but how in the hell does that make the Zune (Gen 1 or 2) one of the 10 Worst Gadgets of 2007. Sure, I am defending my device of choice, but your labeling the Zune the #8 worst Gadget of 2007 shows me you are clueless. No, the Zune to most doesn’t compare to the iPod Touch, but sir… do some research, it more than competes with the iPod Classic 80 (The Zune 80s competition since you probably didn’t know that). In fact some publications have the Zune 80 edging out the iPod Classic 80. Looks to me like you have an agenda Erik. 

8. Microsoft Zune | $150 to $250

To take on the iPod, Apple’s sleek little Goliath with record-breaking sales and a spot in the Museum of Modern Art’s permanent collection, Microsoft last year unveiled the Zune: a larger, heavier, equally-expensive device. What did it have that the iPod didn’t? The ability to temporarily share songs with others Zunes. Of course, this interesting feature was crippled by a three-play or three-day expiration (whichever came first). Microsoft also had the questionable logic of offering the brick-shaped device in brown. Quite simply, instead of killing the iPod, the Zune barely made a whimper when it was introduced.

Cut to this year. Apple has revamped their entire iPod line, shrinking their already-tiny Nanos and adding the iPhone’s multitouch interface to a non-phone media player. So how does Microsoft respond? By matching the size and feature set of the previous year’s iPods and not even attempting to compete on price (the updated Zunes cost pretty much exactly the same as the new iPods). It’s almost as if Microsoft didn’t anticipate Apple making a single update or change to their constantly evolving line of players.

Oh, by the way… the LG Chocolate is one of most popular, well regarded feature phones on the Verizon Network…

10 Worst Gadgets of 2007

Chris Leckness (4407 Posts) - Website | Twitter | Facebook


Chris Leckness is the Owner/Administrator of Mobilitysite. He is a Microsoft MVP, Mobile Devices and a member of the exclusive focus group, Mobius. Chris has been a big time supporter/user of Windows Mobile since the Dell Axim days when it was Pocket PC 2002. Chris loves Zune, but also owns 3 iPhones too. His personal blog is chris.leckness.com.

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