Time for an Apology

It would seem I owe the Zune HD from Microsoft an apology. It's not nearly as terrible a device as I thought at first. I know, it's bad to expect something to compare to the Apple equivalent, but in all honesty I was expecting something close to the iPod Touch.

It wasn't, nor should it be.

After spending the last 10 hours or so playing with the Zune I have grown a little attached. It's ridiculously small and lightweight. The touch screen reacts well, though the screen size is small enough it makes life a little difficult for my clumsy fingers to find the correct keys on the soft QWERTY keypad. Overall I like it. The web browser is blistering fast, especially for a mobile device. It's actually faster on the wifi here than my sister's desktop computer. Kinda cool.

I'm still miffed at the fact that there are no productivity apps whatsoever from Microsoft. Seriously, how can you not have anything that has to do with productivity. (I don't consider MSN Weather or a calculator productivity apps). Granted I don't really want much out of it. All I really want to see is an email client and something for social media, Tweetdeck would be awesome. A note creation app that can sync with the computer and even traditional contacts would be nice too, but that may be asking a bit much. I know it's hard for MS to put something together that consumers ask for. It's taken them this long to get close to the OS that's been promised since Windows 2000.

I can live with this new toy though. I wouldn't spend money on a Zune HD though, not yet anyway. In the future it may be a nice device, but right now it's nothing more than very capable mp3 and video player with an FM radio tuner. I can't take advantage of the HD FM tuner out here in the middle of nowhere. I will definitely give the Zune HD credit though, the ear buds that come with it are rather nice. I refuse to spend money on ear pieces for mp3 players right now because, well, I don't really have a reason other than I don't want to and I tend to destroy things. But the earbuds that came in the package are nice. They are the first earbuds to not fall out of my ears and they don't give me ear aches like the Apple ones. I like that. I still don't like the Zune Marketplace and the fact that I have to buy points to get anything. Not happening. Give it a rest MS and just put a price on things instead. I ain't doin' eet.

So, after my upset rants earlier I've decided I like this toy. The Zune HD has it's issues, like everything, but hopefully before MS decides to discontinue this sucker they'll get around to providing the 2 apps I want so I'm not forced to pay for a smartphone or an iPod Touch. C'mon Billy-boy hook me up.