When I first read the color scheme a month or so ago, the usual suspects were on it, black and white, that was just a given knowing the general populous like those colors, otherwise the iPod wouldn't have had an entire AC/DC add campaign centered around a black iPod, but then my eyes came across what iPod enthusiasts might call the ugliest color in the rainbow, next to maybe chartreuse or flaming hot pink......Brown.
I started to ponder on the idea and a single question came to my mind. What the hell is Microsoft thinking? Honestly, its as if they picked the absolute last color anyone on earth would pick, but that flicked that idea switch in my head, brown = unique. To the best of my knowledge you can get a portable media player in most common colors with the exception of brown. Honestly if you can find a pic of another player in brown (not photoshop'd) let me know on the Zune Forums, I'll post it up.
Going down this tangent of using brown as one of the Zune's launch colors, could this be the secret to the upcoming Microsoft marketing campaign? Brown being the new black. I have to admit, wether you like brown or not, you will at least remember that a Zune comes in brown, no matter if your buying or not.
Its common enough that people can remember the color and odd enough that it'll stick with you, almost like Apple's fascination with the color white on anything and everything. You see some electronic in white with maybe a little silver trim you think Apple, almost a reflex even though it might be a toaster or a toilet bowl cleaner. Its that lasting mental link that has the potential to catapult a product from the mundane to the "gotta have it". That quirky autoresponse we have to the odd and out there that makes us want to have it over another product. You could call it the "furby effect" for lack of a better phrase.
What does this all mean, we'll want a Zune because its brown? No, you'll want a Zune because its better (Large Screen, WIFI, tight integration with the Zune Marketplace, great menu system, etc see Zunescene.com for more) than the competition, but you'll want brown to set yourself apart.
31 comments:
I pre-ordered a brown zune. I'll be unique until everyone else has one!
Technically, we're all unique. So let's be unique. Everyone else is doing it!
Brown? I don't care if it's "unique" it's so ugly.
The design is horrible.
I don't see why anyone would buy a zune.
I don't understand microsoft.
Apple is the only way to go.
anything microsoft steals from apple, i mean creates on their own with complete originality is horrible. accept it. go buy an ipod and a mac.
the reason why it's unique is because no-one wants brown... you cant argue that brown is nice simply because everyone hates it??
Brown will never become the new black, because black has a tiny bit of class; anyone with a brown mp3 player is going to look like a complete numpty, with absolutely no eye for design.
I say this as an art student; (believe me we love to be different..) I can't understand brown, it's as though microsoft are finally being self-mocking about their complete lack of style.
Thanks for all the iPod Fanboy comments, please continue to flame at your leisure.
thomas, you may be an art student, but when it comes to fashion, you're a bit behind. unfortunately for you, brown IS the new black. has been for some time now. black will always be timeless and classy, but brown isn't "numpty" as you say.
look around, you don't see the world in black and white (unless you're a photography student). brown is warm, not cold and sterile like black or white. especially white. big brother is watching...better not say anything bad about apple...
that brown is S#!t brown. it looks like what i make everyday in the bathroom.
Its not a classy brown....nor blk
For Fashions sake keep it to the bathroom
wow....i'm sure billy gates saw that poop brown actually made it too production...and said, "oh sh@t." And someone, trying to pad the blow and sound clever, responded, "sh@t is the new black."
According to reports...Mr. Gates insisted on a web site to be set up as damage control. Y'know, get some microsoft yutz to spin poop as the "new black." Here...before your eyes...is the fruit of that labor.
Sure...if i lather myself in cr@p and walk the city streets, i'm unique; but certainly not is a positive way.
Thanks Bill for you comments please continue to "flame on", however i have to break it to you... i don't work for Microsoft, though i do delight in Microsoft Tech as some of the links on the blog will attest to.
http://www.ifilm.com/video/2704424
to anyone who thinks that the iPod is better than the Zune has absolutely no idea what they are talking about... Get real, look at the specs on either of the players and you will clearly see that the Zune is by far the better player. Who cares if it comes in brown, I think Microsoft did this to make people think, "Why the hell would they make a brown?" and then have them go ahead and buy either a black or a white one. The brown is a marketing ploy and a damn good one at that. I know I'm about to go tell my friends, "Hey guys, have you heard about the new Microsoft Zune? It comes in sh!t brown!"
specs? oh yeah its heavier, larger and clunkier.
Oh yeah and better battery life 14 hours compared to 20 of the ipod.
Lets not forget the 1st sony walkman mp3 player with its incredible battery life and the fact that it held a million songs.
MS had some neat ideas with this thing and they failed. Its clunky as hell. It has no wheel but a 5 button pad. a pain in the ass.
The superior screen showed album art work fuzzy.
great feature!
So i think a better spec is the user experience.
Ipod=easy
zune=why did i buy this brown color? but hey if its brown its cool!
How about the marketing idea of: lets create a s#tty player so people will talk about it.
Here's a couple of decent reasons to not buy the Zune. Microsoft finally caught up with Apple and made an mp3 player. About time. So great is has wi-fi and FTP. But yet it still hasn't mastered being compatible with its own technology. It doesn't work with the music download that Microsoft offers and isn't even going to be compatible with Vista. Way to go, make a piece of technology that will be out of date at your next operating system release. Well done Microsoft. I think the brown zune looked interesting, but I'll stick with my iPod that works even with my Windows computer and isn't going to be out of date come Vista.
Just as a side note, I like how Microsoft considers filling up your mp3 player with music and videos a marketing tool. Just what I wanna do when I get a piece of technology. Spend my first hour clearing it of all the crap they put on it. Can't they leave one item of theirs uncorrupted.
I'm not a fanboy of the zune, nor do i have an ipod. i could care less about a 20-30-80gb external hard drive with a screen. Bluetooth with a2dp would have been a nice built in feture(so you can use wireless headphones). I was going to make this a nice review before i realized i just don't give crap. ipod sucks and this zune is a rip-off of a ipod. so congad-u-F###-u-lations another media player that sucks. I'll stick with my rokr e2 with up tp 4gb of storage, camera cell phone.No it doesn't come even close to holding my libary of songs but it makes calls and surfs the web and watches live tv for 249.99.Hey call me on your izune or zunepod! oh ya btw that thing about it not working on vista.....horsecrap. i have rc2 5744. it'll work fine! my dell axim x50v works why wouldn't the zune?
Just so you know, yes, I'm serious. If you look around and do some research you'll find out I'm serious. It works fine with other operating systems, but will currently not work with Vista. But they're working on making a patch or something of the kind to make it so. For anyone who has a Zune I truly hope they manage.
Vista and Zune Compatibility
good post kari, thank you. btw your right about the vista thing and im right that it's just another status symbol toy to get ones hands one when they don't feel 1337 enough. I SELL electronics for a living for one of the largest dealers in america. i'll give you a hint i don't wear a polo shirt to work. If we sell these things it will become the best media player in the world to my customers. i just hope the profit margin on these things is better than upod.
Thanks for the link Kari, one has to figure Vista has only been recently RTM'd and isn't available to the wide public yet, still giving Microsoft 2+ months till the release in January, hopefully that will give them time enough to produce a patch that will allow the Marketplace to run. That aside, Vive la Brown!?
i love white electronics, like a sissy I know, but I also love 70's kitchen colors. I was planning on painting some of my black keyboards brown, and this thing comes already brown! I'm set. but yeah I can't afford it so I'm just going to paint my nano brown. the end.
Damn. I was glad to read the comments of the ipod fans. They confirm my theory on them and the Apple guys.
When it comes to comparing Microsoft and Apple, i always felt like Apple product were a little bite better in quality, gut Microsoft always gave more to the costumers for their money. For 5 freaking years the Ipod dominated the market of Mp3 players without modifying the basic design of their product. That could only mean 2 things; either they are extremely lazy or extremely smart knowing that the ipod lovers wouldn't care about the features the the product offers, but would buy it because it's a fashion statement. This can only be proven by the price of the Ipod.
Microsoft did something that Apple should have done a long time ago. Bigger screen, FM tuner, WIFI, etc. That is why the Zune is better than the Ipod.
For all you Ipod lover out there, stop focusing on how cool the Ipod is or looks, but what you guys are actually getting for your money. Ipod is just a rip off.
Damn. I was glad to read the comments on ipod fans. They confirme my theory on them and the Apple guys. When it comes to comparing Microsoft and Apple, i always felt like Apple product were a little bite better in qualitty, gut Microsoft always gave more to the costumers fo rtheir money. For 5 freaking years the Ipod dominated the market of Mp3 players withough modifying the basic design of their product. That could only mean 2 things either they are extremly lazy or extremly smart knowing that the ipod lovers wouldn't care about the features the the product offers, but would buy it because it's a fashion statement. This can only be proven by the price of the Ipod.
Microsoft did something that Apple should have done a long time ago. Bigger screen, FM
To the art student who doesn't like brown: I am an artist, and I love brown! Look at the old master paintings, like Rembrandts, they all have a sepia/umber tone to them; brown is wonderful, the color of earth. The brown Zune looks great! Much nicer than the oh-so-ubiquitous black and white.
I am sick of ipods and macs. They are cheaply made products and the people who use them are like sheep, just victims of sly marketing tactics. Just about everyone I know with an ipod has complained of it breaking at some point. I would never get one, it sounds like a big hassle. Trying to decide between a Zen Vision player or a brown Zune!
I think it's perfect. Brown is the color of crap.
I got an mp3 player at the size of a USB stick with a cool glassy end. You take out that end and it becomes a USB stick. Stick it into your computer and both charge it and upload songs. No cables, chargers, cradles, etc...
Talking about innovation???
I think Brown is good from the first of the model.and it's unique.
OK... first of all... everyone who has posted on here like 8 times needs a life... Second of all... there is this thing and it is called preference... that means every one is entitled to their own opinion... AND for those of you complaining about iPod vs. Zune... here is my honest opionion on it as a iPod owner and lover.
Zune is better based on customer needs. Bigger Screen, etc. I agree with whoever said that iPods break alot. They do. Trust me. I have ALWAYS had problems with Apple products however, I have had NO problems with ANY microsoft products ever... and if you are just buying an mP3 player for a fashion statement... you're retarded... And as to the color... brown... as I stated above... it is just preference... however to all of those iPod suckers... brown isnt ONLY the color of crap... its also the color of chocolate... and i'm quite sure that if you ask the earths population... chocolate isnt a bad thing... but thats not the point... Microsoft is giving us a QUALITY mp3 player for the RIGHT price... no over charging... AND its plain out BETTER looking in general... and to whoever said that the Zune was "clunkier" and WAY bigger than an iPod... get real... if it still fits in my purse its not too big... WOAH a whole fourth of an inch "Clunkier" now THAT is going to change the world. I personally think that if all it took was a fourth of an inch thicker (if that) to make the screen bigger... Apple should have thought of that 3 years ago.
Back to the colors... if you REALLY dont like brown... just wait until they come out with COLORED Zunes. Oh yea and about the whole "click wheel for iPod is SOOO much better and easier than 5 whole buttons on a Zune"... if you REALLY want to get into it... technically there are five buttons on an iPod too... and if you are so lazy that 5 buttons is going to kill you... then you are part of the reason the world is as lazy as it is.
- iPod owner awaiting Zune price drop
I completely agree with this last girl, and as for the morons arguing which is better STFU if you like the zune great get one, if your an apple fan and hate microsoft, well get the F*** outta microsoft reviews, ppl dont need to hear your bitching and moaning. For the ppl up above my ipod messes up alot too, think im gona try out the zune. Anyone who has a problem with that, go f*** yourself and have a nice day.
what? 1/4 inch bigger "oh no" its not clunky. And no the design is not horrible,the only reason it looks bigger in pics is becuase of the big sceen
b.t.w. Impeach Bush
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