The new zunes are here! The new zunes are here!

Wherein No


Mossberg likes some of it: Also, the Zune player and software have a very good user interface, different from, but in some cases easier to use than, the iPod's.

Doesn't like a lot of it:

Even worse, to buy even a single 99-cent song from the Zune store, you have to purchase blocks of "points" from Microsoft, in increments of at least $5. You can't just click and have the 99 cents deducted from a credit card, as you can with iTunes. You must first add points to your account, then buy songs with these points. So, even if you are buying only one song, you have to allow Microsoft, one of the world's richest companies, to hold on to at least $4.01 of your money until you buy another. And the point system is deceptive. Songs are priced at 79 points, which some people might think means 79 cents. But 79 points actually cost 99 cents.

That's odd.

Many other links to Zune can be found at the Apple-centric Daring Fireball.