Checking facts is soooo PC
So very win
Full of fail is the online publication Apple Insider with their 5 Myths About the Zune HD. In short, AI's arguments are:
1) OLED isn't all it's cracked up to be, advertising great picture and lower power, but producing the opposite.
2) Zune HD's chipset, Nvidia Tegra, is old technology compared to the superior hardware of the iPhone and that the 8-core design does not mean the same thing as 8 general purpose CPU cores.
3) It isn't an HD video player. The resolution of the screen is too small for it.
4) The Zune HD promises high definition radio, but the HD in HD Radio really means hybrid digital
5) Zune HD is built of an old operating system, has a browser that was poorly received when introduced 8 years ago, and has created a framework for apps that only Microsoft has access to.
Wow. That sounds pretty damning for the Zune HD and Microsoft in general.
I'll tackle these myths one at a time. It may help to read the article before these responses.
1) It is true that the OLED display has a variable power consumption that is based on brightness and color displayed. However, very rarely would one be viewing a solid white background (their 300% power scenario) and the clarity of the display usually don't not require anything beyond 50% brightness if that. Under typical conditions (balanced colors), an OLED display uses 50-75% of the power an LCD uses. Don't forget that the color scheme on the Zune HD is white text on black.
The visibility in sunlight is vastly overblown. While the glare was no more worse than my iPod Touch, after the screen accumulated finger smudges those become more noticeable. Still wasn't an eyesore, though.
2) The ARM11 processing unit by itself is certainly a leap backward from the Cortex processors. Luckily for the Zune HD, there is a lot more than just an ARM11. The Tegra chipset uses two of these CPUs as well as the graphics engine. The execution scheme uses each of the available 8 processing cores for highly specialized functions allowing independent optimization for each. It is in these optimizations that the Tegra competes.
3) The high definition gaming machine Playstation 3 can't display HD video (no screen at all) and requires additional investment (HMDI cabling) to display HD video to an HD-capable TV. The Zune HD, likewise cannot display 720p video on its 480x272 display and requires the HD dock for the external streaming. It can, however, directly store 720p video (it can also be scaled down, selectable option in Zune software, to use less space), something that the current iPod line cannot do. It should be noted that the box clearly states that the dock is required for 720p and the promo videos have also done a good job stating this detail.
4) How dare Microsoft call a device the "Zune High Definition" and flagrantly advertise its "High Definition Radio" tuner. They didn't and they don't. Next point.
5) Nice of them to wait until the SDK is released and developers show what they can do before writing the Zune apps off as a failure. Nevermind. It excludes all mention of XNA 3.1 (the announcement was made after this had been posted, but the intent was still there) and instead implies that it has been intentionally pulled so that Microsoft and only Microsoft can flood the market with poor quality apps ported from the Zune's ancient, "regarded as a joke" Windows CE. Windows CE, for the record, has been a continuing effort is still a prominent embedded OS and has powered some pretty popular devices such as the Sega Dreamcast. The Zune UI is not CE, just based in CE. The most egregious falsehood in the Apple Insider post is on the browser.
What's "new" in the release of the Zune HD is a different version of the mobile IE browser, based not upon the creaky IE 4 engine from 1997 (still delivered in today's Windows Mobile devices), but a mobile version of IE 6, which dates back to 2001. That leaves the Zune HD's browser nearly a decade behind the modern WebKit browsers used in the iPhone, Palm Pre, Android, and modern BlackBerry phones. (emphasis added)
True IE6 was released in 2001. That is why the Zune browser was based off of a much newer design. The browser was built off of the sixth generation of mobile Internet Explorer. It is NOT a mobile version of the sixth Internet Explorer. IE mobile 6 is not the same as IE6. Not by a long shot.
The post goes on to claim that "Microsoft is doing [..] poorly in games and web browsers". Now it is true that the Xbox has been something of a disaster...in Japan. In the US, the only market of the Zune HD, their gaming unit has been widely successful. Even their new desktop browser IE8 is getting positive attention. They claim that Microsoft removing XNA 3.0 (the tool kit to design games) ensuring that MS would have total control over the app segment and shake their fingers in disappointment. I'll forgive them for the XNA remark, since 3.1 was released after the article was posted (a correction should have been issued by now, but that would put a positive light on Microsoft). Less understandable is why they have a problem with that. I'm sure they saw an opening and thought to themselves "Microsoft locking out other developers? Pshaw. Apple would never do anything like that, particularly at launch." You know where this is going. When the iPhone first launched, app development was locked down and even initial software development kits (SDK) were poorly integrated creating apps that were awkward at best, running on the platform without access to the core API. It took a year to open the App Store to all, and even now the approval process to make it to the store is shrouded in secrecy and littered with seemingly arbitrary and spontaneous rejections/removals.
The most amusing takeaway from this segment has to be the following:
Imagine if Apple just kept churning out new models of iPhone, each running firmware incompatible with its existing hardware and developer's third party apps.
For the record, Microsoft should be lauded for their support of previous generation Zunes. Even the very first generation, the blocky 30GB units, is fully compatible with the latest updates. No model has ever been excluded from the latest firmware. The iPod Touch has carried a fee to upgrade to certain version of the iPhone OS it runs on, and some of those updates break compatibility with older apps. If they refer specifically to the Zune HD specifics, they are still blind to their own product preferences. The new hardware on both the iPod Touch and iPhone allow for apps that require those added features, like the compass and video function on the iPhone 3GS or the OpenGL ES 2.0, unusable on older hardware (or even new in the case of the new 8GB Touch). This glaring oversight I find to erode any credibility Apple Insider has in reporting about their rival's new product.
What else to be expected from a publication by Apple loyalists? This isn't isolated, though. Outside of religious groups, none is as closed minded and misinformed than Macheads/Apple fanboys/etc. Don't get me wrong, I don't think that all users of Apple products fit that description, I know many who don't, (heck, I own a Mac, use an iPhone, and have various iPod products), but the percentage that fits is either very populous or at least incredibly vocal. These are the people who were clamoring for an OLED screen on the new iPod Touches, an upgrade that didn't make the cut, and now speak ill of the technology. The term "sour grapes" comes to mind. These are the same people who applauded more expensive albums (LP) in iTunes and complain about Zune charging a $15 monthly fee to download unlimited music. These are the same people who mocked the idea of a radio tuner being included as a feature on a music player then turned around and excitedly thrust their cash for the new FM-radio capable iPod Nano. The same people that complain about the Zune's proprietary dock connector, while they ignore the iPod's unique cable and deal with wave after wave of accessories incompatible with older models (iPod shuffle connectors, docks and their inserts, Firewire cables, video output cables, car kits and chargers that linked as Firewire devices, earphones that don't have the right remote control module, etc; all Zune accessories work with all Zunes).
It really doesn't matter what I say in response to wild claims to these iDiots as few, if any, will even read this, and those that do will just dismiss it as "fanboi"-ism or claim I've been paid by Microsoft. I have not. Had I been paid for defense of or praise for a product, I'd be sure to clearly state as much beforehand. It is part of the reason I have no intention of "converting" to Mac; I don't wish to be associated with that crowd and that level of ignorance. I'll probably get another Mac sometime down the road, but only after my current machine is old and gray, unusable for anything but keeping paper from blowing away when the door opens.
For what it is worth, I'm really enjoying my Zune HD so far and all of my complaints are pretty minor. I think that my iPod Touch will stick around, but mostly for apps (for now) and not so much media. That edge goes to the Zune HD.
Full of fail is the online publication Apple Insider with their 5 Myths About the Zune HD. In short, AI's arguments are:
1) OLED isn't all it's cracked up to be, advertising great picture and lower power, but producing the opposite.
2) Zune HD's chipset, Nvidia Tegra, is old technology compared to the superior hardware of the iPhone and that the 8-core design does not mean the same thing as 8 general purpose CPU cores.
3) It isn't an HD video player. The resolution of the screen is too small for it.
4) The Zune HD promises high definition radio, but the HD in HD Radio really means hybrid digital
5) Zune HD is built of an old operating system, has a browser that was poorly received when introduced 8 years ago, and has created a framework for apps that only Microsoft has access to.
Wow. That sounds pretty damning for the Zune HD and Microsoft in general.
I'll tackle these myths one at a time. It may help to read the article before these responses.
1) It is true that the OLED display has a variable power consumption that is based on brightness and color displayed. However, very rarely would one be viewing a solid white background (their 300% power scenario) and the clarity of the display usually don't not require anything beyond 50% brightness if that. Under typical conditions (balanced colors), an OLED display uses 50-75% of the power an LCD uses. Don't forget that the color scheme on the Zune HD is white text on black.
The visibility in sunlight is vastly overblown. While the glare was no more worse than my iPod Touch, after the screen accumulated finger smudges those become more noticeable. Still wasn't an eyesore, though.
2) The ARM11 processing unit by itself is certainly a leap backward from the Cortex processors. Luckily for the Zune HD, there is a lot more than just an ARM11. The Tegra chipset uses two of these CPUs as well as the graphics engine. The execution scheme uses each of the available 8 processing cores for highly specialized functions allowing independent optimization for each. It is in these optimizations that the Tegra competes.
3) The high definition gaming machine Playstation 3 can't display HD video (no screen at all) and requires additional investment (HMDI cabling) to display HD video to an HD-capable TV. The Zune HD, likewise cannot display 720p video on its 480x272 display and requires the HD dock for the external streaming. It can, however, directly store 720p video (it can also be scaled down, selectable option in Zune software, to use less space), something that the current iPod line cannot do. It should be noted that the box clearly states that the dock is required for 720p and the promo videos have also done a good job stating this detail.
4) How dare Microsoft call a device the "Zune High Definition" and flagrantly advertise its "High Definition Radio" tuner. They didn't and they don't. Next point.
5) Nice of them to wait until the SDK is released and developers show what they can do before writing the Zune apps off as a failure. Nevermind. It excludes all mention of XNA 3.1 (the announcement was made after this had been posted, but the intent was still there) and instead implies that it has been intentionally pulled so that Microsoft and only Microsoft can flood the market with poor quality apps ported from the Zune's ancient, "regarded as a joke" Windows CE. Windows CE, for the record, has been a continuing effort is still a prominent embedded OS and has powered some pretty popular devices such as the Sega Dreamcast. The Zune UI is not CE, just based in CE. The most egregious falsehood in the Apple Insider post is on the browser.
What's "new" in the release of the Zune HD is a different version of the mobile IE browser, based not upon the creaky IE 4 engine from 1997 (still delivered in today's Windows Mobile devices), but a mobile version of IE 6, which dates back to 2001. That leaves the Zune HD's browser nearly a decade behind the modern WebKit browsers used in the iPhone, Palm Pre, Android, and modern BlackBerry phones. (emphasis added)
True IE6 was released in 2001. That is why the Zune browser was based off of a much newer design. The browser was built off of the sixth generation of mobile Internet Explorer. It is NOT a mobile version of the sixth Internet Explorer. IE mobile 6 is not the same as IE6. Not by a long shot.
The post goes on to claim that "Microsoft is doing [..] poorly in games and web browsers". Now it is true that the Xbox has been something of a disaster...in Japan. In the US, the only market of the Zune HD, their gaming unit has been widely successful. Even their new desktop browser IE8 is getting positive attention. They claim that Microsoft removing XNA 3.0 (the tool kit to design games) ensuring that MS would have total control over the app segment and shake their fingers in disappointment. I'll forgive them for the XNA remark, since 3.1 was released after the article was posted (a correction should have been issued by now, but that would put a positive light on Microsoft). Less understandable is why they have a problem with that. I'm sure they saw an opening and thought to themselves "Microsoft locking out other developers? Pshaw. Apple would never do anything like that, particularly at launch." You know where this is going. When the iPhone first launched, app development was locked down and even initial software development kits (SDK) were poorly integrated creating apps that were awkward at best, running on the platform without access to the core API. It took a year to open the App Store to all, and even now the approval process to make it to the store is shrouded in secrecy and littered with seemingly arbitrary and spontaneous rejections/removals.
The most amusing takeaway from this segment has to be the following:
Imagine if Apple just kept churning out new models of iPhone, each running firmware incompatible with its existing hardware and developer's third party apps.
For the record, Microsoft should be lauded for their support of previous generation Zunes. Even the very first generation, the blocky 30GB units, is fully compatible with the latest updates. No model has ever been excluded from the latest firmware. The iPod Touch has carried a fee to upgrade to certain version of the iPhone OS it runs on, and some of those updates break compatibility with older apps. If they refer specifically to the Zune HD specifics, they are still blind to their own product preferences. The new hardware on both the iPod Touch and iPhone allow for apps that require those added features, like the compass and video function on the iPhone 3GS or the OpenGL ES 2.0, unusable on older hardware (or even new in the case of the new 8GB Touch). This glaring oversight I find to erode any credibility Apple Insider has in reporting about their rival's new product.
What else to be expected from a publication by Apple loyalists? This isn't isolated, though. Outside of religious groups, none is as closed minded and misinformed than Macheads/Apple fanboys/etc. Don't get me wrong, I don't think that all users of Apple products fit that description, I know many who don't, (heck, I own a Mac, use an iPhone, and have various iPod products), but the percentage that fits is either very populous or at least incredibly vocal. These are the people who were clamoring for an OLED screen on the new iPod Touches, an upgrade that didn't make the cut, and now speak ill of the technology. The term "sour grapes" comes to mind. These are the same people who applauded more expensive albums (LP) in iTunes and complain about Zune charging a $15 monthly fee to download unlimited music. These are the same people who mocked the idea of a radio tuner being included as a feature on a music player then turned around and excitedly thrust their cash for the new FM-radio capable iPod Nano. The same people that complain about the Zune's proprietary dock connector, while they ignore the iPod's unique cable and deal with wave after wave of accessories incompatible with older models (iPod shuffle connectors, docks and their inserts, Firewire cables, video output cables, car kits and chargers that linked as Firewire devices, earphones that don't have the right remote control module, etc; all Zune accessories work with all Zunes).
It really doesn't matter what I say in response to wild claims to these iDiots as few, if any, will even read this, and those that do will just dismiss it as "fanboi"-ism or claim I've been paid by Microsoft. I have not. Had I been paid for defense of or praise for a product, I'd be sure to clearly state as much beforehand. It is part of the reason I have no intention of "converting" to Mac; I don't wish to be associated with that crowd and that level of ignorance. I'll probably get another Mac sometime down the road, but only after my current machine is old and gray, unusable for anything but keeping paper from blowing away when the door opens.
For what it is worth, I'm really enjoying my Zune HD so far and all of my complaints are pretty minor. I think that my iPod Touch will stick around, but mostly for apps (for now) and not so much media. That edge goes to the Zune HD.