Fanboy Disclosure - Chris and his Toys

Posted by Chris Leckness on 11/24/07

With all the mud being slung around from the Apple guys about the Zune. I thought this might be a good point to stop what I am doing and explain where I sit in the Music Player Market.

I will start off with Zune. I am not a Microsoft Employee. I am a Fan and Online Evangelist of Windows Mobile and Pocket PC Products. I am a big fan of HTC Windows Mobile Powered Devices. Based on my community involvement running Aximsite.com, iPaqHQ.com (now Mobilitysite.com), I have been awarded Microsoft Mobile Device MVP for four years now. When Zune was announced last year, I naturally latched on to Zune. I admit that the Zune 30 was no iPod, nor iPod killer, but I still would rather support it than an iPod. I ended up purchasing 4 different 30 gb Zunes in the 1st couple months. I kept two for myself gave one to a reviewer and gave one away. Since then I have also purchased a Ford Pink Zune and gave it away on Mobilitysite.

Have I ever used an iPod? Yep. In fact I have the following iPods in my home now. ( all of which I purchased ) I have an iPhone. I have also given two iPhones away in contests. I have two generation 1 iPod Nanos. I have given a couple of them away as well. I have one generation 2 nano as well as one generation 3 nano. I have a 30gb black iPod Video. I have an iPod Touch. Lastly, I have an 80gb iPod Classic.

My music player addiction doesn't stop at Zune and iPod either. I have 4 different Sandisk Sansa players, two of them are e200s, one is the Sansa Connect, and I also have the Sandisk Sansa Shaker. ( The Shaker was provided as a review unit from Sandisk, the others were purchased) I have 4 different Dell DJ players. I have purchased, tested, and gave away numerous other players such as the Samsung YP-P2, the Creative Zen 8gb, the Sony Walkman, and an Archos 605.

My dislike for the iPod pop culture and the elitist attitude from Apple cronies is one of the reasons why I am not a supporter of the Apple iPod line of products. I have said it before and I will say it again, The iPods are really great players. The iPhone is one of the best entertainment devices on the market. It's a great phone for the average consumer. I don't use mine because of my need for full exchange support and the lack of 3rd party "INSTALLED" applications.

The 1st Generation Zunes were not perfect, but they were good enough to where I didn't miss anything about the iPod, in fact I do not like iTunes period. I also prefer the "$15/mo all you can eat" method of music collection. I have had a Zune Pass for the last year and a Yahoo to Go account for the past 2 years.

Since the 2nd Gen Zunes have made it on the streets, I have purchased 3 Black 80GB Zunes, 2 different 8gb Flash Zunes, and 2 4GB Zunes. One of the 80s, I use. One was just given away in a contest and the last one is in the mail to a friend. I have also given away a red 4gb Zune in a contest here and gave the pink one to my daughter. All purchased, no freebies here.

One last disclosure that really isn't relevant to Music Players, but I am also a member of Mobius, a Microsoft sponsored and run focus group about Windows Mobile and the future of Mobility. Mobius is an invite only event that is limited to 25 persons per meeting. These meetings are 1 - 2 times a year.

To sum all this up, I am not paid by Microsoft. I don't get free Music Players. I don't like Apple. I do like Microsoft and the Zune.

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8 Responses for "Fanboy Disclosure - Chris and his Toys"

Rikostan November 24th, 2007 at 7:31 am 1
I got the 4gb red zune yesterday, by the way. Not sure how it happened, but my wife is already calling it hers. I should have kept the win a secret…. at the very least it could have been a good Christmas gift for her.

I have known of your background for quite some time from ipaqhq. I knew you were a MS MVP too, but what I have always liked about your sites, posts, reviews, is your unwillingness to bash other products. You always seem to point out both the good and bad, which is something a lot of other people do not do.

I want fair and balanced reviews, not whiny squawking from a person who is so emotionally tied up in their choice of devices, that no other device can be any good at all, like that Apple guy who said the Zune had to be wired in to use WiFi to sync.
That kind of disinformation hurts everybody. We need to see even more competition to drive the technology, but people like that do not see the big picture at all.
Jaxim November 24th, 2007 at 8:38 am 2
I agree with you, Chris. I have an aversion to the iPod, but I can also see what’s great about it. Some of the animated transitions and features of the current iPod classic are better than the current Zune, and I hope the Zune team changes the firmware soon to close this gap. I have also been impressed with the iPhone and iPod Touch and if they had one that was 32 GB, I would have bought one. But since they don’t I hope Microsoft makes a Zune version soon with at least a 3GB harddrive, b/c I’m a real Media Center fan.
Jean November 24th, 2007 at 8:41 am 3
I agree with all of you, The only reason i hate the ipod is cause in order to be "cool" you have to have one and also because they make to much of the name and not the player.
Antonio November 24th, 2007 at 9:27 am 4
i don’t agree with jaxim. I can’t stand the animations in the Itunes store and the new iPods. I really like the new new zune firmwear and how it reacts fast without the carousel of cover art.
Susan November 24th, 2007 at 10:05 am 5
I have become a Microsoft fan girl…. because it fits! I can’t imagine using a phone other than my AT&T Tilt…or a music player other than the Zune. I purchased 3 iPods (video) for my kids last Christmas because it was what they asked for and I got a Zune (last November)…… and it wasn’t long before each of them commented they would have rather had a Zune!!
Vuurflits November 24th, 2007 at 11:01 am 6
you sure have a lot of dmp’s!
Karl Casper November 24th, 2007 at 11:26 am 7
I to am a big fan of media players but I just don’t have the funds to get any players
Christopher November 24th, 2007 at 9:25 pm 8
I must say, Chris. You hit the nail on the head in the sense that I feel the exact same way. I can understand why some people like the iPod, and I don’t belittle them for doing so. However, the whole elitist crowd, iTunes, and bland interface(excluding iPhone/Touch) is what turns me off about it. I’m pretty much indifferent when it comes to Microsoft, and when they announced their plans to release a PMP, I rolled my eyes and went on about my life. Months later after reading all the reviews(including yours) I ended up getting a Z30 and didn’t regret it. I ended up purchasing the Z80, and I love it even more. The interface, the way it feels in your hand, everything. Zune pass is a steal, and there is always something new waiting around the corner when I’m listening to music. Having so many albums at your immediate disposal is just awesome, I wish I had jumped on it sooner.