You Take the Good, You Take the Bad, You Take Them Both and There You Have…
…the Facts of Life. The Facts of Life.
I had a fairly productive weekend – personally and socially. Friday night I got together with a bunch of friends for wine and food (Anna’s Taqueria in Davis Square for the food part). MMMMMMM
Speaking of facts of life…it’s a fact of life that you’ll find bargains when shopping with Randy. It’s true! If you want a deal, drag him along. But give him advance notice because he’ll also track down the best deals on-line first (through store websites, manufacturer websites and bargain-hunter sites like SlickDeals).
Without boring you with the details let’s just say that, combined, we saved well over 40% off the retail. We bought 3 pairs of Skechers shoes that were marked down to half-off and one pair that was $10 off. Then when the woman rang them in she accidentally scanned the box for the cheapest pair twice…instead of charging us for the most expensive pair. On top of that, Randy signed up for the store charge card and got 10% off the entire purchase. Then they had this “bonus bucks” program where if you spend $50 you got $10 back. Since the total purchase came to $102 – we got $20 back. We were on a roll.
…until we decided to cheack out mp3 players for me. OK everybody – I need your help. My iPod is getting worse and worse. It’s not even two years old and it’s obsolete (it’s a Mini…purchased a month or two before the Nano came out). The screen has been broken for the past year so all I can do with it is shuffle). Now the screen is just about completely lost and I may not even be able to find the shuffle option within the next month.
I’d planned on gettting the 30GB iPod so I can put movies on it for when I travel on planes. While at the stores on Saturday, I noticed that these iPods run for about $249 (though we found them for $10 less at one or two places). But then I saw that the 30GB Zune (basically Microsoft’s version of the iPod) can be purchased for between $199 and $229. So, potentially $50 less for the same size memory and a few more options.
After holding both in my hands and playing with both iPod’s and Zune’s, I started leaning toward the Zune. It has a much larger screen, it has an FM stereo feature (which the iPod doesn’t), and the buttons/wheel are better than the iPod (unlike the iPod, you can actually operate the Zune if you’re wearing gloves in the winter…something us New Englanders have to be concerned with 5 months of the year).
However, EVERYBODY I’ve talked to about this says to get the iPod since that’s the industry standard. Yet, not single person has ever used a Zune themselves…they’re all going on “what they heard” which, to be honest, has never been a good enough reason to do anything for me (explains why I’m atheist, etc…).
I’ve looked (a bit) online and the reviews for the Zune have been reasonable: hovering between 8 out of 10, or 3.5 out of 5 (depending on the scale). The iPod receives similar scores. The biggest complaints about the Zune have been the Wifi feature (which I wouldn’t even use use) or the ability to purchase songs (you have to use the lessser stocked Zune Marketplace instead of iTunes – which I never use).
So, does anybody out there have personal experience with the Zune? I could use some advice.
Finally, there’s a reason for my Facts of Life reference! Our friend, Peter, hosted a Facts of Life reunion special at his place last night (it aired in 2001, originally). It was pretty bad (Jo was smart enough not to participate). In this one, for some inexplicable reason, Natalie had two boyfriends fighting over her (and that was the plot, essentially). One fellow was quite tasty, though – so at least there was some eye candy. It was unfortunate that he was shirtless only briefly, however.
Speaking of tasty, Peter provided a delicious fondue (presumably so the food could be as “cheezy” as the entertainment).
Good times.
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On the Zune vs iPod debate I personally would purchase the one I feel the most comfortable with and the heck with what everyone else is doing. Now, mind you, I’m a Mac fanboy but I’m also a realist and if you like the feel of the Zune then I say go for the Zune. I have to say I’ve been rather impressed with Windows Vista, perhaps Microsoft did well with the Zune too. I suggest checking out the Zune store zune.net) and seeing what they have to offer in the way of music – if it meets your needs I say go for it.
Poor Karl. No feedback on his Zune vs iPod debate. I told you my feeling. iPod! Time to blog again!
iPod. Happy? ;-p
iPod.. Just because I have never looked at anything else or considered using anything else.