After a beautiful courtship with the iPod Nano, I purchased the 80GB 2nd gen Zune.
As with most gadget-nerds, I have a nasty habit of convincing myself that my current technology is greatly flawed, and that I must get the next great thing now. But truth be told, there is nothing wrong with my Nano. I hadn’t even filled up its 8 gigs when I gave it away. I spent plenty of funds on some great accessories like my Nano wallet and docking station. But it felt like it was time. The Nano had already come out with a redesign, which therefore meant my original Nano was far less superior in some made up reality in my head.
Plus, it didn’t play videos. I tend to always make my rationalizations based on whether a gadget plays or takes video or not. I buy new digital cameras that takes video, my new camera takes video, I’m sure my future new laptop will require intense processing for making and playing videos, and I bought a new high def tv to play high def dvds. Now, I have a Zune that can play video.
In reality, I never tape anything on my digital camera or my cell phone, I only watch YouTube, and I own three dvd’s: Ali G Show First Season, The Boondocks First Season, and The Chappelle Show First Season. I rent close to zero dvds.
There’s some hope with the Zune though. I can see myself enjoying a few video podcasts at the gym or on a slow weekend.
You see, the main but still ridiculous justification for buying a new MP3 player was to kick start my gym habit again. Ever since I came down with mono on my birthday, I haven’t gotten back to the gym every weekday morning. Two or three days, I’m waking up only to go back to sleep. This, my friends, is not how I’m going to get into better shape, especially since I am only marginally more motivated when I’m at the gym and my showers are sometimes longer than my workouts. I think I’ve gotten over the part where “showing up” is an accomplishment, which is why my latest habit is more distressing.
But the Zune can be the cure to all my problems. I can watch the tv and actually get audio using it’s radio thus allowing me to run like a hamster longer, or I can listen to my own BritPop collection or podcasts when the gym music is uninspiring. Heck, maybe i can load up some workout tutorials on it and learn proper technique.
But really, who am I kidding. I just wanted something new.
The next inevitable question will be why I chose the Zune over the iPod. I got asked it by the sales associate at Target, who quietly judged me as an ill-informed consumer. Douchebag.
For one, the new Zunes are actually quite spiffy. Bigger screen to watch my workout videos is a great example. The iPod Classic, of equal size and shape, looks kind of 2005 at this point. And the iPod Touch? Yeah, it looks great, but I paid 100 dollars less for 42 more gigs. Plus, the Zune comes with radio and better podcast functionality.
But what’s even better? It’s fairly uncommon. When it comes to tech, there’s no better purchase than when I’ve personally come across something that works equally as well or better than the norm, but no one has it. Sure, I can’t share music with other Zune owners, because I know of none. But who cares? People will swoon to see something different. They’ll never look at their iPods the same. And in the case of the Zune, it’s only equally as good as the iPod. The software is pretty horrible comparatively, but it’s nothing you can’t get around.
I feel the same way about my Zune as I did with my Helio Ocean, to date one of the best purchases I’ve made ever.
Still, there goes $250 I’ll never have back. Here’s hoping it was worth it.
