iPod Amnesty Bin

idogcow (73 months ago | reply)

I wonder how many of them still work....

koerner_r (73 months ago | reply)

lame switchers, but funny idea!

twenty5pics (73 months ago | reply)

great idea!

DUMP THEM ALL!

Im sick of 'em already......

Such an overrated device........

arielwaldman (73 months ago | reply)

I wonder how many iPods Zune bought to make a marketing point. Notice how all the iPods in there are the same generation.

arielwaldman (73 months ago | reply)

Additional note: Only someone stupid enough to buy a Zune would be equally stupid enough to not sell their discarded iPod on eBay

fimoculous (73 months ago | reply)

I think it's more of a joke than you're suggesting. Microsoft isn't actually dumb enough to think that people are going to drop their iPods in the bin -- it's a way to show they have a reasonable degree of levity.

arielwaldman (73 months ago | reply)

I know, I just find it funny that they probably purchased iPods to make a point.

Dr_Watso (73 months ago | reply)

That's funny. I was always amazed that people still jumped on the ipod bandwagon, even though there are so many MUCH better devices that cost a whole lot less... Less than half the cost for some, and in general you get double the features and storage.

jake4n (73 months ago | reply)

Hey Dr_Watso. Apparently you still don't get it. It's the iTunes, stupid!!!

geobfield (73 months ago | reply)

Dr_Watso -

I have a collegue that thought the way you do. He was very anti-Apple - went through three other brands of MP3 players about three years ago - all with alleged better features than the iPod - and returned them all - his words, they sucked. He finally got an iPod and now owns four of them. Turns out they just work better - what an idea.

Disclaimer - my family now has four iPods and I own Apple stock ;-)

karlthetruth [deleted] (73 months ago | reply)

Uh...I have a Zune. I have downloaded thousands of songs legally for $15 a month instead of $1 per song. What's wrong with that? Were you always so cynical ariel?

twozerozerosix (73 months ago | reply)

but karl, isn't it that you just rent those songs? when you stop paying, you don't have access to them anymore?

jdelgoulet (73 months ago | reply)

You know what ...
We should create a " Windows Amnesty Bin" ... I'm pretty sure the bin will be full in a few minutes ... full of Windows 98, NT4, XP and of course Vista ...
Karl -> at 15$ a month I'm pretty sure you don't OWN your music ... at 0.99$ a song I have it ... for life !
Watso -> well, so you think that the majority of people using MP3 players are stupid ? Let's face it ! If some much people jump on the iPod there are an obvious reasons : design and USABILITY !!!!

But you know ... windows people don't have a clue about what it is otherwise they would just switch !

ChunkyBasty (73 months ago | reply)

@ Dr_Watso_

Please provide a link for the mp3 player with double the storage of the 80GB iPod. I would be the first to buy one. And, as far as features go, it plays music/movies/TV Shows/games......Should I keep going?

PortugePunk (73 months ago | reply)

desperate much?

outlan2000 (73 months ago | reply)

If I had a Zune I would forego any kind of bin and deposit it directly in the trash can. Sorry, Microsoft's not going to win me over with their piece of junk music player... Face it, Apple just has it right on some things--who can hold that against them? Why do people get so defensive for Microsoft (or become anti-Apple), especially if they have no vested interest in them whatsoever??

tim5021 (73 months ago | reply)

I love this - The Zune is dead and so is Microsoft

kenfagerdotcom (73 months ago | reply)

If the Zune had iTunes support I would consider purchasing one. Someone drop me a line when hell freezes over.

heyotwell (73 months ago | reply)

Actually that bin started out almost full, but employees have looted it down to the three or four broken iPods you see in there today.

damienwright (73 months ago | reply)

Am I the only one who understands that this is only a morale-building exercise for the Zune folks? Why is everyone being so defensive? It's not like they put this bin up out in the wild (on a street corner or in a store) - it's in the privacy of their own offices.

I own an iPod and I'm certainly NOT defending Microsoft; but I know of morale-building things that we do at my job all the time. The public wouldn't understand it; it's not for public consumption. There's no need to fall apart over this.

OndraSoukup (73 months ago | reply)

Ha, funny :D

heyotwell (73 months ago | reply)

"Am I the only one who understands that this is only a morale-building exercise for the Zune folks?"

damienwright, I think everyone understands that perfectly well. That it was a morale-building exercise is kinda what makes it funny.

Arzaga (73 months ago | reply)

I'm with damienwright. This is pretty standard operating procedure to get people motiviated to topple a big competitor.

I would not be surprised to find other companies -- including Apple -- do something like this for their employees to get a good laugh.

blastcap (73 months ago | reply)

If it is a morale-boosting exercise for the Zune folks, wouldn't you think that the bin would be filled to the top with iPods? I count seven iPods in there. Not a great morale-booster. It totally misses the mark and instead reinforces what most of us already know...that the iPod is king and the Zune is never going to seriously compete with it.

...unless it was filled with iPods initially and all the Zune people have been taking them home.

dweebert (73 months ago | reply)

Great morale boost: a half dozen iPods in a huge bin. (There's also a battery in there, indicating to me that one employee has upgraded their iPod and intends on holding onto it for quite some time to come.)

It seems rather depressing if you ask me. I presume they'd pick a bin comparable in size to their target audience, so it looks to me like fewer than 1% of the Zune team has switched to Zune. It may not be as bad as it looks, though. It could be that the team is relatively small, and this bin is for all of the iPods upgraded nationwide.

I suppose they could have seeded it 20% full or something. Then again, maybe they did and heyotwell was right.

Dr_Watso (73 months ago | reply)

@ ChunkyBasty: www.mobileplanet.com/p.aspx?i=142691
Does everything the ipod does, and more, with double the storage and a bigger screen. Next time, do your own google searches.

@Geobfield: That's a nice story. I've owned lots of other devices in the range I was speaking of, and never decided that an ipod was better... I would certainly imagine that lots of folks might prefer the operation of the ipod, but my point is, most ipod owners probably didn't even consider other devices. Thanks for the disclaimer!

@JudgeJules: They use it because of Apple's marketing. It's a fashion accessory and pop-culture thing at this point. I've got nothing against them doing so either, I was just pointing out that they should do some research on other devices with better features, more space, and more for your money overall.

Let me say that I haven't even seen a Zune in person, nor am I advocating it as a "better" device. I'm not even trying to argue here, I just noticed that a lot of folks directed comments my way on the subject! I don't think I'll be buying an ipod until it demonstrates similar value to competing devices, and I think it's silly that most ipod users don't even know what all is out there in terms of competing products. Then again, I think paying 300 bucks for designer blue-jeans is silly too, and obviously those sell quite well too.

frogsthatmoo (73 months ago | reply)

Someone should put a windows computer in there or something.

dweebert (73 months ago | reply)

Dr_Watso, your original post stated "less than half the cost for some" and "IN GENERAL you get double the features and storage". (Emphasis mine.) $600 is hardly half the $349 price of an 80 GB iPod, and one data point does not make a case for generality.

My laptop does way more than the Archos, and I've seen laptops for $300. Can I say that laptops are "less than half the cost [of the Archos] for some, and in general you get double the features and storage"?

Don't get me wrong, I've admired Archos devices for years. Lots of features, but they're not really competing much with iPods.

motojourneys (73 months ago | reply)

Ha! I love the Zune and the way Microsoft integrated it so closely with their music player (Windows Media Player) much the same way Apple did...
Oh wait, am I thinking of someone else? Yep. My bad. The Zune has an additional music manager install...

elvisisdead (73 months ago | reply)

It's AMAZING how smug people get defensive when confronted.

Zune is just as capable as an iPod. Just like Creative and Archos. The only thing different about an iPod is the UI, and it's simply nothing to write home about. Nor is any other mp3 player's UI.

allofmp3 means that I pay about 70% less than iTunes for more music with ZERO restrictions that I OWN.

Neither is better than the other. They're different devices that offer different capabilities. People buy things based on what they prefer, not an absolute rank on the "best" scale.

patrickgibson (73 months ago | reply)

If someone created a Zune Amnesty Bin, it would be totally empty.

... Because no one has ever bought a Zune. :P

Karl Gunnarsson (73 months ago | reply)

At least the poster on the bin is unusually tasteful for Microsoft.

[alxandr] (73 months ago | reply)

if anyone is willing to throw away there iPods in favor of the crap Zune, than far be it from me to question their decision... but would anyone from Microsoft send me one of their no longer wanted iPods? I lost mine a few weeks ago. Thank you.

Dr_Watso (73 months ago | reply)

Hi Dweebert:

You're correct, in that particular case, the ipod is cheaper, but still the one I found with one google search has a bigger screen, double the space, and other features the ipod does not. The reason I used the term "in general" is because I assumed there were exceptions... Last x-mas, my sister wanted an ipod because her friends all had them. She just wanted a 4gig version, and I showed her a product that costed half as much, had twice the space, and a few other features as well... This was how it was for most of the competing devices at that time. Haven't looked for a while now, and the one she wanted didn't do video.

I didn't mean to offend anyone... At this point, I'm just responding. It's very hard to claim that Apple isn't the "higher-price for what you get" category in almost all their products.

Dr_Watso (73 months ago | reply)

A lot of those look like earlier ipods that apple screwed everyone on... Not letting them change the battery after it died way too soon, with the only option to send it back and let apple swap the battery for $99.99.

Not surprised those were thrown away if that's the case.

Cole_H (73 months ago | reply)

Hey, it's the "other Rex"!

Saw the story about your picture on iLounge. Pretty funny...

--
Seen on your photo stream. (?)

Cory. (73 months ago | reply)

@river_man1974 those 160gb video players on the archos site are physically gigantic, and not something any sane person would ever carry around with them. the audio players (and their small video players), which are closer to the size of an ipod seem to top out at 20gb. care to rethink your pov? pwnd.

mshahdy (back after a break) (73 months ago | reply)

hahah. saw the story on playlistmag. very funny.

kokopeliartist [deleted] (73 months ago | reply)

Dr. Watso & Riverman & anyone else claiming the archos is better/more storage/etc. than an ipod - you're nearly at the size of Sony Viao or other ultra-portable laptop, so why not just go all the way? Bigger in the multimedia world isn't necessarily better.

And to ElvisisDead, load up now - allofmp3 has been dissappearing from other countries and will soon be gone entirely as it's just a bunch of thieves hiding behind Russia's inadequate legal system. You can "own" cheap music in the U.S. as well, if you hide a CD under your shirt as you walk out of the store - same thing. All you've done is pay someone for access to something -they- didn't have the rights to, so what makes you think that -you- own it now? Check out some recent articles including the arrest of one of the main guys behind allofmp3. For that matter, why bother paying anything at all unless this makes you sleep better at night - why not just go right to the peer to peer services and steal it for free like an honest thief?

To heyotwell - Hah! Best one-liner I've seen in a long time ;-)

Starbuck05 (73 months ago | reply)

Notice how EMPTY this bin is? Hmm...makes ya wonder why people aren't giving up the iPod.....I bet the Zune bin would be overflowing!

Peon Peetie (73 months ago | reply)

funny that microsoft would even dare make the comparison.

according to CBS market watch:

By comparison, Microsoft's new Zune media player, despite heavy marketing, came in only at No. 75 on Amazon's list of 100 best-selling electronics, trailing items such as Apple's $29.99 iPod USB power adapter, at No. 65.

rather pathetic if they can't even sell as many zunes as apple can sell chargers.

thanks for posting the photo! i got a kick out of it

Catlips de Florida (73 months ago | reply)

iPods feel good. They all do. They feel good to hold, they feel good to make work. They look like something Bang & Olufsen would make if they were interested in making something that didn't cost an arm and a leg. Even the aftermarket stuff for iPods tends to want to look decent. It's obviously not the feature set that sells them, it's the esthetics.

nanotron (73 months ago | reply)

Even if I was demented enough to buy a Zune why in the world would I throw away my old iPod? I could give it to a family member, install Linux on it, decorate my desk with it, etc.

eyezayear (73 months ago | reply)

Next: Microsoft zPhone

Get a life, Bill Gates.

Kerry Marion (73 months ago | reply)

I have both a 5g iPod video and a Zune. I would gladly toss the iPod in there. My iPod is bigger (60 gig), but that's about the only one up on the Zune. 7k songs is plenty for me anyways. I've stuck with Apple for years and went out on limb and tried the dark side. I'm glad I did to be honest. I used to make the same comments the Apple fans here have. No I don't work for MS..lol :)

fbmaxwell (73 months ago | reply)

elvisisdead says:

"It's AMAZING how smug people get defensive when confronted."

We won't hold it against you, though.

"Zune is just as capable as an iPod. Just like Creative and Archos. "

No, it is not. A colleague purchased one and had nothing but problems, returning it within 3 days. I owned an Archos and the build quality was horrendous next to the iPod.

"The only thing different about an iPod is the UI, and it's simply nothing to write home about.
...
Neither is better than the other. They're different devices that offer different capabilities."

Ever consider things like reliability, physical size, aftermarket accessories, software support, or the ability to interface with car and home audio systems? Many people make purchase decisions based on more than just a list of features.

meichow (73 months ago | reply)

Even that sense of humour won't save them now ...

iPod rocks!

cheeseman23 (73 months ago | reply)

@Dr_Watso: "Then again, I think paying 300 bucks for designer blue-jeans is silly too, and obviously those sell quite well too."

Have you ever even tried on a pair of expensive jeans? For the most part, they are expensive for a reason, not just to take money from rich folk. If you have tried on a pair then you would know why $300 or even $150 pairs of jeans continue to sell well, and that is usually they are priced that way for a reason. Good denim does in fact cost a lot of money (please tell me you understand that a company has to cover cost of production), and high priced jeans usually incorporate both high quality denim and also very high quality stitching. You can feel it when you touch the seams of the stitching. You can immediately tell that a pair of $150 jeans are going to last a lifetime whereas a pair of $20 jeans from Old Navy are going to last about 2 months. Literally. I (used to) own a $20 pair of pants from Old Navy and they were in threads in about 2 months. And that is from just wearing them to work, nothing crazy.

The same thing goes for an iPod. Like what was mentioned before, when you hold an iPod, you can immediately feel the quality of the construction, and when you use the UI, you can immediately tell that it works how you would expect it to work. Not how you would expect a super geek to think (attn super geeks: sometimes it's nice to think how everyone else is designed to think).

Unfortunately, the saying "you get what you pay for" usually stands true. Usually. In the case of apple, it basically always stands true. Apple will never rip you off for the sake of making money. Don't get me wrong, Apple is determined to surpass profit expectancies in order to please stock holders, but they still hold the consumers above the stock holders. Microsoft on the other hand comes up with 900 versions of its operating system in order to make money and meet profits. The Zune is only a byproduct of their greed.

ty2umeda (73 months ago | reply)

It is quite ridiculous.
ZUNE doesn't sell by such a thing.

gpbakalov (73 months ago | reply)

Folks, this is a cheap and stupid marketing campaign. The best thing is to continue ignoring the brown piece of crap as we have done until now.

As for the poor people out there who fell for it and actually bought themselves a brown, what can you say... another one bites the Zune!??!