Saturday, November 11, 2006
Zune Thoughts and the Zune Hookup
Posted by Jason Dunn in "Zune Talk" @ 07:26 PM
There are some disadvantages of being a Zune site staffed, at the moment, by a guy from Canada and a guy from Australia. The first major problem is that because there's no Zune launching here (yet!) there are no events here. I was invited to go to the Zune launch event in Los Angeles that was held a couple of days ago, but after looking at what would be offered, and what wouldn't, I decided to take John Starkweather, a Group Product Manager at Microsoft in the Windows Mobile group, up on his offer to have me come down for a day-long Microsoft campus visit where I'll get a chance to meet with some members of the Zune team, look at some new Windows Mobile stuff, and hopefully chat with someone on the Windows Media team about their massively dysfunctional approach to the Windows Media Video world.
I purchased a last-minute plane ticket (damn those get expensive) and am flying into Seattle on the evening of the 13th. On the morning of the 14th, I'll be going to a retail store to purchased several Zunes (right now it's looking like five or six units). That's something I couldn't have done if I went to the event in LA on the 9th - the invite didn't include a Zune, not even a loaner for review. So it was imperative that I be in the USA on the 14th. I'll spend the remainder of the day on the 14th working on my Zune review, hopefully posting it by that evening. I don't mind saying that it's a little frustrating publishing my first hands-on experience so long after (seemingly) everyone else on the planet has had hands-on time with the Zune, but that's the cards I was dealt. On the 15th, I'll be hitting the Microsoft campus and will hopefully learn some good stuff.
Now here's the part that impacts you: I'll be purchasing one Zune to give away in a contest right here on Zune Thoughts. So if you haven't already registered a user account and posted once to get your account authenticated, do so now so you're ready for the contest. I've also been contacting vendors of Zune accessories, and several have offered up products for review and giveaways. So things are going to start to heat up here at Zune Thoughts - the best is yet to come!
I purchased a last-minute plane ticket (damn those get expensive) and am flying into Seattle on the evening of the 13th. On the morning of the 14th, I'll be going to a retail store to purchased several Zunes (right now it's looking like five or six units). That's something I couldn't have done if I went to the event in LA on the 9th - the invite didn't include a Zune, not even a loaner for review. So it was imperative that I be in the USA on the 14th. I'll spend the remainder of the day on the 14th working on my Zune review, hopefully posting it by that evening. I don't mind saying that it's a little frustrating publishing my first hands-on experience so long after (seemingly) everyone else on the planet has had hands-on time with the Zune, but that's the cards I was dealt. On the 15th, I'll be hitting the Microsoft campus and will hopefully learn some good stuff.
Now here's the part that impacts you: I'll be purchasing one Zune to give away in a contest right here on Zune Thoughts. So if you haven't already registered a user account and posted once to get your account authenticated, do so now so you're ready for the contest. I've also been contacting vendors of Zune accessories, and several have offered up products for review and giveaways. So things are going to start to heat up here at Zune Thoughts - the best is yet to come!
