Thanks TJR, I've seen that video and agree the interface is very nice. I really have to ask what microsoft was thinking with some of their other decisions though. This is their 3rd real attempt at taking down the iPod so I was really expecting it to be much better than what the reviewers are saying.
From what I've read:
Pros
<ol>
<li> WiFi (Very cool!)
<li> Nice screen. It uses the same resolution as iPod but has a larger screen.
<li> landscape orientation. Makes watching movies better
<li> Lots of cover art support. Makes the interface look very cool
<li> Big name. Microsoft, how much bigger can you get?
<li> Supports a wide range of videos
<li> Good interface. Some say even better than iPod.
<li> FM radio.
<li> It isn't an iPod. (OK, that's stretching it as a pro)
</ol>
Cons
<ol>
<li> Poor battery life. Reviewers say it doesn't meet the specs microsoft listed, and those were low.
<li> 3 x 3 rule. You can only play a beamed song 3 times and keep it for 3 days in a best case scenario. A lot of songs won't let you transfer them at all.
<li> Larger & heavier than almost any other mp3 player out there
<li> Microsoft store doesn't support tv shows, movies, games, podcasts, or audiobooks.
<li> Can't be used as an external hard drive
<li> No volume limiitter
<li> No PDA functionality. I sync my iPod to outlook for my address book / calendar / alarms and would miss that feature.
<li> Proprietary software. You can't do drag & drop to load it with songs.
<li> PlaysForSure no longer supported. It won't play any songs you bought from iTunes, Napster, Walmart, Real or any other stores.
<li> Only comes in one size
<li> No click wheel. The thing that looks like a scroll wheel on the front is really just a joypad.
<li> No Mac support. That's to be expected, but it would of been nice to use it on both of my computers.
</ol>
I'm sure Microsoft will fix some of the limitations and I still think the WiFi is really cool, but one cool feature doesn't outweigh all the negatives. It definitely fell right off my Christmas list.
*edit to fix html*
