Update: As it turns out, the Microsoft Office Twitter account mentioned at the end of this story was a hoax. The self-proclaimed Zune fanboy, "Mr. Haklab," has admitted to falsifying the information as a means of driving traffic to a blog post where he rants about Apple and iPhone piracy.
Original story: Following Microsoft's "Laptop Hunter" advertising scheme, a new ad takes aim at Apple's iPod and iTunes. The previous ads attempt to convince would-be Mac purchasers that PC systems are a more cost efficient and rational solution for their needs. This is of course debatable, and the ads mostly only look at primary component specifications, failing to acknowledge the broad spectrum of services and features.
The recent ad tries to compare the cost of filling a 120GB iPod with iTunes, versus the expense of accumulating music on Zune Pass. It argues that filling a 120GB iPod at $1 per song via iTunes would cost $30,000, whereas Zune Pass offers an unlimited amount of downloads for a monthly fee of $14.99. If you're curious, 120GB breaks down to 122,880MB, divide that by $30,000 and you get about 4MB per $1 song, an estimation that is fair enough. This seems virtually fool proof, I mean who wants to pay an entry level salary filling their iPod with music when Zune Pass provides unlimited downloads for $15?
The catch, you ask? Well, by using iTunes and shelling out money for each song, you're purchasing the song for keeps, which isn't exactly the case with Zune Pass. Although you do indeed have access to an unlimited number of downloads while subscribed, you can only physically obtain 10 tunes per month. This means that if you intend on accessing your thousands of songs, you must pay the monthly fee.
Continue reading post - Microsoft Zune promotional video included
You will inevitably spend more than $15 on music using Zune Pass, if you actually want to listen to it. That said, it would take over 166 years to spend $30,000 on Zune Pass. However, at the rate of 10 songs per month, it'd be 250 years before you actually "owned" the 30,000 songs. Both obviously well exceed the human expiration, but realistically, which concept is more appealing to you?
In other related news, Microsoft's Office Twitter account has a couple of new Tweets which may share correlation with the recent attacks. The first of two states that June 2009 will be an important month for Zune lovers. A response to followers came shortly after which confirms a new product launch, and advises people to hold off on buying an iPhone or Pre. The most logical thing to expect is the release of Microsoft's Zune HD, but some speculate that an announcement unveiling project Pink is to come. At this point, no matter what Microsoft brings to the table, June is shaping up to be a very busy month.