As you know Zune went international last week allowing users to download the Zune PC Software, buy a Zune Pass and access a fully populated Zune.net. At first the service was fine for many people, however over the past few days I have seen many tweets and articles talking about issues with Zune and the software.
Thankfully for me I have had no issues with the Zune service or features but understand some of my users have so I thought I’d write this in the hope the Zune team will pick up on some of the issues.
Zune Tag issues
I have a feeling that the Zune Tag issue is the one that will cause the most problem for users in the short term. The issue is that users who used Zune before it came officially to their country using their main Windows Live ID can not use their ID /Zune Tag with a different ID/Zune Tag that works in their locale. This, thankfully, hasn’t effected me as I used a different Windows Live ID to use Zune before it was officially supported in the UK.
This means that users can’t, for example, use the Zune Pass with the Windows Live ID they really want too or have their total song plays on their main ID. The odd thing is Microsoft provide a way for Xbox Live users to change the Windows Live ID associated with their Gamer Tag which means people can keep their points and achievements and use them on any of their Windows Live IDs. I don’t understand why the two seemingly very similar uses of the Windows Live ID don’t both offer the same functionality.
I would hope that Microsoft address this inconsistency but I fear by the time a way is created to allow users to easily switch their IDs and Zune Tag it will be too late users currently affected; I doubt there will be many people in the future who have to use an ID from a different locale to their own.
Zune PC Software memory issues
I only became aware of this issue when Microsoft announced that they were looking into a possible memory leak in the 64 bit version of the software. I have since seen a few tweets asking if people are having issues with their Zune software.
I’m running the 32 bit version and can safely say I have had no issues with the software, in fact I am pretty sure it has less of a drain on the memory compared to the 4.2 version of the software.
WP7 marketplace issues
It looks like despite adding support for the Windows Phone 7 app marketplace to the Zune software Microsoft still have a way to go before its as good as it can be. Neowin have a good article breaking down each area that needs work but things like not showing icons which are purely white with transparent elements, having no support for landscape screenshots (come on guys most games will be in landscape mode) and lack of text translation make the app experience well below the competition.
I am also concerned the the amount of crap looking apps, both the icons and from the screenshots. I don’t like the idea of some many “devs” just churning out quick, cheap apps in the hope of earning a few quid. I’m rapidly coming to the conclusion that Microsoft needs to enforce the Metro guideline more aggressively to save one of the platforms biggest differentiators.
Personally I have no issues with Zune at the minute (well apart from them not having tweaked the way all of artists’ songs are shown) and I am loving the Zune Pass far more than I thought I would do. I now can’t wait to get a Windows Phone 7 and use the Zune experience on there in tandem with Shazam to discover new music and listen to it straight away.
How are you finding “The Social” if it has now rolled out to your location? Do you have any other issues with Zune?
