Lazycoder

Zune got WiFi syncing right

There’s a lot of Zune bashing going on right now, and in some cases rightfully so. But the one thing that the Zune got mostly right is the way it uses WiFi with it’s music library. I know that sounds crazy, but think about it. Think about setting up your Zune wireless and connecting to your home setup. What security protocols do you need to enable? If you want to use it at work, do you have to install a security certificate on your Zune? What IT dept. is going to support that? But those kinds of kinks have already been worked out with other mobile devices. Think about how long it would take to wirelessly sync 30GB worth of music. Heck, think about 5-10GB. That’s also my guess as to why you won’t see WiFi syncing on an iPod anytime soon. Being able to browse the Zune marketplace wirelessly from your Zune would have been the only thing that really set the Zune apart from every other MP3 player on the market. If you could buy music from the marketplace without having to install the Zune player, it would mean your owned the first digital music player that didn’t require you to own a PC of any kind. It would be a self-contained music environment. Who cares if you can’t sync your Zune with a Mac if you have a Zune subscription? You can still listen to the music. But then we’re back to the idea of downloading 30 GB worth of music of WiFi. That’s an overnight ordeal.

I personally can’t wait for the first digital music player that makes the PC optional.