VAF Octavio - A High Fidelity Dock for your Zune

499$?!

After 249$ or more (after conversion) for just the player itself.. that's simply ludicrous.

If they had 2 satelite speakers (with teloscoping mounts).. for 5.1 surround sound.. then maybe, as a surround system for 360.

Even if it was bundled with Zune (as a 5.1 solution with gobs of extra frills) for 599$ then maybe.

I was partially hoping he meant 499AUD.. but no..

Completely get what you are saying... this is not in the price range for everyone...

To be fair though, this is a high-quality set of speakers, not really comparable in my mind to what I am used to seeing in this form factor. A better comparision might be 2.1 system from Polk, M&K or someone similar; a pair of bookshelf speakers from Polk can range all the way up to $1000 or more, and at that price the bass response probably wouldn't match the VAF unit. Of course, you might be really happy with the Altec Lansing dock, a unit that I think is more in line with the Apple product mentioned by another user...

Yes, I may sound a bit too critical but the unit isn't even on the market yet... and there is talk of these kinds of pricey accessories..

It's frankly too much too soon for a device several years too late in the offing. Better to ease the unit into a very crouded spaces than allow the unit price and plethora of peripherals to blind people with all the extra dollar signs than they need to see to buy a new product from an unproven new platform.

It may in fact push more people to buy the lesser iPod models, nanos and shuffles, because that's all anyone shopping for such a device really needs. No frills portable audio. For the cost of Zune and Octavio you can buy a 360 and few games.. That's why I'm being somewhat critical.

Where is the value? 

You don't need to buy an Octavio though, so I'm not sure why someone considering a Zune would necessarily add the two prices up in their mind.

As far as not showing the accessories, well I disagree with that idea... I think it is important to show that 3rd parties are signing up to support the Zune, especially when so many accessories are available for the iPod... if we didn't talk about Zune accessories until we were established, then I think that would be a big mistake.

There are much cheaper docks available though, I just haven't been able to see any of them yet... maybe once it is out I can cover all of the 'basic' accessories like the dock, the car pack, the travel pack, etc... but of course, a person only needs to buy the Zune.

That would be awesome. (Future blog on accessories.)

Specifically any bigger but still portable screens you could dock the unit to.

I'd sooner pay 499$ for a 6-8 inch ultra thin 640x360 Samsung AMOLED screen (to suppliment the one already on the unit).

Adding controls to the screen device, an assortment of buttons and a couple thumbsticks, to play XBLA games (stored on the Zune device) would be nifty too.

Only two blocks further south from there to mobile-Xbox-360-Ville.