RSSMicrosoft Officially Unveils Zune
By Nate Mook | Published September 14, 2006, 12:32 PM
As expected, Microsoft on Thursday took the wraps off its Zune portable media player, set to be available in time for the holidays. Zune features a 30GB hard drive, wireless connectivity and will come in three colors. But pricing has not been decided.
Microsoft confirmed a number of expected features about its new player, which is being manufactured by Toshiba and has become one of the worst kept secrets in the technology industry. Zune sports a three-inch LCD display that can be viewed in portrait or landscape mode, and includes a built-in FM tuner.
The device will be available in three styles -- black, brown and white -- and the interface can be customized with pictures.
But connectivity is what Microsoft hopes will set Zune apart from its competitors, and give it a shot at lessening Apple's dominance in digital music. With built-in 802.11b/g Wi-Fi, users will be able to share selected full-length sample tracks, homemade recordings, playlists and pictures with other Zune users wirelessly. Not all songs will support sharing, however.
"The digital music entertainment revolution is just beginning,” remarked Zune lead J Allard. "With Zune, we are not simply delivering a portable device, we are introducing a new platform that helps bring artists closer to their audiences and helps people find new music and develop new social connections."
Songs shared with others can be listened to up to three times in three days. The idea, of course, is that if a user likes a track their friend has sent them, he or she will go purchase it from the Zune Marketplace. The Marketplace is Microsoft's new online music store that will offer a la carte downloads and a subscription service called Zune Pass.
Zune Marketplace will also support Microsoft Points, which were developed for the Xbox Live Marketplace and can be purchased as gift cards at a variety of retail outlets.
Other features of Zune include the ability to import music from iTunes and Windows Media Player, although songs purchased from Apple will not be compatible with the player. Software upgrades will also be provided by Microsoft, which says the future is filled with possibilities due to the built-in wireless capability.
Zune is slated to go on sale in the coming months, but no specific launch date was announced Thursday. Also noticeably missing from the Zune unveiling was a price. But Microsoft did announce three accessory packs, also without prices: the Zune Car Pack, A/V Pack and Travel Pack.
Microsoft should come up with a trade up program for iPod owners. I think that I would gladly send MS my non video playing 4GB Nano for say a $100 or so Zune as long as i could convert my music to the Zune format.
Some kind of program like this would be a good way to take customers from Apple and Itunes quickly.
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|Next we'll have RIAA and whatnot Wardriving everywhere to find users who've hacked the firmware to share "copyrighted" files wirelessly.
Think about it, P2P Applications were frowned upon by commercial organisations. Microsoft releases P2P-on-the-Go. This is just like iPod, only you can just drive/walk around a populated area and download files for free.
Will Microsoft be including an application like NetStumbler?
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|This looks great, ill be in line for one. Ipod looks 10 years out of date next to this.
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|Quis dizer--usufruir este novo artefato--
Foi mal!
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|Como sempre nós aqui no Brasil deveremos penar até poder usufruir este no artefato tecnológico... Já estou até acostumado!
Ops! Somente o meu comentário em português!? Ah...vai assim mesmo...
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|The "sharing" feature is cool, but the restrictions, 3 times in 3 days, buy the music, is the poison pill. Zune will choke on its own DRM vomit and perish, as it should be.
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|I agree , sounds like a way to keep tabs on the device really...
f-that.
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|Well, what can I say...
..what an Inovation in year 2006 (tear dropped...)
..LCD display instead of OLED...wow (2 tears dropped)
...30 GB hardisk instead of 10GB FLASH or at least 100GB one to kick apple ar$z over iPod video (3 tears dropped)
...FM tunner, FM tunner, I am really sorry for folks who needs FM tunner, but sadly..those are there so accept them please.
...wi-fi, ok, the fact that I don't need it doesn't mean it isn't any good. But.. do we need an antivirus there? :))
...mp3? wait, I thought it died 2 years ago. Say it again..mp3? WHAAAT!???
...Design...now, many tears dropped and I'm really crying, it looks like cheap plastic lego but without any style...MS inovation replaced it with *screen with changing backgrounds*, what a HECK of a IDEA! It doesn't matter its big and looks cheap, it is super japanese toshiba inside...wohooo!
...Sound and musical features...we should wait for the tests (new iPods are sounding great, I doubt MS can beat that), but I really fear this can win over iPod which nowadays can DO ALL but drink and ironing my trousers (with a little help I've been able to google how to iron my s*** thought..)
...in other other words, popularity and style makes an iPod great buy, once you own it (and you're lucky with battery) the features are what make it rocks, running linux? no problem!
With a rockbox (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Rockbox)I am able to play my almost thousand CD collection archived greatly in FLAC! I still got bored thought, there are times I just play DOOM on iPod...if you know what I mean!
understand?
P.S. is there anyone who can help me with connecting iPod video 5th gen to my car amplifier without using iPod's one? e.g. bypassing it? some schema or link for anyone who done it already would help. Thanks...
Quality... a word MS isn't allways sane of... B R O W N, maybe that's their quality color :))
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|This is soooo darn *innovative*.
Integrating curves, where Ipod is merely rectangular.Innovative colors. Latest technologies, like Frequency Modulation (FM).
But will it play my LPs?
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|How do you pronounce this?
Is it ZUNE like JUNE or ZOO-NEEE like LOONY
Thanks
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|Been in the market for a new player.
Looks nice, granted the brown one is nt on my list. Good features and doesnt need itunes.
Im interested in one just for the music alone. Couple that with playing films, maybe Divx ? let the hackers mod the firmware and it could even be a real hit.
Hope to see one soon.
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|This is good. If it doesn't require any particular media player (i.e. becomes like a USB flash drive to save files it) it's really good.
Add more colors to it and Microsoft will surely beat the ipod. Unless apple makes the ipod work without itunes but that aint gonna happen.
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|It looks like very cool hardware with software that is all about stopping people from doing what they want to do.
Let me know when it runs Linux.
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|ZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZ
wake me up when it doesn't suck.
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|WAKE UP!
Its that time again...
Latz, SB
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|ZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZ
Wake me up when you can drop the lame Apple fanboyism.
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|I hope Zune uses a extension/plugin feature, in the same way Firefox can be modified.
This would allow developers to create different codecs/features etc. Making it 'the' universal digital content platform.
Only then could Microsoft have a potential ipod killer.
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|It will not so successfull.
I dont know why Microsoft say it is very secret. but what secret ? it just like other player plus the wireless and big screen.
by using big screen, hope the play time still long enough. otherwise it will failed.
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|Does this require a passport account? I bet. So, if you have MS money and an XBox 360 they can track your spending and salary info real good along with your music prefs :)
No thanks!
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|Ha...I love people like this. These guys think everybody is out to get them and MS actually cares what everybody's salary info is...it's pretty hillarious. :)
I just picture a bunch of MS execs in a round table meeting discussing joe shmo's salary...
"Joe bought the Zune and is subscribing to our music download service, and also made a few purchases online while logged into passport, spending a total of $400 this week! He's rich...send someone to rob him tonight!".
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|If thats the case I will make an account on which nothing is ever spent.
Maybe they will ity me, and say to each ther to send me some money because im poor.
IM CROSSING MY FINGERS!
Latz, SB
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|Wi-Fi... Cool! Just make sure its online for the Monthly "Patch Tuesday" routine and all will be well.
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|I really don't understand the hype about IPOD, ZUNE... Keep stuck with the Archos products didn't see anything come close to their superb products!
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|Looks good i am not too sure about the brown colour !!!!,
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|"Zune Marketplace will also support Microsoft Points, which were developed for the Xbox Live Marketplace and can be earned by playing games on the Xbox 360 console."
Awesome i'm on my way to 10,000 so that means I'll be getting lots of music... yea right like thats ever going to happen... might want to relook in to that comment...
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|Huge UberColossal *YAWN*
I just bought an iAudio X5 and see nothing in Zune that would cause me to do it differently, *especially* WiFi. The last thing I want is 1) DRM and 2) WiFi critters crawling into my player. What I want is capacity, FLAC lossless support (not proprieary WMA Lossless or ALAC junk), true UMS that doesn't require an app to load or remove music and firmware that can't spell the "D" in DRM. The *lack* of support for a download music service is a definite selling point. I also want high quality DACs that beat the crap out of the standard Apple fodder and just about anything else because if I pay that much, it damned well better sound GOOD. Oh, and construction that while small reminds one of a battle tank.
And I got all of that in the iAudio and given that it's Korean, I got a buck and a half of player for each buck I spent (Korea is on a "take over the world" binge right now in many markets and underpricing to beat the band).
In the face of this, Zune is...
Gonzo.
I'm sure it will sell very well though because after all it has the MS logo on it and God knows there are enough little lemmings out there with more money than brains as evidenced by Apple's success with the iPod.
It'll be the hit of the holiday season.
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|And please, no stinkin' U2 or other lame-ass poser versions.
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|You can view the Zune in action on Youtube.
Zune using WiFi:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jwGol5D9Csg
Zune Product Shots:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QI3B9XX3lf0
Brought to you by www.ZuneBoards.com
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|Looks really cool. I'll get this before I ever get an iPod.
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|Now my question with the Wi-Fi capability:
Will the Zune MP be built in software, like the XBox Live MP, that you can shop for music on the device and download it on the spot?
With more and more wireless cities, and all of Oakland County in MI going wi-fi in the next couple years, this seems like it would be an awesome feature. Although there will only be 128Kbps wireless, you could download a 128Kbps song in a matter of minutes. MS Points would really come in handy there.
Would love to see that.
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|Seems to have a MCE flavor to it with the overlay menus. I'm a HUGE fan of MCE (doesn't mean I'm a huge MS Fan). I'll have to check out Zune to see if it is elegant as MCE.
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|Ah yes. The secret was so badly kept, I thought this thing had already been out for a month! Microsoft needs to learn to put a patch on their leak machine, because jesus... I'd like to be surprised every now and again.
Oh, doo doo brown? Excellent choice! I'm sure it will sell out.
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|Yes, doo-doo brown was a great decision. Can't wait for bile green and puke yellow. What ARE they THINKING????
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|Yes because the moronic masses like marketspeak rather than actual physical details. Many people don't care about announcements, glitsy showmanship, or braggerts. Apple takes every opportunity to surprise, impress, and glitz over arguably unimpressive products. Well go them. I'm more into devices that will ease my digital lifestyle, and rarely do these gadgets fit the bill.
What is the most useful invention in the past ten years? The light and large LCD screen. I get hundreds of more functionality, performance, and useability out of that one device than any silly gadget from jobs or gates.
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|It's their dastardly plan to hook the 3-yr old crowd early. ;)
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|In the new world of viral marketing, I'm sure the leak was just part of the marketing plan.
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|Like I was saying, all of the discussion on the doo doo brown leaves you with one thing. When you see a rectangular MP3 player on the subway or on campus, you will know it is a Zune. You see a bunch of them and bam, you may start thinking about checking one out.
Plus, remember the iMac colors that were fit to match dorm rooms? Everyone thought that was a stupid idea and then they started selling like crazy. The standard brown actually makes sense if you think about it that way.
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|You probably mean 1-2 year olds. The majority 3 year old are (hopefully) potty trained.
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|Hmm... One thing I noticed interesting about everything I've seen about Zune-- they always say "song" or "music" or "movie". Never once have I seen anything confirm what formats it plays. Is it possible the Zune will only play Microsoft formats with Microsoft DRM? (i.e. mp3s and avis are out?)
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|So ugly
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|It looks cheap as well ;)
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|"Songs shared with others can be listened to up to three times in three days."
i liked it better when i could dub a tape for a friend, or loan them the cd for a while.
this is more like forced marketing, with advanced DRM, how long till spyware starts showing up in the code.
"the future is filled with possibilities due to the built-in wireless capability."
yah, like what?
controlling what and how we share?
""The digital music entertainment revolution is just beginning,” remarked Zune lead J Allard. "
....20 years ago.
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|Just as you could 'dub a tape for a friend', you can rip them an MP3. Both have always been illegal.
Want to share it? Get a stereo and invite them over. No laws against that.
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|Unfortunately public reproduction is also forbidden in most countries (without authori$ation).
But, of course, while you don't cause them to gain less money, nobody is going to prosecute you. It is not the law, just the money what matters.
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|It's not public reproduction if it is on your home stereo, or even on your public business' stereo if played when the business is closed.
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|"... Microsoft Points, which were developed for the Xbox Live Marketplace and can be earned by playing games on the Xbox 360 console."
??????
Nice article otherwise.
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|Either you made up that quote or they edited it.
I guess its good news for 360 gamers that have extra points and will use zune.
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|They edited it. Now it's actually correct.
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|Brown? Maybe one of the people making the colors decision was a fashion designer and and were stuck on that "brown is the new black" I could see Black, White and Yellow...or Red, or neon Green...or Pink...or anything other then Brown really.
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|You will notice that Mary Jo Foley said she liked the brown since she has a lot of brown clothes. This was my first reaction when discussing earlier with Nate, that white, black, and brown are the staples of a wardrobe and I'm sure that went into consideration.
Face it, neon pink and neon green are for teenage girls (for the most part). Those consumers can go for the white or black ones while some others may go for brown.
For all the discussion brown will probably be the best selling color just to shut us all up haha. Maybe they want to be distinguished from the standard white/black/neon colors of the iPod. The next time you see a brown MP3 player you will know it is a Zune precisely because of this article. It sticks in your mind...
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|Sounds pretty cool, I wonder if the iPod will be getting wifi soon?
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|the brown colour is one of the worse ideas ever. looks like crap. literally.
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|Maybe they were making a subtle statement about the product...
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|Like "looks aren't everything"?
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|Wonder how many hotfixes and patches that thing will need.
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|heh... Brown? Yowza.
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|If they're hoping to steal Apple's market share of teenagers, brown is definitely not the way to go. Teenagers aren't too intelligent, give them something bright and shiny and they're hooked.
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|And give them something brown and turd-like, maybe they'll try to flush it down...
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|Then sell it with the Ænema track from Tool and they'll be set.
"Flush it down......Flush it down...."
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|Sure does resemble an iPod with the wheel in the center. I hope Apple doesn't bust out the legal action team :)
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|Shouldn't be a problem. Apple stole it's design from the first mp3 players by creative. Just made it white. they don't own copyrights on circles and rounded rectangles.
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|looks like ipod, sounds like zen.
gotta give it to MS for originality.
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|They Can't, the Ipod design isn't theres... they took it from another company, including the whole 'I' thing... IRiver. If anyone has to be worried about this Zune player, it's IRiver. Apple probebly doesn't even care.
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|Yeah, having a BROWN one was the ONE original thought that Microsoft had.
It's "original" because you won't find any other brown-colored electronic consumer products out there... but there's a reason for it!
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|Hmmm... now I'm thinking that maybe they just stole the idea of using the color brown from some shoe manufacturer...
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|Wow, I like it. I am surprised as I have bought 3 iPods and didn’t think anything could compete. I like the FM Tuner, the Wi-Fi and the sharing ability MS has put into it. The screen can also be viewed in portrait or landscape.
I love the apple fanatics that think crApple designed the wheel. I am sure Apple will now copy MS and will eventually put Wi-Fi and a FM Tuner in the iPod. Of course when they do it they will act like it was an industry first. Kinda like the mighty mouse.
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|Exactly!
Just like they claimed they invited the mouse, and the keyboard! =P
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|Think again. Creative did NOT make the first MP3 players.
Perhaps you are thinking Diamond Rio?
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|no no, you mean Al Gore invented the MP3 player!!
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