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Red Zune, meet pink iPod nano

By Tim Conneally, BetaNews

January 22, 2008, 12:24 PM

Sadly, the days of showing your love for someone with a mixtape are all but gone. However, device manufacturers look to be gearing up for similar Valentine's day gifting by offering appropriately-colored portable media players.

Apple announced today a new pink iPod Nano, available with 8 GB of storage for $199. If sales of this particular iPod are not phenomenal, expect to see them repurposed as breast cancer awareness iPods.

Microsoft has taken the theme even further, with its pink and red Zunes complete with Valentine's Day-themed wallpaper, and "romantic playlists." The Zune 4 is available for $149, the Zune 8 for $199, and the Zune 80 for $249.99.

Pink iPod Nano

Valentine's Day Zune

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By phenomnaruto

posted Jan 23, 2008 - 11:05 AM

I love the ipod propaghanda coming out of these apple fans.

Score: 0

By pitdingo2

posted Jan 23, 2008 - 7:40 AM

Just saw this very detailed review of iPod versus Zune.

http://www.anandtech.com...ets/showdoc.aspx?i=3204

in case anyone is wondering....iPod wins.

Score: 0

By yountmj

posted Jan 23, 2008 - 8:11 AM

Good review. Thanks.

I haven't been to that site in a couple of years... and it used to be one of my daily-visited. Re-added to my bookmarks. :)

Score: 0

By pitdingo2

posted Jan 22, 2008 - 9:33 PM

No wonder the M$ Zune is not selling...look at how ugly that thing is in comparison to the Nano.

Still have not seen a M$ Zune outside of a store.

Score: 0

By SlapShot

posted Jan 24, 2008 - 6:54 AM

and i've never seen a Mac or a Blu-ray player outside a store, odd

Score: 0

By mdotwills

posted Jan 23, 2008 - 3:06 AM

Yes I agree. But I'm, not totally sold on the obese iPod shape either or it's double personality interface.

Still better than the zune though!

Score: 0

By roj

posted Jan 22, 2008 - 7:55 PM

Both a overpriced, overhyped consumer fodder but I'm sure the lemmings will lap both up.

Thanks but I'll stick to my iAudio X5 and iAudio 7 - both many times the machine either one of those is.

And they come in BLACK.

Score: 0

By TIM

posted Jan 23, 2008 - 12:59 PM

Cowon definitely got it right with the direct-in recording function found on most of their players.

Score: 0

By ladylust

posted Jan 22, 2008 - 6:58 PM

Zune has 10.2% marketshare (as of December) no other MP3 player has gone beyond 1% after introduction (other then Ipod). Microsoft will penetrate the market further.

By the way.. the new Ipod looks like its been dipped in pepto bismol. Bad move

Score: 0

By xyzcb1

posted Jan 22, 2008 - 4:00 PM

The new Nano just look fugly. And this pink version even more fugly.

Score: 0

By Paul Skinner

posted Jan 22, 2008 - 3:45 PM

"Sadly, the days of showing your love for someone with a mixtape are all but gone."

It'd make me happy if someone made me a mix tape.

At least some thought went in to them.

Score: 0

By dvferret

posted Jan 22, 2008 - 4:35 PM

Yah, id be happy too.

Score: 0

By Grazer

posted Jan 22, 2008 - 4:27 PM

"It'd make me happy if someone made me a mix tape."

Ahh, but if you were making a mix tape for someone, you would have to know if they had a cassette player. ;)

Score: 0

By TIM

posted Jan 22, 2008 - 4:16 PM

I wholeheartedly agree!

Score: 0

By billweh

posted Jan 22, 2008 - 2:46 PM

You know the thing the bugs me? This whole "pink" to support breast cancer via the Susan G. Kommen Foundation is crazy.

I read the other day that they donate thousands if not millions of dollars to Planned Parenthood which is one of the largest abortion providers in the country.

There is research out there that shows a link between breast cancer and abortions. Granted it of course has some nay-sayers (just like the groups that say smoking is bad for you have those who disagree) - but you would think that if they really were concerned with womens health - and specifically with helping to avoid breast cancer - that they wouldn't fund something that could cause the very disease they are trying to avoid!!!

That would be like the American Heart Association giving money to have a "how many big macs can you eat in 5 minutes" contest.

Score: 0

By Hellcat_M

edited Jan 22, 2008 - 4:44 PM

The theory that abortion has a link to breast cancer is brought to you by the catholic church, its a scare tactic. That thought right there is just as bad as movies, music and video games causes violence. There is more people with cancer now because more harmful rays are coming through the atmosphere because we're depleting the ozone layer, and in some cases because of power lines. Higher crime is because of society and bad parenting. Next they'll say drinking and gambling causes brain cancer. Put blame where blame should be given not to something you don't believe in to try and scare people.

Score: 0

By billweh

posted Jan 22, 2008 - 5:11 PM

Maybe one should read the facts about the issue - rather than just pronounce the party line?

There seems to be enough evidence on either side of the debate to make the connection plausible, and with it being a possibility - why would you support something monetarily that could be causing the very thing you are trying to stop?

http://www.care-net.org/...bortionBreastCancer.pdf

http://www.abortionbreastcancer.com/The_Link.htm
(Citing research from the World Health Organization)

Scientists from the National Institutes of Health and the Centers for Disease Control, Bruce Stadel and Phyllis Wingo, and two other prominent epidemiologists were convinced of a link in 1986. They co-authored a letter to the British journal, Lancet, and said, "Induced abortion before first term pregnancy increases the risk of breast cancer." [Feb, 22, 1986, p. 436] They acknowledged the independent effect of an induced abortion on breast cancer risk at a time when there were only two American studies linking abortion with the disease. [Pike et al. (1981) Br J Cancer 43:72-6; and Brinton et al. (1983) Br J Cancer 47:757-62]

http://www.worldnetdaily...le.asp?ARTICLE_ID=44282

Score: 0

By AD

edited Jan 22, 2008 - 6:48 PM

Alright, so I just did an academic search of the available literature on the subject. Citing all the research would take too much space, but I encourage anyone who questions my findings to go to their local or school library and do a similar seach of academic journals. The Journal Of The National Cancer Institute 2006 Apr 19 98 (8), 535-44, states:
"Neither history of interrupted pregnancies (induced abortions or miscarriage) nor history of breast-feeding was statistically significantly associated with the risk of breast cancer." The title of the article is Pregnancies, breast-feeding, and breast cancer risk in the International BRCA1/2 Carrier Cohort Study (IBCCS) and is by N. Andrieu. Medical research from the 80s is rarely reliable if it is, there are almost always more recent reliable studies replicating the findings. A general rule my college professors taught me is never to cite sociological, anthropological or scientific/medical research more than 5 years old. Also, as sources, academic journals are reliable because they are reviewed and edited by experts in the field, simply citing quotes of studies found on websites of organizations with a stated bias is entirely unprofessional. Everyone have beliefs about right and wrong, but when citing physical evidence to support such an argument of right or wrong the utmost ethics should be used and the sources themselves should be unbiased.

Score: 0

By MikeTechno

posted Jan 23, 2008 - 4:29 PM

Yet even more proof of the harm that ALL forms of organized religions do to our global society. The faster we rid this planet of ALL forms of organized religion, the better off we will all be...and the safer we will all be.

Of course there is a God....he just doesn't believe in organized religion.

(Amazing how easy it is to go from the color of an MP3 player's case to global politics and religion, isn't it?)

Score: 0

By SGD

posted Jan 22, 2008 - 2:58 PM

Add to that the fact the breast cancer is not even close to the number one killer. I guess breast cancer is a big deal but heart disease is ok.

Score: 0

By MikeTechno

edited Jan 22, 2008 - 2:13 PM

Wow, you know it is a slow day in tech news when the release of a new color of an iPod or a Zune is worthy of putting out an article on.

Anybody know when Apple is going to do something SMART like add a user replaceable battery to their products? Now THAT would be worthy of writing an article about...barely.

Score: 0

By alphatrigon

posted Jan 22, 2008 - 3:25 PM

never, makes them more money if they don't...so why would they? hehe

Score: 0

By lvthunder

posted Jan 22, 2008 - 1:36 PM

I don't think any of you are the intended audience for either of these.

Score: 0

By streryan

posted Jan 22, 2008 - 12:57 PM

The Nano looks horrible pink. At least the Zune looks good.

Score: 0

By GoodThings2Life

posted Jan 22, 2008 - 1:02 PM

What? You don't like oversized, non-edible pieces of Chiclet Gum?

Score: 0

By auiotour

posted Jan 22, 2008 - 5:32 PM

I like pepto bismol colored zunes better. lol

Score: 0

By shicaca

posted Jan 22, 2008 - 12:48 PM

One word: Gross

They made an already ugly POS an even MORE ugly POS. Good job apple.

Score: 0

By wreckedchevy

posted Jan 22, 2008 - 12:47 PM

who cares about color how about knocking the price in half for us broke rednecks...

Score: 0

By PC_Tool

posted Jan 22, 2008 - 5:11 PM

Broke Rednecks don't deserve iPods. They're for hip, trendy, elite folk.

Score: 0

By wreckedchevy

posted Jan 23, 2008 - 2:18 AM

yea but a black one would like nice sitting in my rusted out wreckedchevy...

Score: 0

By yountmj

posted Jan 23, 2008 - 8:14 AM

That's one step below putting $3000 worth of rims on an Impala worth $500.

Score: 0

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