Toshiba Manufacturing Microsoft Zune
By Ed Oswald, BetaNews
August 25, 2006, 12:42 PM
A recent FCC filing seems to indicate that the highly anticipated Microsoft Zune music player will be produced by Toshiba, rather than the Redmond company itself. The filing also provided the first concrete evidence of Zune's specifications and wireless capabilities.
According to the documentation, the Zune player (here referred to as the "Toshiba 1089") includes a 30GB hard drive, three-inch TFT LCD, an FM tuner, wireless 802.11 b/g, and USB 2.0 support. Details of Zune's wireless capabilities were also disclosed, including the capability to stream music to up to four other devices.
"Once your wireless setting is set to on, you will be able to send and receive promotional copies of songs, albums, and playlists from other Pyxis users," the documentation states.
As for "Argo," the term seems to deal with some type of social networking aspect of the player. In the filing, the code-name is mentioned in the "Friend requests" section. Argo seems to make possible the ability to make nearby Zune users friends, as well as sending and receiving requests to become friends.
Microsoft has remained fairly tight lipped about the Zune project, and has yet to offer a release date for the product. It is widely expected, however, that the device would debut in time for the holiday season. Sources indicate the marketing effort has already begun to ramp up.
Previously, sources told BetaNews that promotional efforts would begin in late August, with public demonstrations during the month of September. This would lead up to a possible October launch for the Zune player.
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