Zune Thoughts - Daily News, Views, Rants and Raves

Be sure to register in our forums! Share your opinions, help others, and enter our contests.


Laptop Thoughts

Loading feed...

Windows Phone Thoughts

Loading feed...

Digital Home Thoughts

Loading feed...





All posts tagged "Zune2"


Saturday, November 10, 2007

Marketplace Down on Monday, Updates Coming

Posted by Adam Krebs in "Zune Software" @ 03:00 PM

http://zuneinsider.com/archive/2007/11/08/zune-marketplace-downtime-monday.aspx

"On Monday, we’re taking down Zune Marketplace from 6:00pm PST for a few hours while we deploy the final code (woot!). During that time, you won’t be able to browse, purchase music, download music from ZMP, or access your account. Then on Tuesday, November 13, the new software, store, Zune Social, and firmware update will go live."

Only three days 'til all the goodies come pouring in. I can't wait.

I wonder if with this update the old marketplace will become inoperable, and they'll force users to upgrade to keep playing tracks. I imagine the new software won't sync with the old firmware, but I also know a significant number of users will want to wait until most problems that inevitably come with new technology are sorted out.

All reports are pointing to this being an early Christmas/Hanukkah/Kwanzaa/Festivus for us all.


Tuesday, October 2, 2007

And... We're Official!

Posted by Adam Krebs in "Zune Announcements" @ 10:00 PM

http://zuneinsider.com/archive/2007/10/03/unveiling.aspx



Wow. What a night. I've long speculated that the reason we've heard nary a peep from the dev team this past year was because they were working on something SOOOO COOOL that it would be worth waiting for. I'd be lying to say I'm disappointed: Microsoft has exceeded my expectations once again, releasing two new flash players and an 80 GB "daddy" player. They all feature support for Vista MCE-encoded shows, mpeg and h.264 codecs, lossless playback (the exact codec hasn't been released yet), wireless syncing (over home network or ad hoc), removal of the time limit on the Zune-to-Zune sharing, and best of all, this is all backwards compatible with Zune1, which will be continued on as its own product. The new players feature the rumored "squircle", which isn't click-sensitive as rumored, but rather is multi-directionally touch-sensitive, allowing an iPhone/iPod Touch-like flicking motion through your library. The more you flick, the faster it goes. Tapping down directly puts on the "breaks".

The firmware and sync software have been rebuilt from the ground up, and look like nothing I've seen before. The interface of the Marketplace (more on this in a second) looks especially cool and intuitive. They'll also be launching "Zune Social", a social networking component that allows you to share your library with friends, and will eventually integrate into previously existing social networks (think MySpace and Facebook). The concept is familiar to anyone who's used Xbox's GamerTag service, but geared towards music rather than games, obviously. Apparently, the pieces are now much tighter integrated: a song a friend sends you via Zune-to-Zune or Zune Social will show up in your inbox, which can then be linked to the Marketplace.

The Marketplace now supports Podcasts! Not only that, but it now features music videos and a true artist connection. In case its 3 million DRM'd tracks weren't enough, 1 million of them are now going DRM-free in MP3.

The rundown:
  • Flash Zunes coming out, featuring 1.8" screen, come in matte black, pink, and green, and shiny red (apparently they'll all feature some variation of the Double Shot, the specifics haven't been confirmed yet).
    • Dubbed Zune 4 and Zune 8 (after their storage size, in GB), sell for $150 and $200, respectively
  • Zune 80 (a--surprise!--80 GB player). According to Cesar, it's 27% smaller than the current gen, but has a 14% bigger screen. Amazing.
  • Zune Gen1, now called Zune 30, will be getting all the same features as its younger brothers and sisters.
  • Firmware and software built from the ground up
    • Look incredibly cool
  • Marketplace has 3 million songs, 1 million of which can be purchased in DRM-free MP3
We'll be receiving the update for the current gen Zunes in mid-November when the other products launch. The Zune team was apparently very cautious not to break any accessory compatibility, and have tested to make sure that the old works with the new, and the new with the old. Today is a day I know my $250 was well-spent.

Check out Zune.net and Cesar's post for more.

Tags: Zune2

Rumor Roundup (and DRM-Free too?)

Posted by Adam Krebs in "Zune Talk" @ 04:45 PM

http://techdigest.tv/2007/10/rumour_zune_2_t.html

Zunescene is reporting the gen2 Zunes will feature the following:
  • "Wireless sync will be included in all models including 30gb version
  • Zune Marketplace will have an expanded library including videos
  • Zune Marketplace will feature podcasts (zunecasts?) for the first time.
  • The new "squircle" button is called Zune Pad
  • Prices are $149 (4gb) $199 (8gb) $249 (80gb)
  • 80gb Zune is slimmer and features a 3.2 inch screen."
Additionally, Tech Digest tells us the Zune Marketplace is going DRM-free on us:
"Apparently Microsoft plans to use DRM-free music as a big selling point for the new Zunes. As the blog points out, this doesn't exactly fit well with the existing Zune sharing system, which by definition requires DRM to ensure people pay for the tunes they've shared."

People often talk of MP3 sales and subscription services being mutually exclusive, as if people will not want one if they can have the other. I find the opposite true; I prefer subscription services for their value to me as a consumer, and I prefer MP3s for the freedom to port them across anything I want. It's asinine to charge for a track that doesn't give me full freedom to modify as I please and is locked with DRM. DRM should be for subscriptions only. I hope Zune steps up to become the first to offer subscription in addition to MP3s for the whole library, but I'm not holding my breath.

The improvements look good in their own way. We've been crying out for an updated Zune Software (where is the rule written that all PMP-tied software has to suck?) and Marketplace for a while--to say nothing of the wireless sync, which should be very cool. These updates seem to have at the very least leveled the playing field with the iTunes Store and the new iPods, in addition to throwing in some cool extra fluff like the true Social stuff. If all this holds true, we're in for quite a night.

Tags: Zune2

Monday, October 1, 2007

Even More Leaks

Posted by Adam Krebs in "Zune Talk" @ 06:45 PM

http://www.engadget.com/2007/10/01/are-these-the-new-zunes/

"Well, we'd heard new Zunes were coming tomorrow (or maybe October 16th) and it looks like retailers are starting to receive display units -- everyone, say hello to the new Zunes. Barring some Photoshop trickeration, it looks like we're getting two flash models and a slimmed-down hard drive edition."



Hot on the tails of the announcement of the product announcement and new firmware leakage comes this fresh tidbit from Zunescene member RCMADIAX showing cardboard mockups that were delivered to his branch of some Big Box electronics store. Further, they're only box one of two, the second is to be delivered tomorrow...stay very tuned!


Zune Firmware 2.1 Coming Soon (And New Software!)

Posted by Adam Krebs in "Zune Talk" @ 04:45 PM

http://www.engadget.com/2007/10/01/zune-1-running-firmware-2-1-zune-2-coming-wednesday/#comments

"Here it is, direct from a trusted source close to the situation -- a Zune 1 running firmware 2.1, which will bring all the Zune 2 software goodies and UI tweaks with it when those bad boys are announced on Wednesday. That's right, we also have confirmation that Microsoft will be making the Zune 2 announcement on Wednesday, which should give the Zune tattoo guy plenty of time to get some new ink before the holidays."



Not content with merely updating the hardware, Microsoft has seen it fit to give us early adopters a break, granting us the same features that are rolling out with Zune2, Engadget reports. Not only that, but we're also getting a complete software and Marketplace overhaul. Folks, this is truly an exciting time to be a Zune owner.

(and I love the "Clever...is so last week" tagline. I truly hope they keep it in there.)

EDIT: Clarified when. (Thanks julioangelortiz)

Tags: Zune, 2, Zune2, Firmware, 2.1, Update

Reviews & Articles

Loading feed...

News

Loading feed...

Reviews & Articles

Loading feed...

News

Loading feed...

Reviews & Articles

Loading feed...

News

Loading feed...

Reviews & Articles

Loading feed...

News

Loading feed...

Reviews & Articles

Loading feed...

News

Loading feed...

Sponsored links