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All posts tagged "zune"


Monday, July 9, 2012

Rest in Pieces Zune

Posted by Jason Dunn in "Zune News" @ 11:21 AM

http://bits.blogs.nytimes.com/2012/.../04/r-i-p-zune/

"Microsoft is sending Zune to the pasture where Microsoft brands go to die. It's the end of the road for a name that once symbolized Microsoft's grand plans to curb Apple's entertainment ambitions. In a flurry of announcements that Microsoft made Monday at the E3 games conference in Los Angeles, Microsoft executives said the company planned to introduce a new music service, Xbox Music, that would run on the Xbox 360 game console, Windows phones and Windows 8 computers. That service will come out sometime in the fall."

Just in case the past six months haven't proved beyond a shadow of a doubt that Microsoft has given up on Zune, the news story linked here drives the point home: Zune as a service is going away, following in the footsteps of the Zune hardware going away.

Alas, poor Zune, I barely knew ye... :-(

Tags: zune, rip, ending, kaput

Tuesday, November 15, 2011

Zune Music Pass Launches In Australia

Posted by Darius Wey in "Zune News" @ 05:40 PM

http://www.zune.net/en-AU/products/...ass/default.htm

Oh, yes, fellow Aussies. You'd better believe it. The Zune Music Pass has finally launched in Australia, which means 13 million songs and unlimited music video streaming are now at your fingertips on the Xbox 360, Windows Phone, PC, and web. You can get started now with a free 14-day trial; then, if it's to your liking, continue your subscription for $11.99 AUD per month, or go all out with an annual pass that nets you twelve months for the price of ten. Happy listening!


Tuesday, September 13, 2011

Xbox Live Coming to Windows 8

Posted by Jason Dunn in "Digital Home Software" @ 04:56 PM

http://www.engadget.com/2011/09/13/...-for-windows-8/

The above image is from someone's Flickr account, so I'm not sure if it's real, but Engadget is reporting that Xbox Live is coming to Windows 8. This is impressive - between the Xbox hooked up to a TV, a Windows Phone, and Windows 8 on a PC or tablet, Microsoft has a three-screens entertainment strategy that can actually compete with Apple's iTunes ecosystem. Not bad Microsoft, not bad at all. Note that there's no word "Zune" anywhere in that screen shot, or on the Engadget one. That reinforces to me that the Zune brand is on the way out...but I wonder what they'll re-brand the awesome desktop software to? Xbox doesn't make sense as a media player brand - well, not to me at least.


Tuesday, June 7, 2011

Zune Branding Gone From New Xbox 360 Dashboard

Posted by Jason Dunn in "Zune News" @ 07:00 PM

http://www.winsupersite.com/blogs/e...-xbox-dashboard

Paul Thurrot called out the elephant in the room: there's no trace of Zune branding anywhere that we can see on the new Xbox 360 dashboard design. It's simply "music" and "video" now. Frankly, that makes sense - it's a bit of nonsense that we need to go into the Zune interface to watch videos...

It seems pretty clear that the Zune as a device is dead, and as a service, it's on the way out. Quite a shame really...


Tuesday, May 31, 2011

The Zune Design That Never Was?

Posted by Jason Dunn in "Zune News" @ 08:48 PM

http://techie-buzz.com/microsoft/im...-nano-zune.html

Pictured above is the Zune That Never Was. It was a design, created by people at Microsoft, for a product that looked like it would compete with the iPod Nano. Worth noting is that the patent application has one name on it that jumped out at me: Albert Shum. He happens to be Mr. Windows Phone Design. This looks like it would have filled the role of a small media player perfect for jogging, working out, etc. - basically any scenario where the primary purpose was strictly to listen to music or podcasts. The Zune HD hardware is fantastic; I'd have loved to have seen how this little one would have turned out...


Wednesday, May 25, 2011

Mango Will Take Windows Phone's Zune Experience Up a Notch

Posted by Nelson Ocampo in "Windows Phone News" @ 08:00 PM

http://anythingbutiphone.com/3299

"It appears the leaks were true. Zune on Windows Phone Mango has received a nice update. Using the Mango emulator provided with the Windows Phone Developer Tools, we were able to access certain hidden features like Bing Vision, Bing Audio, Local Scout, and more."

picture from anythingbutiphone.com

In addition to some beautiful cosmetic changes, it appears that we'll also be seeing some key functionality improvements to bring it on par with the Zune HD device. My favorite improvement would be the visibility of the music playing controls on the lock screen. Sure, it's not that hard to press "power" and then "volume" to get to the controls right now, but this is a slight bit of streamlining that I surely will appreciate. The ability to have the artist's imagery on the lock screen when their music is playing is also a pretty nifty feature.Click the link to find out more about some other functionality and podcast support.


Wednesday, April 20, 2011

Get the Zune AV Dock for Only $8.77

Posted by Jason Dunn in "Zune Accessories" @ 10:47 AM

http://www.amazon.com/dp/B000VWOKQM...om&linkCode=as1

A sad sign of a crumbing platform is when the accessories go on fire-sale prices. You can grab the Zune Home AV Pack for a mere $8.77, though it looks like supplies are quite limited to grab them while you can!


Friday, April 1, 2011

APRIL FOOL'S DAY: Zune iOS App Spotted

Posted by Richard Chao in "Windows Phone Software" @ 05:00 AM

One of my favorite pastime is combing through Flickr and Photobucket looking for interesting pictures. Every once in a while you come across a gem. These two for instance were pretty interesting finds... (Hint, lower left corner).

We all knew this was inevitable. iTunes runs on Windows so why shouldn't Zune run on iOS? Besides, it's not like there aren't other iOS app developed by Microsoft. In fact, this is the seventh iOS app by Microsoft. The others are: Bing, OneNote, Live Messenger, Tag Reader, WonderWall and Sea Dragon.

One more picture after the break. Read more...


Thursday, March 17, 2011

Selena Gomez To Help Celebrate Microsoft Store Opening With Free Concert

Posted by Richard Chao in "Windows Phone News" @ 11:30 PM

http://www.facebook.com/event.php?e...183692951671967

"When we open our Microsoft Store in South Coast Plaza, get there early to score tickets to the special performance by actress of Disney's Emmy- Award-winning Wizards of Waverly Place and platinum recording artist Selena Gomez! Selena takes the stage on Saturday, March 26th at 2 PM to help us celebrate our newest store."

There is now more information available regarding the upcoming grand opening of the South Coast Plaza Microsoft Store in Costa Mesa, California. The store will have its grand opening on March 24th and is located near Theory. The mall door next to the Microsoft Store will open at 6AM for people to line up. The grand opening itself will be at 9:30AM. To celebrate the opening, Microsoft will be holding a concert on March 26th with Selena Gomez as the musical artist.

The first 150 people in line on March 24th will get two tickets to concert plus get a chance to meet Selena. The next 800 people will also get a pair of tickets and get to walk the red carpet. Gift bags will also being handed out on grand opening day. For more details regarding the grand opening and concert click the read link.


Tuesday, March 15, 2011

Update: Zune is Alive and Well!

Posted by Steven McPherson in "Windows Phone Software" @ 06:30 PM

http://anythingbutipod.com/2011/03/...ne-is-not-dead/

Okay, clearly we've all jumped the gun and read far too much into the article our friends at Bloomberg posted yesterday. Zune is NOT dead and is clearly alive and well, according to Dave Mclauchlan, Senior Business Development Manager for Zune Hardware. "I've had tweets, emails, PMs and phone calls. People offering condolences, checking in on me, etc... etc... Stop, stop, stop!" stated Mr. McLauchlan in a post earlier today. Sorry Zune, we didn't mean to communicate your time-of-death prior to your heart actually being stopped. Really, we didn't.

That said, I have to believe that the Zune hardware has to evolve. Its latest hardware release, the Zune HD, is an older one (18 months old) and is in desperate need of new applications. While its probably the best sounding and overall portable music and video experience on the market, its content needs to evolve or it needs to die as a hardware platform.

Microsoft is clear that the Zune hardware platform for this year is Windows Phone 7. That's the right message. The Windows Phone platform has content and thriving marketplace of over 10,000 applications and games, subscription music and video galore. If Microsoft is truly going to succeed in the portable media player market they need to evolve the Zune Media player platform to consume applications, games and content from the same marketplace. Music. Check. Video. Check. Applications. Not so much.

Hopefully over the next few months Microsoft will become more clear how the Zune hardware platform will evolve, but I'm glad to hear that I shouldn't be laying my lovely silver Zune to rest any time soon.


Monday, March 14, 2011

Microsoft Kills Zune Hardware? Its All About the Software!

Posted by Steven McPherson in "Windows Phone Software" @ 04:30 PM

http://www.engadget.com/2011/03/14/...-focus-on-soft/

"According to Bloomberg, a "person familiar with the decision" has confirmed that Microsoft won't be producing any new Zune media players, and that the company will instead focus solely on the Zune software that already has a foothold on the Xbox 360 and Windows Phone devices (it's not clear if the name will stick around)."

No confirmation from Microsoft yet, but it appears that Microsoft has decided to pitch the standalone media player hardware in favor of focusing on the software platform that has already been integrated into the wildly successful XBOX and the Windows Phone 7 platforms. Microsoft is said to be working on project "Ventura" that will provide cloud based music and media services to PCs, TVs and mobile devices. Could "Ventura" be part of Microsoft future media strategy?

I love my Zune so this will be a tough one to swallow but since my Windows Phone 7 is able to consume all of the Zune media just as well, I think that most users will be fine. While its not even speculated that Microsoft would discontinued Zune support within the Marketplace, it would be great if Microsoft would partner with outside hardware developers to provide standalone media player integration with the popular Zune service. Keeping the hardware devices "fresh" should still be important to the future media platform strategy. Only time will tell. Hopefully Microsoft will provide more clarity and confirm their future media platform strategy in the coming weeks.


Wednesday, February 9, 2011

New Zune Software Update: What's New?

Posted by Jason Dunn in "Zune Software" @ 08:50 AM

I noticed that in the Patch Tuesday update - which I happen to be installing today - there's an update for the Zune desktop software. There's no information about what this update brings to the table that I can find - anyone know what's new? It's still version 4.7, so I suspect the changes are minor...


Monday, January 24, 2011

The Windows Phone 7 Feature Availability Matrix, A.K.A. The Confusing Mess

Posted by Jason Dunn in "Windows Phone Articles & Resources" @ 12:08 PM

http://andrewtechhelp.com/andrews-t...lability-matrix

"Windows Phone 7 is available in many different countries across the world, but where you live depends on how much of the experience you are able to get. The 3 major features on the Windows Phone revolve around availability of online services and they are the Zune Marketplace, Xbox Live and Bing Local search. Microsoft has not made each of these 3 services available in every country that they are launching Windows Phone in and therefore have created a mess of what services are available on the phone in each country (with some countries even having partial access to some services)."

Although I'm enjoying using Windows Phone 7 for the most part, I start to get an angry twitch whenever I stop to think about how fractured the product experience is for people outside the USA. This isn't anything new - I've ranted about this on Zune Thoughts for years - but the core problem is still the same. If someone wants to buy a Windows Phone in Canada, they can't buy music from the Zune Marketplace. What kind of sense does that make then for them to use the Zune desktop software to manage their phone and media collection, but not be able to buy new music - and that's not even the Zune Pass, that's any music at all from Zune. I've heard for years how hard it is to negotiate rights in every country, etc., but at the end of the day it has to happen or the product isn't going to succeed. And the consumer doesn't care about what's hard or what's easy; they want a product that works for them. If Microsoft can't provide that, they'll go with someone that will.


Monday, October 25, 2010

Melinda Gates on the Zune: That's Loyalty

Posted by Jason Dunn in "Zune Talk" @ 10:00 AM

http://www.nytimes.com/2010/10/24/m...=2&ref=magazine

"Q: Do you own an iPod, which is made by Apple?A: No, I have a Zune.

Q: What if one of your children says, "Mom, I have to have an iPod?"A: I have gotten that argument - "You may have a Zune."

Hah! I love it. That's some dedication to your husband's company. Of course, Zune or iPod, the Gates Foundation is doing some really amazing things to fight poverty and disease in our world. Check this out. There are far more important things in this world than what brand of device you use, and I'm so glad to see the Gates' using their money to improve the world, one bit at a time.


Friday, October 22, 2010

What's the Future of Zune Hardware?

Posted by Jason Dunn in "Zune Articles & Resources" @ 04:14 PM

http://technologizer.com/2010/10/21...d-a-zune-touch/

"With Windows Phone 7 finally out, what does the future hold for Microsoft's line of Zune media players? I suspect that very few people outside of Redmond are asking themselves that question right now-and that anybody who does care assumes that the Zune HD will turn out to be the final stand-alone Zune. (Like all the other Zunes before it, the HD suffered from a malady I like to think of as "Gee, this is quite a good product, but it's in a class of devices that people lost interest in a year ago" syndrome.) Me, I'm hoping for a new Zune soon-maybe several of them. Hold on, hear me out, I'm serious."

I've been muttering about this one for a while: if Microsoft doesn't come out with a media player that's basically a chassis 1 Windows Phone 7 without the phone, they're missing a vital opportunity. If they want to build an ecosystem, they need to both offers consumers connected and non-connected models, and they need to offer developers the most populated platform they can - everything possible capable of running their software. The Zune HD is a great device, but people want apps and enhanced functionality beyond just the basics, and the Zune HD can't deliver that right now (no, the 30 apps so far on the Zune HD really don't count - the damn thing still can't view YouTube videos).

One catch here is that the baseline Windows Phone 7 spec has a lot more ooomph than the Zune HD - a 1 Ghz processor and bigger, higher resolution screen won't come cheap - so if Microsoft can only offer this type of product at the $499 price point, well, that's going to fail...


Music Metadata: It's Here to Stay

Posted by Jason Dunn in "Zune Talk" @ 01:00 PM

On a private mailing list I'm a part of, the issue of music metadata was brought up - specifically, that the Zune desktop and device software relies on metadata for everything, and if you're the kind of person who has a collection of digital music stretching back 10+ years, there's a good chance it's missing proper metadata. Many people have worked around that by organizing and playing back their music like they would a Word document; via the file system. This is a habit that you should seriously consider breaking, and I'll tell you why. Read more...


Wednesday, October 20, 2010

The Official Windows Phone Connector for OS X

Posted by Jason Dunn in "Windows Phone Software" @ 05:56 PM

http://electricpig.co.uk/2010/10/21...tech+news+site)

"Windows Phone 7 Connector is coming, for all you Windows Phone 7 obsessives stashing media on your previously incompatible OS X machine. No, it's not Zune for Mac, but it does get the job done: we've been testing it out over the last few days, so read on for our impressions."

As I suspected, 99% of the headlines out there over the past week the were proclaiming that the "Zune desktop software is coming to OS X" are flat-out wrong. It's amazing how people twist and conflate pieces of information. Anyway, if you're an OS X user and you want a simple way to get music, photos, and videos onto your Windows Phone 7 - the reviewer doesn't say whether it also works with the Zune...I'd like to think it does given the platform similarities, but I can't say for sure. The beta comes out October 24th, at which point I'll take it for a spin myself and see what works and what doesn't. What I don't understand is why Microsoft is being so coy about this - it's a pretty significant move!


Monday, October 11, 2010

Zune Desktop Software Client Update to 4.7

Posted by Jason Dunn in "Zune Software" @ 10:20 AM

http://www.zune.net

Today is Windows Phone 7 launch day, and as such, there's a new Zune desktop client ready for you to download; it's version 4.7, and it brings with it a lot of user interface tweaks. I've just installed it and am checking it out now...and I'm seeing more than a few ugly surprises. Here's the official word from the Zune's PR people:

"As you may know, the Zune experience is built directly into the Music+Video hub on every Windows Phone 7, providing a great media experience on the handsets for personal media collection playback, as well as the ability to stream millions of songs wirelessly with a Zune Pass subscription in the US, UK, France, Italy and Spain. In addition, the Zune software will serve as the Windows-based PC sync client for the handsets allowing a user to manage and transfer their media between PCs and Windows Phone 7 handsets.

In support of the forthcoming availability of Windows Phone 7, we are beginning to roll out the updated Zune PC software (version 4.7) today. Zune PC software will be available to download for free from Zune.net. By having access to the software now, consumers around the world can familiarize themselves with all that Zune has to offer and get ready for Windows Phone 7.

The Zune PC software provides a best-in-class experience to manage, discover and enjoy digital media with a variety of exclusive features including new enhancements such as:

• First Connect: provides a simple out-of-the box experience for Windows Phone 7 customers with automatic updates to Zune content upon initial connection

• HD Streaming Video: enables instant-on HD video streaming available on your Windows-based PC for many rented and purchased videos

• Photo Sync: allows a smoother process for transferring photos from a Windows Phone to your Windows-based PC

• Sync Media: lets users purchase music and videos through Windows Phone 7 and sync content with their Windows-based PC

• Parental Controls & Rating on Videos: gives parents more control of available content streamed or downloaded to a phone

Additionally, customers in the US, UK, France, Italy, Germany and Spain will also be able to use the Zune software to access the Zune Marketplace - a one stop shop for music, videos and more. Customers in the UK, France, Italy and Spain will also be able to subscribe to Zune Pass for £8.99/9.99 to get unlimited downloads and streaming access to the Zune music catalogue using the Zune PC software.

For more information around the international availability of Zune services, click here. For more information on the new Zune PC software, please visit www.zune.net"

More to come...


Wednesday, September 29, 2010

The New Xbox 360 Dashboard with More Zune Goodness

Posted by Jason Dunn in "Zune Software" @ 11:05 AM

http://www.zuneboards.com/forums/zu...n-stretegy.html

"I have had a chance to use the new Xbox Dashboard over the last week and the new Zune Music Marketplace has been by far my favorite. Docking your Zune to the TV worked but the UI was really awkward with that tiny remote. This solves everything as far as the 10 foot Zune experience in the living room. The Zune team has done a fantastic job with this and has really rounded out the 3 screen strategy for Zune Music. I will mention that this is all streaming and cloud based, you will need a Zune Pass to take advantage of this feature on Xbox. It will not connect to your PC or Home Server. It is unknown if or when that will happen, but for now, it is still a great addition to the Xbox."

An awesome overview video by my friend Grahm - there's lots of good stuff here, but guess what? It looks like it's mostly predicated on having a Zune Pass...which I still won't be able to get in Canada this year, and only some of Europe will be able to get. Sigh. Zune, you are so hard to root for right now!


Monday, September 20, 2010

Zune Marketplace Expands Elsewhere in the World - Sort Of

Posted by Jason Dunn in "Zune News" @ 05:44 PM

http://www.microsoft.com/presspass/...zuneintlpr.mspx

"REDMOND, Wash. - Sep. 20, 2010 - Microsoft Corp. today announced the further international expansion of Zune, its digital entertainment service. This fall, Zune will expand its music and video footprint and bring the free Zune software, Zune Marketplace online store, Zune Pass music subscription service and enhanced features on Zune.net to new markets, providing a comprehensive entertainment experience on Windows-based PCs, on the go with Windows Phone 7 and in your living room through Xbox LIVE. "The integration between Zune, Windows Phone 7 and Xbox LIVE is an exciting expansion in our entertainment offerings," said Craig Eisler, corporate vice president, Interactive Entertainment Business Group at Microsoft. "Zune enables users to access the entertainment they want, wherever they want it - and now, more people than ever will be able to enjoy the freedom and flexibility that the Zune service offers." "

No surprises here, except perhaps that Microsoft has failed to expand the world-wide reach of the Zune Pass as much as I'd hoped they would. I live in Canada and was hoping - no, expecting - to be able to get a Zune Pass to go along with my upcoming Windows Phone 7 purchase. Here are the highlights:

  • The Zune Pass is coming to the U.K., France, Italy and Spain - consumers in that country will get the full subscription package for £8.99 / €9.99. However - and this is a bit of an issue for some - there are no free 10 tracks per month.
  • Music purchase is available in the U.K., France, Italy, Spain and Germany - this means MP3s from the Zune Marketplace.
  • Video purchases from the Zune Marketplace for the U.K., France, Germany, Canada, Australia and New Zealand.
  • Movie rentals from the Zune Marketplace for the U.K., France, Italy, Spain, Germany, Austria, Belgium, Ireland, Netherlands, Switzerland, Mexico, Canada, Australia and New Zealand.

Is that a confusing mess, or what? As a Canadian, I can buy videos from the Zune Marketplace, and rent them, but I can't buy music? Or can't get a Zune Pass for the Windows Phone 7 device I'm pretty sure Rogers is going to be launching here in the next 90 days? Ridiculous. And why can someone in Ireland rent a movie, but not buy one? The Germans will be able to purchase MP3s from the Zune Marketplace, but they can't get a Zune Pass? And my head will explode if I try to figure out who can do what with Xbox Live - I've been able to rent movies from Xbox Live for months, but I can't rent them or purchase them on my PC.

This not the unified vision I was hoping to see from Microsoft. This is a slapdash, fragmented effort that fails to deliver a solid entertainment experience to everyone in the countries Microsoft is supporting. Yeah, yeah, I know that this is complicated legal stuff, but if Apple can get it done, why can't Microsoft? I'm tired of having to use a loophole to purchase music from Amazon. I'm tired of iTunes being the only source for video purchases I have available. I was hoping Microsoft was going to deliver a solid solution here, and they haven't. It's no wonder Apple is kicking ass and taking names when this is the best their competition can do.

The glimmer of good news in all this is that there's finally a new release of the Zune desktop software; I hope they've added useful features and improved performance, both of which are sorely needed.

What's your take on this? Am I being too hard on Microsoft? Should I be patting them on the back for achieving a tiny fraction of the digital entertainment unity that Apple has been able to create?

The remainder of the press release is after the break. Read more...


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