IBM today announced the industry’s highest performance, highest throughput processor for system-on-chip (SoC) product families in the communication, storage, consumer, and aerospace and defense markets.
Wednesday, August 5, 2009
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Wednesday, September 24, 2008
Though Microsoft left their new Zune hardware relatively untouched, the firmware and corresponding software got a few nice upgrades that add a bit of functionality. In the firmware, Marketplace is now available over Wi-Fi, while FM Tagging lets you mark songs you hear on the FM Tuner, and have them added to your Marketplace cart automatically. On the software side, Picks compiles a list of songs for purchase in the Marketplace based on recent listening habits, Channels offer what amount to preselected podcasts based on your tastes, Zune DJs or selected partners. Meanwhile Mixview lets you visually explore new music by seeing an artist/album’s related works, influences and top listeners. Of these new features, the Wi-Fi Marketplace is a solid, necessary addition, and Mixview is a few tweaks away from being downright awesome.Picks is basically a more personalized, less flashy, less functional version of Mixview. It’s not a new idea, by any means, as iTunes has done something similar for a long time, but it’s a feature that’s good to have anyway. Channels is another inclusion that’s cool, but is essentially a podcast with a bit of personalization. A Zune pass is also necessary to use Channels, which limits it’s reach a little bit. But one advantage it does have over a podcast, is that it can be auto-updated over the wi-fi, and switching from song to song is easier, finding a happy medium between preset and on-demand music content.
Zune quietly added Games functionality as well, but with only two basic preloaded games, and no downloadable content, it’s too early to judge this aspect of the Zune.
Zune Marketplace is a simple interface that highlights what it does best-letting you scroll through pre-compiled Top 10 lists. You can choose from top songs, top albums or new releases, and pick from genres within each menu. If there’s something you REALLY need to download while on the go, there is a search menu that goes through the entire store, but stringing together words on the Zune pad gets old…real fast. But for looking up quick music on the fly without a keyboard, this interface works pretty well.
FM Tagging is a feature that works pretty well most of the time, but runs into the occasional glitch and is limited by the Zune Marketplace. Most of the time, the name and artist comes up without a hitch on any given radio station, but sometimes the tags are formatted wrong and the Zune can’t interpret them. The other problem is finding songs in the market place. Even when the song info is correct, you just can’t find the song in the store, which negates the usefulness. This seems like a feature that’s best used with a Top 40 station as opposed to an obscure college show.
Mixview is probably the most significant of the new features, so I’ll devote some space to break down its pros and cons. Like Jesús said, Mixview is designed pretty well, and is really fun to use. You can view other works by the same artists, related artists, and artists who have either influenced or been influenced by the subject in question.
At its best, you can slide from Mixview cloud to Mixview cloud smoother than butter, learning about new artists and downloading new and related music on the fly without exiting the UI. You can also click on top users associated with an artist and browse their favorites and playlists. When you find a string of good Mixview clouds, I could see where using this with the all-you-can-eat Zune Pass would be more addictive than Oxycontin mixed with crack (think Wikipedia surfing).
At its worst, the recommendation service for Mixview can be a clusterfuck of randomness. When you click on a Mixview for an artist or album, the clusters will regularly include 3 or 4 entries to a related artist that come off as redundant. You will not only see a link to the related artist’s cloud, but also to his maxi-single, an out of print release,and maybe a downloadable album. It’s not always this bad, but it tends to get worse as the artist gets more obscure. Essential singles and EPs, I can understand. But listing greatest hits albums, forgettable EPs and singles already found in suggested albums is lame.
Compared to Genius, Mixview does some things better, some things worse, and some things completely different. Mixview’s interface easily trumps that of Genius, and goes deeper into what why it’s recommending certain songs. However, Genius seems to be more consistent with the quality of recommendations. Rarely am I blown away by Genius’ list of songs, compared to some Mixviews that are really awesome, but rarely am I left wondering “WTF?” or stuck filtering through crap with Genius.
As an example, I’ll use the difference between looking up rapper/produer El-P in Zune Mixview and iTunes Genius. Searching his latest album “I’ll Sleep When You’re Dead” in Mixview brings up ’80s prog-rockers Yes (cited as an influence), his maxi-single for “The Overly Dramatic Truth” (off the same album), DJ Shadow’s artist page, DJ Shadow’s album “Endtroducing,” Metallica’s “Master of Puppets,” and Prefuse 73’s “Vocal Studies.” Granted, these suggestions change slightly every time you click, and the general selection is decent, but with the more limited list space, do we really need two entries for DJ shadow, and another entry for a song off El-P’s same album?
On Genius, searching the track “Tasmanian Pain Coaster” from El-P’s album not only brings up earlier works from El-P, but also songs from Cannibal Ox’s “The Cold Vein” (which he produced and released on his Def Jux label), Mr. Lif’s “I Phantom” (same), Cage’s “Hell’s Winter” (same). Plus there were also suggestions to rappers like Sole and Evidence, who both emerged out of the same wave of hip-hop as El-P (not to mention share the same skin color). But I digress. The point to this music nerdery is to show that it’s a little easier to follow the logic behind the recommendations behind choices on Genius. But that could be what Zune intended with Mixview - choices for the more enthusiastic music fan who is looking for more than the obvious links in music. It’s just sometimes it comes off as scattershot song picking than informed recommendations.
And of course, the two excel in very different things. Zune Pass makes Mixview amazing on the music discovery front, because you can get new music risk-free at will. It also has the social on it’s side, and the ability to connect with the tastes of other users. Genius has the ability to make playlists from music already in your collection - which can be very cool if there’s a certain sound you’re in the mood for. Stacked up against each other, it’s kind of a wash, and mostly depends on what features matter to you.
Overall, there’s more good than bad to be found in the Zune 3.0 Fall Update. Picks and FM Tagging are neat, but picks are not a new idea, and the Tagging is a bit rough around the edges. The addition of the Wi-Fi Marketplace further establishes Zune’s spot, in my opinion, as the best non-touchscreen media player in the market, and Mixview just needs to tighten up its suggestion engine a little bit to achieve greatness.
Monday, August 18, 2008
Xilisoft Zune Video Converter is a video to Zune conversion tool. It can convert popular video formats like AVI, MPEG, DivX, RM, MOV, ASF, VOB to Zune WMV, MP4, MPEG4 video files, and also convert audio files including WAV, RA, AC3, MP2, APE, OGG, and CDA to Zune audio formats MP3, WMA, AAC easily and fast, with excellent quality. It also allows you to capture pictures in batch from video, and create video from pictures.
Key Features: Support multithreading and batch conversion; Integrate with all video/audio encoders/codec; Auto-detect your CPU; Provide both general and advanced settings, such as customizing output file size with video bit rate obtained accordingly; Support setting divers output profiles for one video source at the same time; Support run in background for more efficiency. Version 5.0.98.0815 is a bug fixing release.
You can download it by clicking here.
Tuesday, August 12, 2008
Microsoft is said to be on the hunt for studios to provide exclusive content for the Zune media player.
According to The Hollywood Reporter, Microsoft officials have been visiting with studios and talent agencies recently in hopes of securing a deal to provide the player with video content.
Originally hailed as Microsoft’s answer to the iPod, the Zune has failed to emerge as a credible threat to its Apple counterpart. Microsoft has sold just two million of the players since its 2006 launch.
One of the main reasons credited for the iPod’s continued dominance of the market is the iTunes store. The Apple service allows users to download and transfer both music and video onto the iPod easily.
Microsoft reportedly hopes to counter this by securing the rights to exclusive content that Apple would not be able to license and distribute through iTunes. The company may also look to take advantage of the Zune’s wireless networking features, which have not yet proven to be a major selling point.
“What we would be looking to do with any form of original content is the added component that Zune could provide that iTunes or any competing service couldn’t,” Zune director of entertainment development Richard Winn told The Hollywood Reporter.
“The thing we’ve all been looking for is, ‘What can we do that is a little more interesting than just looking at a piece of video?’”
Wednesday, July 30, 2008
Nervo, the design and animation studio offshoot for Nando Costa has created six animated films as a branding package for Microsoft’s Zune Creative campaign for its portable music and video player. Nervo says that the videos will be used at promotional events and other marketing projects.
The company says that “the brief for this project was quite open, which led us to explore different animation techniques and a more subjective concept. The Zune Creative team granted us a lot of freedom from the start, including creating the music and sound effects.
“Our approach was to connect various abstract associations to music: from relating it with the pleasure of eating candy (Zune Sweets), to the idea of users communicating and sharing music (Zune Hair), to the idea of tranferring music from one place into another, sharing (Zune Boxes) all the way to the idea of change, adaptation and collage of tastes, personalities, preferences / customization (Zune Liquid & Cages).
The spots can be watched here. The team has also posted series of behind-the-scenes images to Flickr.
Wednesday, July 30, 2008
Chicago (IL) - Speculations about possible Zune-branded mobile phone from Microsoft have been discussed in the blogosphere since the iPhone was introduced last June. Microsoft on its part has avoided confirming or denying these rumors (which is usually an indication that such a device is in the works) but analysts warn that the software giant would jeopardize 20 million Windows Mobile licenses if it decided to make the Zune handset.
Jupiter Research analyst Michael Gartenberg is one of those analysts who think Zune handset would be a bad idea. In a recent post on his blog, the analyst cites different business model behind Windows Mobile and the alienation of its hardware partners when it decided to market its own music player as primary reasons. “The business model of Windows Mobile is totally different than Zune,” Gartenberg writes. “Zune worked to some extent since the technology Microsoft was licensing wasn’t getting them anywhere. As it was, hardware partners were taken aback by Microsoft’s actions but were still comfortable licensing.”
Gartenberg thinks that jeopardizing the traction it now has with the Windows Mobile platform would be a risky move. “No one has ever been successful licensing technology platforms to others and then competing with a device of their own,” he said. “Apple failed (twice), Palm and Nokia all tried it and it just can’t be done. Microsoft now has traction with more than 20 million licenses out there and a great stream of partners and new phones for consumer and business use.”
Even if Microsoft decided to make a Zune handset, the company would face similar obstacles that limited Apple’s iPhone efforts. One of the difficulties is the fact that there is no market for unlocked phones in the U.S., unlike Europe where customers can pick any handset they like, get it unlocked (in most cases) and then choose the carrier of their choice. “Just ask Nokia how hard it is to sell a high end phone with no carrier,” said Gartenberg. He thinks that some Zune functions could end up in future versions of Windows Mobile, similar to how iPod-related features ended up in the iPhone software.
His take is echoed by a recently leaked Steve Ballmer memo that announced an important change in the direction for Microsoft.
According to the company’s CEO, the software giant will work more closely with its ecosystem of hardware vendors in order to provide tighter interplay between software and hardware. “Today, we’re changing the way we work with hardware vendors to ensure that we can provide complete experiences with absolutely no compromises. We’ll do the same with phones - providing choice as we work to create great end-to-end experiences,” Ballmer wrote to his troops in a leaked memo.
We would agree that a Zune phone would be a questionable move - as was the whole Zune player launch (especially the ugly brown version of the bulky device.) We would even go one step further and bet that (contrary to Microsoft’s claims that Zune is part of a long term strategy) the device as we know it today will be removed from the market in the not too distant future. Instead, a portable multimedia-playback-gaming device a la Playstation Portable would make much more sense.
Monday, July 21, 2008
Zune 2 Reviews
Mark McClusky, Wired, October 3, 2007
Overall, it seems like a good package for PC users who haven’t invested in any other system. Certainly, I don’t think that the new hardware will become the butt of as many jokes as version one — they’re much nicer looking units, and the user experience of the software seems good. Plus, if you’re into social networking, it could be a great way to find new music.
The Zune is a very good debut with great features, such as the large screen for video and the wireless music-sharing capability. It’s also reasonably priced compared to its fruit-branded rival. It still has some way to go, though, if it wants to take a significant amount of market share away from the iPod: the restrictions on shared music need to be relaxed and build quality could be improved.
I was disappointed Microsoft didn’t take everything that works for iPod and build on it. As one reader on my blog pointed out, people with large music libraries who like to take every song with them can’t even consider the 30-GB Zune.
But a lot of what Zune lacks – larger storage, podcast/video store, wireless PC transfer – can be added later by Microsoft.
The Zune has a radio, Zune to Zune Wi-Fi transfer and a big screen – all features that make it stand out from the iPod.
If you want to be different from the rest, this will serve its purpose. If you’re into photography, I’d recommend this over the iPod because of the nice screen. But if you’re comfortable with your iPod, I’d wait to see what Microsoft has in store for Zune’s future.
Microsoft’s Zune is a slick piece of hardware. It’s a worthy competitor to the iPod that surpasses its rival in some surprising ways, like the interface, which is drop-dead fantastic.
The Zune is taking a good kicking in the press, but the criticism — especially from the Mac web — seems knee-jerk and defensive.
It’s not perfect, but the Zune is a well-designed and well-made alternative to the iPod. It’s got a big, beautiful screen; built-in Wi-Fi for peer-to-peer song sharing (I didn’t actually try this — no other Zuners around); and supports a subscription music service.
I even like the brown color. Don’t laugh, it actually looks pretty cool — a welcome alternative to the iPod’s relentless white and black, which is starting to get old.
I’ve been playing with a Zune for a couple of weeks, and I like it. I like it a lot.
I cannot in good faith recommend this product in its current form to anyone also considering an iPod. Those averse to Apple products and looking for a new Windows-only player should definitely consider the Zune, but understand there are quite a few kinks Microsoft has left to work out. All in all, the Zune is a disappointment. A moral victory for Microsoft, yes. An iPod killer? Absolutely not.
Overall, the Zune is absolutely decent. It’s got a nice, large screen, a simple menu system, and intuitive controls. It gets good battery life, and does provide the most basic functionality that most people expect. It is, in other words, completely average. But since you can buy a lighter, nicer-looking, and more capable iPod for exactly the same amount of money, and can find other iPod models that meet different needs at different price points, you should almost certainly avoid the first generation Zune. It just comes with too many compromises.
The Zune is a contender, but one that looks like it was obviously rushed to market to make a holiday release. The good news is that there is nothing wrong with the Zune device or PC player that can’t be fixed in software. The bad news is, there’s a lot of software fixin’ that needs happen. If Microsoft sticks to an extremely aggressive software update release, it can turn the Zune into a killer product. If they wait for months to make modest improvements and limp out a handful of new Zune players next year, they’ll toss money down a bottomless pit and implode under the ever-expanding iPod market.
Take a wait-and-see approach with the Zune, unless you’re convinced Microsoft will quickly make the updates that turn the Zune into what you desire. But keep your eye on Zune developments, because this could be the Next Big Thing with just a few well-executed software and service updates.
We didn’t expect to be at all impressed by Microsoft’s first effort at an iPod competitor. Boy, were we pleasantly surprised! The device is well made (OK, that we expected), is packaged very austerely and attractively (shocker) and is superbly easy to use (pick us up off the floor). It’s fun to use, easy to use and sounds great. Finding your tunes and playing them is quick and painless, creating playlists is no problem and the desktop software really rocks. Video playback is very good, though you’ll have to roll your own content since the Marketplace has none so far. Overall, an excellent first attempt at jumping into a mature market.
Microsoft’s effort to grab a piece of the media player market is just about what you’d expect from Microsoft: strong software, weak design, slightly awkward but bound to get better over time. The FM radio and the bright, sharp video are real plusses.
So far, the Zune looks like a solid addition to the MP3 player market. It’s a nice-looking player and appears to be a decent value. At this point, we’re still hard at work putting the Zune through its paces. We’ll be back with some updates and a full PCW Rating once we’ve had a chance to complete our battery-life tests and dig a little deeper into the player’s wireless features.
Overall, the Zune is a well-designed portable media device with good playback performance, a snappy processor, and an excellent interface. Wi-Fi sharing worked well, but prospective owners should know its format support, especially for videos, is limited. The Zune looks like a good fit for MP3 player novices, though we hope Microsoft addresses issues and will make the Zune usable as a hard drive; extend video support to include DRM (which they probably will do when its own video store opens); and open up a true Wi-Fi network. The foundation looks good, though, and those not interested in version 1 of Zune can look forward to improved versions 2, 3, and beyond.
Bottom line? The Zune team delivered. Zune is an excellent music player and handles pictures as well as video content as well. What’s missing? Well, there’s no podcast support in the Zune client, which needs to be addressed and of course, no video content in Zune marketplace just yet. Both could easily be fixed by Microsoft. In terms of accessories, while there isn’t the legion of stuff available for iPod, there’s enough stuff out there to keep most users happy for the time being. As for the iPod? If you’ve got an investment in iPod stuff (like speaker docks, car kits, cases and the like) you’re not likely going to be swayed by Zune for now. If you’re in the market to buy something new, the 30gb iPod is still going to be the better bet (with podcast support, TV shows, Movies, Games, better form factor and accessory choices and all the cachet that comes with the iPod) But, if for some reason the iPod isn’t the device for you, then picking up a Zune should be a no-brainer. Over the next two years, I expect to see the Zune story mature, with more device choices and support for more content types. There’s no doubt that Zune is going to be a “player” in this space.
The verdict on the first Zune? Credible in many ways, but half-baked in others. Overall, not nearly compelling enough to stop you from visiting one of the Apple retail stores this season. Expect many more sleepless nights in Redmond.
Zune has several nice features the iPod lacks: a larger screen, the ability to exchange songs with other Zunes wirelessly and a built-in FM radio. It solves the worst problem that plagued earlier Microsoft-based music players — frequent failures to synchronize properly music and videos between the players and personal computers. Synchronization on the Zune is smooth and sure.
Also, the Zune player and software have a very good user interface, different from, but in some cases easier to use than, the iPod’s. While it lacks the famous iPod scroll wheel, instead using a common four-way navigation pad, I found song lists easy to navigate on the Zune. It has only a few buttons and is quite intuitive to use. To my ears, it sounded as good as the iPod.
But, this first Zune has too many compromises and missing features to be as good a choice as the iPod for most users. The hardware feels rushed and incomplete. It is 60% larger and 17% heavier than the comparable iPod. It has much worse battery life for music than the iPod or than Microsoft claims — at least two hours less than the iPod’s, in my tests. Despite the larger screen, many album covers look worse than they do on the iPod. And you can’t share music libraries between computers like you can with iTunes.
…
Overall, the iPod and iTunes are still the champs. Still, I expect the Zune to attract some converts and to get better with time. And this kind of competition from a big company with deep pockets and lots of talent is good for consumers in the long run.
Competition is good and all. But what, exactly, is the point of the Zune? It seems like an awful lot of duplication — in a bigger, heavier form with fewer features — just to indulge Microsoft’s “we want some o’ that” envy. Wireless sharing is the one big new idea — and if the public seems to respond, Apple could always add that to the iPod.
Then again, this is all standard Microsoft procedure. Version 1.0 of Microsoft Anything is stripped-down and derivative, but it’s followed by several years of slow but relentless refinement and marketing. Already, Microsoft says that new Zune features, models and accessories are in the pipeline.
For now, though, this game is for watching, not playing. It may be quite a while before brown is the new white.
The $249 Zune player is an attractive design, available in black, brown, or white. It has 30 gigabytes of storage and is about 1/4-in. longer and thicker than the similarly priced 30-gb iPod. But it makes good use of the extra bulk with its substantially bigger 3-in. display. It also has an FM radio. And while the controls lack the elegant minimalism of iPod’s scroll wheel they are well designed and efficient. I had some difficulty installing the software—which requires Windows XP Service Pack 2—and getting the player to sync. But I was testing a preproduction version of the program; the problems should be fixed by the Nov. 14 launch.
…
The big problem with the Marketplace is what isn’t there. Zune is a much better video player than the iPod, but there are no movies or TV shows for sale, and won’t be until Microsoft works out agreements with the studios and networks. Zune can play podcasts, but you can’t subscribe to or download them through the Marketplace.Maybe I am underestimating the desire of people, especially those of the MySpace generation, to share music by a more high-tech method than passing earbuds back and forth. If I’m not, Microsoft’s only hope may be to top iTunes’ menu of video offerings before Apple comes out with an enhanced video iPod, which could happen as soon as January. It looks like it’s going to be a bumpy ride.
This is the most promising iPod competitor we’ve ever seen from Microsoft and could be a digital music player that gives the whole industry a run for its money.
…
From a purely subjective perspective, the Microsoft Zune achieved something that precious few portable music players have done before: It made me want it. I really wanted to take one home and play with it for hours. The Zune’s release is not only Microsoft’s best shot at the iPod, it could be the best one, period.
Zune shows promise. But I’d like to see more offerings in the store, and less stringent wireless restrictions. And Microsoft should rethink the silly points system. For now, I’m sticking with iPod.
Generally the software seemed very responsive, especially search. This may have had to do with the fact that the Zune software stores an index of every artist, album, and track on your hard drive for faster access (don’t worry, they say it’s minuscule, which we’ve got our doubts about), as well as all the images you pull up while browsing.
As for the hardware, again, we’ll reserve judgment here and let you see for yourself in our forthcoming Zune video. There isn’t much we can say at this point about the crippled functionality of the wireless, but if you haven’t already come to terms with what features the Zune is and isn’t launching with, then you might want to try and look at it for its merits as a player (while ignoring the wireless) — or simply keep looking for another device.
Overall, this seems pretty promising. I can’t find any mis-steps or anything where I have to ask “wait, this is dumb, why did you do this?” in both the player and the software. The Zune itself is very sexy, and feels nice to the touch—not too heavy. We can’t wait to do another hands on as the launch date approaches. Oh, and I still can’t decide which color is my favorite.
Monday, July 21, 2008
To Buy your own Microsoft Zune, click here to go to our Zune Market!
Q: What is Zune?
A: According to Chris Stephenson, Microsoft General Manager of Marketing for the MSN Entertainment Business, Zune is
an umbrella brand for what he says is “a family of hardware and software products” targeting various digital entertainment services.
The first implementation of this will be the portable music player and digital music service…
Additional Zune-branded devices will follow, including a portable video player and, potentially, a portable game device, although Stephenson would not comment on the videogame element of the initiative.
On September 14, 2006 Microsoft released details of the first Zune product and on September 28, Microsoft released details on pricing and availability (small correction here) which are incorporated below. At midnight on October 2, 2007 Microsoft is expected to release the details of the second generation Zune media players, informally called the Zune 2.
A: At midnight on October 2, 2007 Microsoft announced new Zune players (”Zune 2″) and related enhancements. These consist of the following:
In a nice touch, while Microsoft has upgraded the Zune software and accessories, they are still compatible with the original Zune making the Zune a true family of media players. Details below the picture.
The original Zune devices (”Zune 1″) will get a software update and share new features with the Zune 2:
New Microsoft Zune accessories will be released, but original Zune accessories will work on the new Zune devices and new accessories will also work with the old Zune 30GB device. The new accessories are:
A: Microsoft has released a number of images of the first Zune player which are available in the Zune Virtual Press Room. Here’s a selection:
A: (Updated Sept. 5, 2007) Per the September 14, 2006 announcement linked above, the first Zune player will be much as rumored and have the following specs:
Here’s a video of the Zune user interface:
A: (Updated Jan. 20) According to Microsoft’s David Caulton you cannot use the Zune wireless feature to:
What you can do with the Zune wireless feature is:
A video that clearly illustrates the complete wireless capabilities of the Zune is here. Microsoft has officially denied rumors that they will pay Zune owners to share music.
A: (Updated Nov. 14) The online Zune music store is called the Zune Marketplace and has “millions of songs,” but no video yet. You can either buy a Zune Pass subscription for $14.99 per month that gives unlimited access to all the music (while you continue to subscribe) or you can purchase individual musical tracks for 79 Microsoft Points per track.
If you are unfamiliar with Microsoft Points, they are a unit of “currency” introduced with Xbox Live for online purchases that can be obtained online with a credit card or from various retailers either online or in ordinary stores (generally in increments of $5 or larger). Currently 1 Microsoft point costs 1.25 cents in the USA so the per track fee in Zune Marketplace is 98.75 cents per track as compared with the Apple iTunes price of 99 cents per track. Note that prices may vary slightly at retail and if you buy Points locally, you will likely have to pay sales tax. The current understanding is that the Zune Marketplace will be incompatible with non-Zune players.
Click the thumbnail for a blowup of a screen capture of the Zune Marketplace user interface:
A: (updated Jan. 20) Zune became available for sale on November 14, 2006 in the USA only. The Zune Marketplace (for music) and the Microsoft Zune accessories became available on the same day. Among other locations, it is available online at Amazon.com (see our Zune Store) and Microsoft’s Cesar Menendez says the following is the complete list of retailers (on and/or offline) that will started selling the Zune on the 14th:
Target
Best Buy
Costco
Fry’s
Amazon
Meijer
Staples
Transworld
Toys R Us
Circuit City
Office Max
Office Depot
Wal-Mart
Kmart
GameStop
Sears
Nebraska Furniture Mart
J&R Computer World
Virgin Megastore (select locations)
Brookstone
CarToys
Sharper Image
Microsoft has made no definitive statement on when the Zune will be available outside the USA, but there are rumors that it might not appear in Europe until 2008. On January 20, a Microsoft official stated that “Microsoft was not yet ready to officially announce when it would launch the service in Europe but it could possibly be out before the end of the year.”
A: Per the Sept. 28 announcement the following audio, video, and image content will be preloaded on the Zune when it ships on Nov. 14:
Audio Tracks
• Band of Horses, “Wicked Gil” (Sub Pop Records)
• Bitter:Sweet, “The Mating Game” (Quango Music Group)
• CSS, “Alala (Microsoft edit)” (Sub Pop Records)
• Darkel, “At The End of The Sky (edit)” (Astralwerks)
• Every Move a Picture, “Signs of Life” (V2)
• Small Sins, “Stay” (Astralwerks)
• The Adored, “Tell Me Tell Me” (V2)
• The Rakes, “Open Book” (V2)
• The Thermals, “A Pillar of Salt” (Sub Pop Records)
Music Video
• 30 Seconds to Mars, “The Kill” (Virgin Records)
• BT, “1.618” (DTS Entertainment)
• Chad VanGaalen, “Red Hot Drops” (Sub Pop Records)
• Coldcut featuring Roots Manuva, “True Skool” (Ninja Tune)
• CSS, “Let’s Make Love and Listen to Death From Above” (Sub Pop Records)
• Fruit Bats, “Live: The Wind That Blew My Heart Away” (Sub Pop Records)
• Grandaddy, “Elevate Myself” (V2)
• Hot Chip, “Over and Over” (Astralwerks Records)
• Kraak & Smaak featuring Dez., “Keep Me Home” (Quango Music Group)
• Kinski, “Live: The Snowy Parts of Scandinavia” (Sub Pop Records)
• Paul Oakenfold, “Faster Kill Pussycat (Featuring Brittany Murphy)” (Maverick Records)
• Serena-Maneesh, “Drain Cosmetics” (Playlouderecordings)
Film Shorts
• 5 Boro: “A New York Skateboarding Minute” (Skateboarding)
• Radical Films: “Kranked — Progression” (Mountain Biking)
• TGRTV The North Face (Skiing/Snowboarding)
Images
• A variety of images to personalize a Zune device, including 12 classic rock posters from “Art of Modern Rock”
A: Microsoft is offering 3 big accessory “packs” for typical usage scenarios, plus a number of accessories sold separately. The 3 “packs” are:
• Zune Home A/V Pack. The Home A/V Pack includes everything you need to amplify your Zune experience. This set of five products integrates Zune with your big-screen TV and the best speakers in your house. The wireless remote puts you in control from virtually anywhere in the room. When you buy the Zune Home AV Pack, you’ll get the AV Output Cable, Zune Dock, Zune Wireless Remote with Lithium Battery, Zune Sync Cable and Zune AC Adapter for $99.99.
• Zune Travel Pack. The Travel Pack includes everything you need to travel with your Zune device in style. This set of five products is designed to keep you and your friends and family entertained while you travel. When you buy the Zune Travel Pack, you’ll get the Zune Dual Connect Remote, Zune Premium Earphones, Zune Gear Bag, Zune Sync Cable and Zune AC Adapter for $99.99.
• Zune Car Pack. The Car Pack includes everything you need to hit the road with your Zune device. With AutoSeek, setup is easy, and you can enjoy your music on the go and charge at the same time. When you buy the Zune Car Pack, you’ll get the FM transmitter with AutoSeek and the Zune Car Charger for $79.99.
The individual Microsoft accessories are:
• Zune AV Output Cable. The A/V Output Cable lets you connect your Zune device to a TV and home stereo. Ideal for listening to music and showing pictures and video, the A/V Output Cable is simple to set up and use, and will retail for $19.99.
• Zune AC Adapter. The AC Adapter lets you charge your Zune device without a PC. For convenience, the AC Adapter will charge your Zune device in about three hours and will retail for $29.99.
• Zune Sync Cable. The Sync Cable lets you connect your Zune device to your PC or the Zune AC Adapter (sold separately). It works as a replacement for your original sync cable or as a spare for travel and charging, and will retail for $19.99.
• Zune Car Charger. The Car Charger lets you charge your device in the car while listening to your favorite music and even while using the FM transmitter with AutoSeek (sold separately). The Car Charger will retail for $24.99.
• Zune Dock. The Dock elegantly displays your Zune device anywhere in your home or office. Featuring a connector port and an audio/video output, the Dock is ideal for syncing, charging and connecting with home A/V equipment. (A/V connectivity requires the Zune A/V Output Cable, sold separately.) The Dock will retail for $39.99.
• Zune Wireless Remote for Zune Dock. Designed for use with Zune Dock (sold separately), the Wireless Remote lets you control your device from across the room. The Wireless Remote gives you quick access to your current playlist as well as full control over menu navigation and volume. The Wireless Remote will retail for $29.99.
• Zune Dual Connect Remote. The Dual Connect Remote offers convenient playlist control and two headphone jacks with independent amplifiers and volume controls so you can listen with a friend or family member. The Dual Connect Remote will retail for $29.99.
• Zune FM transmitter With AutoSeek. The FM transmitter with AutoSeek lets you wirelessly listen to music through your car’s stereo through the FM radio. AutoSeek automatically finds the optimal station so it’s easy to set up, and will retail for $69.99.
• Zune Gear Bag. The Gear Bag lets you bring Zune and related accessories with you wherever you go. The Gear Bag comes with a rugged exterior and fitted compartments to protect your device while you travel. The Gear Bag will retail for $29.99.
• Zune Premium Earphones. Designed exclusively for use with Zune, the Premium Earphones produce superior sound and feature a noise-isolating, in-ear design. With a convenient storage case and three earpiece sizes to choose from, you can listen to your music with added comfort and quality. The Premium earphones will retail for $39.99.
A: (Updated Nov. 3, 2007) Microsoft now has an official Zune marketing site at Zune.net (Zune.com is not owned by Microsoft). Microsoft has also started Zune-Arts.net which has some Zune related posters and videos. The old viral marketing site at comingzune.com now points to Zune-Arts.net.
While it’s not an official website, you can see the current crop of Zune TV commercials on YouTube. They were posted by Cesar Menendez who is one of the four Microsoft employees blogging about the Zune at Zune Insider, Madison and Pine, Zunester, and Zuneguy. Here’s one of the commercials:
A: (Updated Nov. 9, 2007) See the separate Zune Reviews page.
A: (Updated September 20, 2007) Microsoft says they are in the personal media player business for the long haul and that the Zune rolled out on Nov. 14, 2006 is just the first step. In the future, Microsoft’s CEO Steve Ballmer says to expect video sharing and a variety of models including cell phones. There’s more speculation here. Finally, Zune futures rumors would not be complete without the one that users will get paid for sharing tunes.
More concretely, there are persistent rumors that Microsoft will introduce a flash memory based Zune (codename Draco) and an 8o GB hard disk model (codename Scorpio) for the 2007 holiday shopping season. For the latest rumors, check out the articles in the Zune Futures category.
Tuesday, September 15, 2009
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