Next Generation Zune Coming for Holiday Season 208
thefickler writes "Microsoft has confirmed the existence and coming launch of the long rumored Zune 2.0 or 2nd generation Zune, and it appears that Microsoft will expand the Zune family with new styles, sizes, and price points. 'Future Zune products will feature podcasting support and expanded video support. The Zune will also move into other geographic markets when Microsoft feels it has an appealing product to offer those demographics. Perhaps most importantly of all, the representative mentioned that Microsoft will build on the wireless support. Maybe we'll finally have the freedom of synching our digital audio players via wi-fi. The rep didn't mention anything specific about Microsoft's rumored answer to the iPod Shuffle. But interesting rumors from sources considered "reliable" point to a very innovative product.'"
With faltering businesses... (Score:5, Insightful)
(also applies to politics)
That will fire things up. (Score:5, Insightful)
At least that's what Roughly Drafted told me [bayimg.com].
Sometimes, spending is just throwing good money after bad. They can't make Zune a winner because rented and dissapearing music just aren't cool. Even less cool is the idea that billboards will be able to "squirt" adverts onto your player or what your player might tell them in return. Minority Report was supposed to be a horror story, not a business model.
Re:That will fire things up. (Score:5, Interesting)
On the other hand, "rented" music allows you to sample a much wider variety of music than if you had to pay for it all. $15 will buy you 15 songs on iTunes forever, or it will buy you an "infinite" (limited by what's available on the Zune Marketplace) amount of music for one month. If you like the music, you can always buy it. Personally, the music subscription is what swayed me toward Zune rather than iPod. Well, that and I can't stand Apple's software on Windows. If you're going to make a Windows app, make a damn Windows app. Don't port an OS X app over to Windows, because not only is the look and feel all wrong but the functionality of "standard" controls is different as well. I don't expecto to have to ctrl-click or shift-click on a button in Windows to make some action happen, but that's exactly how the iTunes software works. Microsoft got it right with Office on OS X, building an interface and behaviors specific to OS X. Why can't Apple reciprocate and make proper Windows apps?
So turn off the wireless when you're not actively looking for or sharing with other Zune players. As a bonus, you'll get a longer battery life with wireless off.
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As much an Apple fan as I am, I also hate Apple software on Windows. Not only does it look out of place, it Just Does Not Work. Worst of all is the Apple Updater I got with Quicktime at work. Even if I told it to Never even look for new
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Re-reading the article, it doesn't sound like the "old Zune" is going away. Instead, they're going to do three things:
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Re:That will fire things up. (Score:5, Insightful)
Those ports violate everything Apple supposedly stands for, such as software that 'just works.' Software 'just working' requires it to work
This is actually a pet peeve for me. This same stupid shortcut approach to cross-platform development is why things developed on Windows and ported directly to OS X look mildly schizophrenic and get complaints about 'not being well-designed for OS X' from Mac users. It's also why a lot of cross-platform software ported from Linux using GTK+ for Windows or running under X11.app on OS X doesn't 'fit in' either. Why would Apple think this braindead approach to cross-platform development would work any better for them?
If you're going to do something cross-platform, bloody well develop it cross-platform instead of designing it just for one platform and then taking shortcuts to port it without thinking whether or not your design works in the new context.
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This is actually a pet peeve for me. This same stupid shortcut approach to cross-platform development is why things developed on Windows and ported directly to OS X look mildly schizophrenic and get complaints about 'not being well-designed for OS X' from Mac users. It's also why a lot of cross-platform software ported from Linux using GTK+ for Windows or running under X11.app on OS X doesn't 'fit in' either. Why would Apple think this braindead approach to cross-platform development would work any better for them?
If you're going to do something cross-platform, bloody well develop it cross-platform instead of designing it just for one platform and then taking shortcuts to port it without thinking whether or not your design works in the new context.
Basically no matter what programming language you use, if a product is developed on operating system A and ported to B it is highly likely to be sucky and to suffer from bugs on operating system B. The reason is that in order to limit costs, you will always want to re-use as much of the code you have already developed on operating system A when you port it to operating system B. Things like look, feel and UI standards/guidelines tend to become victims of fiscal reality and marketing concerns. Stuff that ge
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In my opinion, if you want to target cross-platform you're better off designing applications in two stages: the actual functional backend, and the GUI layer. Write all your core functionality as portably as you can, but divorce that functionality from most UI. Then write the UI from scratch for each system; use a drawer on OS X, use an M
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Just yesterday my browser froze for 10 seconds while quicktime loaded. Why? Flash does it in an almost unnoticeable amount of time. iTunes sucks more than 50% of my cpu power (amd64 3200) just to download 3 songs - doing nothing else but saving 3 files.
Re:That will fire things up. (Score:4, Funny)
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We won't get fooled again (Score:3, Insightful)
I mean, is anyone really going to buy Zune 2.0? After all, it didn't work with the DRM scheme standard Microsoft was pushing, is inferior in every way compared to Apple's iPod, and was a flop in the marketplace, especially when compared to its competitors such as the iPod.
tagged "playsforsurenot"
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Not in every way, it has a larger screen, and is available for a little cheaper at many places. I hear that it has better contextual menuing. That's not very much to go on though.
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But it has the same resolution as the video iPod's screen.
Ha ha, bigger is not better. (Score:3, Informative)
"it has a larger screen" But it has the same resolution as the video iPod's screen.
Bigger is always better until you try to put it in your pocket. Is it also thicker and have square corners? A larger battery with less life? Woops, I think that would cover all the bases.
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Cool! (Score:2)
Yes, I really hate being able to replace my (admittedly brown) battery.
How often does Bill Gates sell you a new one? Does it cost less than the iPod's long lasting one? Does it come from Sony and catch fire?
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But it has a larger screen than the iPod.
My point: screen size is important for viewing images and videos on these devices. They both have a 320x240 resolution, but the Zune's 3-inch screen is 44% larger (in area) than the iPod's 2.5" screen. View the same image/video on both devices and you'll see a big frickin' difference. Ars's review has some nice photos that show just how much bigger the Zune's screen is (as well as the device itself): htt [arstechnica.com]
Its really not _That_ bad. (Score:3, Informative)
And relucantly I am starting to admit it isnt that bad.
A quick breakdown of what I am impressed with.
-The audio quality is actualy quite good, much crisper and clearer than my 4th gen ipod.
-Clicky buttons are excellent! I keep it in a little felt sock, and I can turn the volume up, and change tracks all through a layer
Zune was an abomination. Let it die. (Score:2)
In short, it was crippled beyond belief. It had one goal, which was to be a outlet for Microsoft's envisaged new media ownership. It was not at all designed with users' needs in mind, hence the lack of even basic features like podcasting, and the presence of things like highly restrictive DRM, and the lack of cross-platform usability.
If Zune 2.0 is any better, it'll only be by grumbl
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I'm no fan of the Zune, and I will probably never buy a 360 myself, but over 10 million people buying them probably indicates that more than just "some idiots" like it.
If 20 million people can afford them then there's room for all of those ten million people to be below average intelligence within that population.
There's some 300 million people in the USA. Minimum 10% of them can afford an Xbox 360 or a Zune (don't know which you are talking about but it hardly matters) but they choose to spend the money on other things they think they need more, like cable television or something.
10 million people could all be idiots even if they were all in the US. Not that I'm prop
zune vs IPOD (Score:4, Interesting)
Re:zune vs IPOD (Score:5, Informative)
I do not know much about the actual hardware versus an iPod, so I cannot really comment on that. I am just talking about obvious hardware (like the screen) and features. I have always said that if someone could figure out how to hack a Zune so that one could take advantage of the features, I'd want one. Good capabilities, it's just that MSFT totally shackles it.
It's a shame really (from MSFT's perspective). In their greed and blatant pandering to the RIAA, they missed a valuable opportunity.
Re:zune vs IPOD (Score:5, Insightful)
I hadn't thought about this before, but considering how some people are boycotting any CD put out by RIAA members (with help from RIAA Radar [riaaradar.com]), they should be boycotting the Zune as well, seeing as how Microsoft kicks back a small amount to Universal Music [cnn.com] for every Zune sold.
Microsoft sold out all consumers in a failed bid to give RIAA members teeth to demand an unjustified cut for every iPod sold, just when Apple was renegotiating licensing with the music labels. Now, you may argue that Apple's on "our side" only because it's best for their bottom line... but at least they're not actively against us in this battle! The least we can do is return the favour.
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It is out of control.
I expect the Zune to be a non-issue when the next generation
Um.... (Score:2)
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Reminds me of pre-Amiga commodore, especially the Plus4 but to a lesser extent the shit-brown C= machines from before. Moreso than the Commodore music players even, which are kind of retro (and are doomed to fail.)
If you could hack the Zune, I'd want one. Of course, I'd have to be able to run Linux on it. That's the only reason I bought an Xbox (although I ended up running XBMC most of the time.)
Styling counts ... (Score:2)
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Apple makes money; MSFT loses money (Score:2)
Bigger screen, same pixels (Score:2)
Apple's Stealth DRM (Score:2)
On the Windows related player products I've seen and I am assuming the Zune you get similar - some extended install session - a wierd DRM connection/verification process proving that you are you, then pop-ups
Innovative? (Score:4, Funny)
As compared to what...? Vista?
Well... (Score:2)
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Figures they'd announce this now (Score:2, Funny)
I just purchased the Halo 3 Zune, and have an appointment next week to get my car set up with an AUX input solution [dension.com] (Porsche's stupid MOST bus Becker head units don't have AUX inputs available as standard or an option). So of course they have to announce Zune 2.0 coming "before holiday season", which most likely means "August".
Hopefully the Zune 2.0 firmware will be pushed to current Zunes.
And I got yer slogan right here... (Score:5, Funny)
It will probably be incompatible with music from the 1G Zune, and won't work with Vista. In other words, nothing new here.
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So MS is pretty content... (Score:2)
Kind of lame that this is the best an admitted member of the "anti-Apple DAP crowd" can come up with for an article of nearly pure speculation. Creative and Archos look like they have better iPod killer offerings than Microsoft.
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streaming (Score:2)
Though I doubt Microsoft would drop their stupid DRM system, which is why I still wouldn't buy one...
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You must be new to Microsoft...
New and improved (Score:5, Funny)
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Preferably signed by Ballmer himself.
Question: (Score:3, Funny)
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Add chocolate flavor and fragrance.
innovative? (Score:2)
What does Fight Club have to say about this? (Score:2, Funny)
Superior, so what? (Score:3, Insightful)
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I c
Attention span problems much? (Score:2)
Do you realize we're talking about Microsoft, the company that's been under investigation by the DOJ for years, until the corrupt Bush administration came in and yanked the plug, and the same company that's being fined hundreds of millions of euro by
Why sync wirelessly? (Score:2)
Until they get wireless power into mp3 players, wireless syncing seems like a somewhat pointless feature, to be included for buzzword-compliance only.
And there are so many more interesting things you could do with wifi on an mp3 player too...
A relatively uncrippled pull-based local ad-hoc network (like iTunes sharing as opposed to Zune's heavily crippled push "squirting")
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Think of a car application, where you have the Zune basically hardwired into your car audio. As such, it'd have power already, but you'd still have to remove it from the car in order to add new music. Being able to wirel
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It's pretty common for people to use a media player to power a stereo in a room other than where the computer they buy music with. Wireless syncing lets you just stick the player in a dock with audio and power without having to take it to another room whenever music is purchased/downloaded, or deal with drilling a hole to run a USB cable between rooms.
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So I don't really need to charge it all that often. But it would be nice if I could sync it without having to plug it in.
Re:Why sync wirelessly? (Score:4, Insightful)
If your Nano did wireless synching, you'd be charging it more often than every two weeks...
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It would be fairly trivial to put a charger (with some capacitor action to smooth out the power) on your bicycle to keep the thing charged, if you wanted to do it that way. Use a magsafe-like connector so if you fall off your bike, you don't get garroted by the headphones.
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Similarly, I can "stream" files over the wifi from any SMB share.
And since the 604 Wifi has Opera, I could browse to (almost) any online music shop and download tracks and play them.
Plus I can use the device as a wireless fileserver.
Unfortunately I haven't seen any reports of ShoutCAST working (although the new 605 Wifi has optional Youtube/Dailymotion support).
Oh, and
Well, better not buy one. (Score:2)
It's not like Apple could ever compete with a wireless iPod.
Dammit (Score:2, Funny)
I never thought I'd feel bad for MS. (Score:5, Insightful)
*no, slashdot is not this market. I know.
It still won't... (Score:2, Interesting)
In a word... (Score:4, Funny)
how about offering something new?? (Score:3, Interesting)
Podcasting (Score:2, Funny)
Advanced Release Schedule (Score:2)
Hmmm.... (Score:2)
What were you thinking?
Is that even possible??
Andy
I have one... (Score:5, Interesting)
But... what is it?? (Score:4, Insightful)
I just RTFA, and it sais NOTHING, and that is truly NOTHING, about what is really in the pipeline. Only lines like "it's going to be better", and "we're expanding it blah blah" with a lot of marketingspeak - but really nothing on the actual product. The only concrete product mentioned, the "Zune Shuffle" or whatever, also falls short of an actual description, let alone giving me the idea that it is reliable.
Sorry folks, nothing to see here, move along. Really, there is absolutely nothing.
The only thing about this article is that it keeps the buzz going, it keeps the people talking about this device. And guessing. Just guessing. Because there is nothing really said there, everything is just a guess.
Editors, please do your job, and don't put this kind of nonsense on the front page. It doesn't belong there. I'm really interested in tech news, and also what Microsoft is doing - even though I don't buy their products, they are one of the major forces in the computer world - but this is the least informative article ever.
Ah well, let the Microsoft bashing continue.
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So a Microsoft product is being hyped but offers no details on actual features. It promises to be "
History repeats... (Score:2)
And the next one. And the next one. And the next one.
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Its still a turd.
Zune problems (Score:3, Informative)
More Articles on Zune [google.com].
Meanwhile, Apple shipped several times as many iPhones in its first weekend, selling it only in its own retail stores and AT&T shops. That says something about Apple and Microsoft's ability to retail.
Apple has also been selling iPods at a profit; Microsoft's Zune + Xbox division has lost BILLIONS every year. Think about that for a moment.
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Ten Fake Apple Scandals: 1 - Phony Rage About iPhone Price and Profits [roughlydrafted.com]
Reality: The iPhone costs less than any smartphone, and will have a higher resale value after two years than any phone. Here's why.
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Daniel,
I must admit I do enjoy reading your articles, they're fun. But I've always wondered:
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I have a flexible schedule because I work with various clients. Unfortunately, nobody pays me to write anything on my site. I get donations from readers and I have written for other sites and magazines before.
Sometimes I'm afraid I write too much to hold the attention of a modern audience. I try to make short, readable paragraphs and insert artwork to trick r
Tag (Score:2)
No new SKUs? (Score:2)
Zune::why? (Score:2)
Sometimes Microsoft just competes because they don't have anything better to do with a couple of billion dollars.
Give em a break... (Score:3, Interesting)
Merry Crapmas (Score:2)
Halloween, maybe.
signs your hardware is dead... (Score:2, Insightful)
WTFC (Score:2)
Apple is vulnerable (Score:2, Informative)
Podcasting (Score:3, Insightful)
Are they saying that it will take a new hardware model to support podcasting?? Apple did it with just software.
A very innovative product? (Score:2)
MS is Texas Instruments? (Score:2)
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but hey, you can plug your headphones in: (Score:2)
The product is essentially a music playing SD card that will plug into any SD slot. The second part of the player is what makes the SD card usable as a digital audio player. That part is a type of sleeve that'll allow the user to control the music and plug in headphones for putting that music playing goodness to work.
OK, first off... why would anyone want a player that plugs into an SD slot? Doesn't that limit which computers you can use it with, or require you to buy a card reader? What a pain... even if they include an SD reader, it would still be so much more convenient to just plug into USB, like the old shuffle. At least the new shuffle's weird USB design avoids having an ugly USB connector, but with an SD interface on the
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Nah, they'll just be teaming up with McDonalds on marketing.
Re:Don't believe the negativity (Score:4, Insightful)
Re:From TFA: (Score:5, Funny)