Zune

Run Down of the 9/9 Apple Announcements

Frank La Vigne — Wed, 09 Sep 2009 23:58:00 GMT

Since I’ve already beaten the “no MacTablet announcement” theme to death, I thought I would focus on the positives of today’s Apple shinding.

For one, Steve Jobs took the stage, proving that he’s on the mend from his health woes.

Among the product announcements below, I see the Nano with Video Camera as the real breakout innovative product.

I’m also glad to see that Apple is letting users share content across their home network.

I see this as a direct response to the Zune Pass.

Product, pricing changes
NANO WITH VIDEO CAMERA: The Nano, the smallest iPod that has a screen, now comes with a built-in video camera, a microphone, a pedometer, a 2.2-inch display and an FM radio tuner. It costs $149 for an 8-gigabyte version or $179 for a 16-GB model.
PRICE CUTS, STORAGE EXPANSION: The 8-GB model of the iPod Touch — basically an iPhone without the phone capabilities — now costs $199, or $30 less. Apple kept prices constant for its larger models, but doubled the storage space; a 32-GB version now goes for $299 and a 64-GB model sells for $399.
COLORFUL SHUFFLES: The tiny $79, 4-GB Shuffle now comes in silver, black, pink, blue and green. A smaller, less expensive version was added — $59 for a 2-GB model, also in multiple colors.
BEEFIER CLASSIC: The traditional iPod model now has a 160-GB hard drive for the existing $249 price — a 40-GB boost in storage.
ITUNES UPGRADE: ITunes 9 cleans up the software design, gives people more control over what gets loaded on to iPods and iPhones and introduces a way to organize applications for the iPhone and iPod Touch. It also lets five computers on the same home network share — by streaming or copying — music, video and other content, a departure from the strict copy protection Apple insisted on in the past.
DIGITAL ALBUMS: ITunes will now sell some albums packaged with digital photography, cover art, liner notes and other media reminiscent of the days of vinyl. ITunes LP can include interviews and other video, all of which can be viewed through iTunes. It's a way for recording companies to boost album sales as online stores make it easier to buy songs individually.

Technorati Tags: Apple,iPod,090909

Third Generation Zune Sneak Peek

Frank — Wed, 03 Sep 2008 17:45:00 GMT

Here's a little bit of a sneak preview of the next generation Zune:

The third generation of Microsoft's Zune portable media player product line has been talked about and speculated for quite a while now, but very little has managed to leak out of Redmond, until now. A Canadian has supposedly somehow gotten his hands on both 16GB and 120GB flavors of the Zune, both of which are expected to be released under Zune 3.0

[found via Chris Williams]

Technorati Tags: Zune,Zune 3

All MIX 08 Sessions in One Podcast Feed

Frank — Wed, 19 Mar 2008 17:18:00 GMT

Everyone knows that the Sessions from MIX08 are available online for free.

You may even already know that the sessions can be downloaded in formats for Windows, Mac, iPod and Zune.

But Matthew Willis has put something cool together based on his frustration with the site.

So what is the problem? Well, I am in no mood to download 88 WMV files one by one, then tell the Zune software about them and sync them across. There must be a RSS feed to do this automatically, right?

Wrong. (Well, there is this - but there are only 15 entries in it so at the very least it is incomplete).
So, seeing as I didn’t want to waste 20 minutes downloading the files manually, telling the Zune software about them and syncing them across, I instead spent 60 minutes putting together a very simple RSS feed to allow myself (and others) to download the MIX08 sessions just like any other podcast.

Brilliant idea.

So point your Zune software to this URL: http://users.tpg.com.au/mjwills1/Zune%20rss.xml

And enjoy pure Zune/MIX bliss courtesy of Matthew and RSS.

[found via Alvin Ashcroft]

Technorati Tags: MIX08,MIX,RSS,Podcast,Useful

Zune 2.0's Missing Features

Frank — Thu, 04 Oct 2007 15:55:00 GMT

Scott Lock laments the missed features (and opportunities) of Zune 2.0.

He's so frustrated, he even wrote all in caps.

WHY CAN'T I DOWNLOAD MUSIC FROM ZUNE MARKETPLACE OVER WIFI?
WHY CAN'T I GET REAL VIDEO FROM ZUNE MARKETPLACE AND NOT JUST MUSIC VIDEOS?

Despite all the cool stuff in Zune 2.0, those are two very valid points.

The WiFi is built right into the Zune -- a feature Apple copied. Yet Microsoft failed to add the ability to download music "over the air."

Let's hope that can be added via a software upgrade and a firmware patch.

The Zune is based on Windows Embedded, so it should be possible to add even advanced features after the device ships.

The lack of video in the Zune Marketplace is very frustrating. It's a revenue model that's worked out quite well for Apple. It puzzles me that Microsoft hasn't followed suit.

~~Even stranger is that you can't synch programs recorded in Media Center directly to the Zune.~~

Sure, you can use something like PQ DVD Zune Suite to do the conversion, but geeky enthusiasts are the exception not the rule.

Microsoft's success has generally come from integration with other Microsoft products and this is a massive hole in the strategy.

Apple's success comes from their ability to make dumb people feel smart without making smart people feel dumb.

Don't get me wrong. I still love my Zune. I even shared the Zune love by giving my fiancee a pink Zune as an engagement gift.

UPDATE: Zune 2.0 can sync up with Media Center

Technorati tags: Zune, Scott Lock, iPod, Apple

New Zunes are Announced

Frank — Wed, 03 Oct 2007 11:34:00 GMT

Rumors about Zune 2.0 have been around for months, now Microsoft has lifted the veil of secrecy.

It looks like Podcasts are finally treated like first class citizens on the Zune.

Now, will there be an update for first generation Zune owners to support podcasts?

[found via Lorenzo Barbeiri and Andrew Duthie]

Technorati tags: Zune, Zune 2.0, MP3

What's inside that Zune?

Frank — Mon, 13 Aug 2007 17:32:00 GMT

Did you ever wonder what was inside your Zune, but didn't have the guts to take it apart?

Thanks to the magic of the Internet, we can see what's inside the Zune thanks to someone else's effort.

Technorati tags: Zune, Hardware, Freescale