Zune HD photos may reveal Microsoft's next move
Update (4/15/2009): More alleged images of the Zune HD have surfaced.
Anonymous tipsters have provided Engadget with promotional artwork depicting what may be Microsoft's upcoming fourth-generation Zune MP3 player.
If the artwork is real and the rumors are accurate, we're looking at a touch-screen version of the Zune, sized slightly smaller than the iPod Touch, with an HD-resolution wide-screen display that reminds us of the Samsung P3.
Historically, Microsoft has released new Zune models toward the end of the year, in November or September. Considering the half-hearted hardware refresh of the third-generation models last year, it's conceivable that new hardware may drop unseasonably early this time around. A quick product launch may also help stem the tide of complete iPod saturation revealed by a recent Piper Jaffray survey of teens.
While the Zune HD depicted in the artwork looks like an attractive and worthy competitor to Apple's iPod Touch, it leaves us with a lot of unknowns. For instance, how would a one-button, touch-screen design mesh with Microsoft's recent move to bring games to the Zune? Will Microsoft be able to continue its practice of delivering its latest firmware to owners of older Zune models? Will the Zune get a Web browser or enhanced audio and video streaming capabilities? Will Bluetooth finally get thrown into the mix now that it's coming to the Touch? Can Microsoft deliver the video services necessary to make an HD screen worth something?
Let's hope Microsoft has some interesting answers to these questions. I'd hate to see the Zune vs. iPod war lose its steam.
(Via Engadget)
Donald Bell is CNET Reviews' senior editor for MP3 players and portable audio, and one half of the MP3 Insider blog and weekly podcast. He also likes getting his hands dirty with digital audio tools for musicians and DJs.
Donald Bell is an electronic musician, a veteran record store employee, and a fearless hardware hacker. He's also CNET's Senior Editor for MP3 and digital audio.
Jasmine France is CNET's resident digital audio doyenne, writing and editing product reviews, crave blogs, and feature stories on all things MP3. And if you need advice on headphones, she's your girl.
MS DID have that market share for years before the government took action. It is not illegal to be a monopoly. It is illegal to use a monopoly to muscle out a competitor in a different industry. That's what MS did.
If Apple started using their iPod market share to try and put the Zune out of business, then the government would be all over them.
But, hey, that's just a little fact, don't let it get in the way of your good old zealotry.
the reason there is room between the screen and the edges isnt because they want it there, but because they still have to fit all the components into it, and keep the aspect ratio, and the screen needs something to attach to.
Don't get me wrong, I really hope that this is successful and will provide good competition in the market, it's just that they need to set certain priorities ahead of others.
Regardless, if the Zune's gonna be anything more than a teeny-tiny also-ran in an iPod world, they have to bring something new and compelling to the table that you can't get with the iPod. Matching it feature for feature won't be enough to overcome the cache and name-recognition. A good value proposition would be a great start, not to mention something like--I don't know--an actual AD CAMPAIGN?!
Wireless Sync
Buy from radio
Better games
Better gui imho
Wireless sync was a nice idea, but Microsoft drowned it in DRM. By the time they realized their mistake, the iPhone (and Touch?) got WiFi.
Buy from Radio? Why bother? The Touch and iPhone have apps that handily let you do the same thing just by holding the thing up to a speaker.
"Better games"? So which of those games use built-in accelerometers? Which app store sells more games again? ;)
"Better gui"? Sure - if you like grainy screens that have a lower resolution...
Sorry, but the Zune isn't all that and a bag of chips. It would help if the Zune worked multi-platform too, like the iPod and all of their combined competitors do.
Now - this next iteration may change things, but what Microsoft has come up with so far has been far less than stellar. This more than anything else explains why Microsoft has to settle for the "also ran" category.
The content on the iPods are displaying out SD, but when hooked up to an HDTV, will display HD. I've bought shows from the iTunes store that was filmed in HD and put it on my iPod Touch. It looked pretty good, and it exported HD quality on the TV as well.
HD on a screen that small is useless. I would rather have SD rendered at full quality than heavily compressed HD for the same amount of space.
Wireless sync has nothing to do with DRM, that's wireless sharing.
Buy from radio is handy because it works WITHOUT apps.
Zune games, as of now, are all available for free and are also open source (no marketplace yet).
Comparing the GUI to that of the iPod Touch isn't exactly a fair comparison. The Classic and Nano are better comparisons, and I personally prefer the Zune's UI. Don't compare with the Touch until this new Zune comes out.
I agree that the Zune should work cross-platform... it's one of the things Microsoft should fix. Sure, the Zune isn't perfect, but neither is the iPod.
Even though I still have credits in the Zune market, I haven't been back in ages. The "buying purchasing credits" system design is stupid...what does MSFT think this is, a video game arcade? Why not provide straightforward pricing for downloads like iTMS and Amazon instead of hiding behind another layer of bureaucratic accounting.
And finally, will MSFT finally allow its Zune to be managed by third-party apps? Even Apple doesn't shut down its iPods completely in this regard. I can manage media on all of our iPods with MediaMonkey just as easily as I do for my Sony Walkman or Creative Zen X-Fi. Can't say that about my Zune80.
I haven't been able to figure that out, which is why I won't buy from iTunes anymore (that and Amazon music is usually better quality).
I think the purpose of the Microsoft points are a couple of things. 1) Reduce credit card processing fees by reducing $.99 charges. 2) create one currency that works all over the world, reducing currency fluctuation exposure, creating one marketplace across the world (maybe it is just me, but as a Canadian living in the US, I am super annoyed that I have to get my brother to log on to the iTunes Canada store to buy music I want, and then send it to me) and 3) have the ability to have promotions where people win Microsoft points (there are tax implications for both the company and winner if the prize is in cash or cash credit).
I kinda like how it works on Microsoft software, Zune and Xbox, but can see why people wouldn't like it.
Yeah just higher prices..
The whole points scam is to charge higher prices without you realizing it. If you do the math, it turns out that you have to spend something like $700 at the Zune store in order to wind up with 0 points. Spend less than that, and you'll always have some points sitting in a MS bank account drawing interest for them.
Regarding this "half-hearted refresh" as you describe...there was nothing inherently wrong with the hardware design of the 2G Zune, so why would you necessarily expect or even anticipate that an update would mandate something significantly different, especially for a product that's competing head-to-head with the iPod Classic? It's not like the Classic has been dramatically tarted up over its similarly long lifetime either. The sales numbers for the Zune aren't burning up anyone's charts...so is this your excuse for expecting MSFT to reinvent its image yet again?
Which is why WinMO still doesn't have a App store !
and tell me one WinMO phone before the iPhone which had a Finger based UI or multi-touch ?
Just because Microsoft didn't have an organized store to ripoff developers, doesn't mean apps weren't out there. XDA Developers have been working hard.
exactly !
but I didnt bring up the Topic n e way !
More competition the better !
and it better have a App store and internet capabilities
otherwise it's gonna be the same story all over again !
another thing is is better use a Capacitive touchscreen
no matter how many features a Produut has
if it's impossible to use
it's pretty much worthless {eg-: WinMO}
wats the point of packing thousands of features if they cant even be used ?
have you even tried using a touch based WinMo phone before ?
they all are crippled with some sort of unusable Touch Interface and a resistive touchscreen !
Just because someone likes and supports something it doesn't make him a Fanboy ! the word is thrown around too much around here on Cnet !
and Since you have defended Windows on numerous Occasions
even though it's the buggiest O.S of all
isn't that Fanboyish too ?
based on this quote from 7dust: "although I don't expect this to be as good as the iPod touch"
and he is basing his expectations from a single leaked photo.
What Microsoft needs to do is completely reinvent their mp3 players and just go for something completely new. Get some people brainstorming there and go for it.
I'm afraid that such a notion is completely beyond Microsoft's capabilities.
I want one.
1st that article is over 2 years old.
2nd that is a net loss of 289 million for the entire division which took a huge hit in that quarter from the XBOX 360 warranty extension.
On the other hand, WMP 14 is able to see and play other libraries, though (including iTunes), so I wonder if Microsoft is slowly working toward the Zune + WMP integrated future?
in case Mr. Ballmer reads this: Dude - do not screw this one up!
IMHO this thing needs:
bluetooth,gps,wifi,full fetched web browser (with flash,java etc.) and MUST play all popular media formats Avi's Mov's FLV and so on..
utilizing accelerometers, digital cameras ,IR emitters could only help to make it main stream all around device that everybody could justify spending $200-300 on.
Its a PMP not a remote.
If I ever decide to invest in a PMP for myself, it'll probably be Sandisk, Samsung, Sony, Cowen, or Creative. In the past, I may have considered Microsoft because I would have assumed seamless integration with their OS, but from my experiences with WinMo, I have learned otherwise. I just plain stay away from Apple. It seems like they give the least bang for the buck. They give quite a good amount of marketing and "cool" bang, but I don't care about "cool" as much as actual product quality/usability (I say usability because I wouldn't consider the Microsoft OS or the Apple OS anywhere near perfection, but I use Windows because I can get done what I need done in much less time than I can on a Mac).
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by Jonathan
April 11, 2009 10:46 PM PDT
- Heh. All I want to know is if they are sticking with the most insane rating system ever. Seriously even Ebert and Roper has 2 thumbs up, 2 down, 1 up & 1 down. Even the rating system in Vista and Win 7 are 5 stars. Dear MS...get your head out of your *** and give us a real rating system. It literally is the only reason why I still have an iPod.
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by DrtyDogg
April 12, 2009 7:34 AM PDT
- I personally would like a 3 star rating system, but that is just me. Basically, Don't like, Like, Love. That's how I use WMP ratings. 1 star 3 stars and 5 stars.
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by cpopken
April 15, 2009 8:23 AM PDT
- Why do you need a ratings system? If I don't like it, it isn't on my player. Unless you mean for playlists, in that case, LET US DELETE SONGS FROM THE PLAYER ON THE GO!
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