Zune Thoughts - Daily News, Views, Rants and Raves

MaximumPC has done an interesting side by side comparison of the big three options out there for music organization on your home PC. To be honest, most people will have a hard time really making much of a selection based on the software and are far more likely to be choosing based on what their device of choice is. In the case of the iPod and Zune, we’re mostly tied to using the software designed for it.

But if you don’t like your options with your current software solution, it’s certainly not impossible to use a different program to manage your media and a different one to load your player. The three that MaximumPC looks at are iTunes (of course), Zune, and Songbird. Read more...

Nvidia had their CES press event today and among the announcements were details on the next generation Tegra chip. The Tegra powers, among other things, the Zune HD and from everything I’ve seen it’s a very impressive chip already. The current Tegra runs the ARM11 chip. The new Tegra is going to be running the dual core Cortex-A9.

They also said that there will be 8 independent processors so if I understand the transcript from Engadget correctly, that means 16 cores total on the new Tegra (I didn't understand correctly. Thanks bitbyte for pointing out there are actually 2 Cortex A9 processors). All while only consuming 500 milliwatts. They claim this will allow for 140 hours of music and 16 hours of HD video but of course, that will depend on a lot of factors unrelated to the Tegra alone.

Nvidia’s biggest announcement for Tegra is that it will be powering all Audi cars starting in 2011. I assume that means the 2012 model years but they don’t specify in the live blog on Engadget. There is no mention of the Zune or other devices specifically but they do say there are 50 devices in the pipe for the new Tegra.

I think a combination of Tegra, Windows Phone 7, and the Zune all on one platform could make for a killer device.

Check out the rest of the live blog on Engadget. They have other announcements involving 3D on our laptops, which I’m sure everyone is excited about and lots of great pictures and slides from the Nvidia’s presentation.

This is a little after the fact since this has been sitting in my queue for a while, but here we go anyway! This is why I hate that people think the Zune needs applications to compete in the market. CNET’s prize fight is a little absurd because we have two devices that in reality can provide the same service but really don’t do the same thing. I’ll save you the time…the iPod Touch blows away the Zune HD 4.5 to 4.0 in the 5 round fight. But they’re comparing two different things throughout the fight. I feel like they may as well compare a Zune and a Corvette and dock the Zune points for not putting out 400HP. Yeah sure, they both play music!

If you want a device for a little music, applications, games…go get a Touch. If you want multimedia device that’s dedicated to music and video, go get a Zune. They’re just not comparable and not because one is better than the other. If you take away application store out from the Zune equation, and there isn't much you're losing out on, then the Zune is not competing with a Touch at all. But because it has one it does compete. Poorly.

In most reviews I’ve seen, including CNET, the Zune wins on sound and screen quality. The navigation is considered on par with the iPod. Some like the Zune better while others like the iPod better but I think everyone can agree both devices are very good on that front and then it’s just personal preference. Both devices are well liked for the physical design. If I’m looking for a portable media player, the Zune just won on sound and picture. If I’m looking for a PDA, I’m getting an iPod.

"Full details regarding Tegra 2 are unknown, but it's expected to have roughly twice the power and graphical capabilities of the original and be based on 40nm processes. The current-gen Tegra is already capable of 1080p HD video; Hara says NVIDIA's goal is the desktop internet and media experience in a portable device:"

The first Tegra chip is mouth watering enough, but imagine a chip that can handle twice what the current Tegra does. That is just what Nvidia's Tegra 2 is rumored to do. They are set to release more details at CES 2010, including some demo products from their partners. The first half of next year will bring us tablet PCs, smartbooks, netbooks, and MIDs all powered by Tegra 2. Later down the line will we see a second generation Zune HD based off of the new chip? Or a Windows phone? Only time will tell on that one.

"Taiwan's MSI, known mainly for its PCs, has released its latest portable media player, the MT-V660. The device is styled after Microsoft's Zune HD and uses a Rockchip RK2806 chipset along with a 3.2-inch display with a 480x320 resolution."

While Apple's iPod line has had a quadrillion copy cats, Microsoft's Zune has remained relatively unscathed until now. With the Zune HD getting rave reviews it was only a matter of time before similar looking products started showing up. If I were Microsoft, I would feel flattered! The fact that this one comes from MSI is a bit of a surprise, but it appears that the less euphoniously named MT-V660 appears to offer playback for a wealth of formats. Whether it will support the rest of the features a Zune HD offers, and have as slick an interface remains to be seen. One thing that is certain though, is that it will be sold beyond the US border.

"It's that time of year when we lay out our top picks for the year. 2009 was the year of the touch player- consumers demanded them and manufactures responded. If you notice that this year's list resembles last years and that's because many of the manufacturer's this year made some awesome incremental improvements in their current line of players."

Grahm Skee over at AnythingButiPod has come up with a top 5 list of the MP3 Players from this year. My personal favorite, the Zune HD, came in 4th place because of its locked in ecosystem. Leading the pack was the Sansa Clip+ with its cheap price and newly added MicroSD card slot. Are there any players that you think should have been in there? What's your top 5 list of MP3 Players? Let us know in the comments.

"Microsoft is considering whether it should port the Zune software and services to other platforms, including Apple’s. There’s no guarantee that the Redmondians will end up doing this - or timetable as to when this could happen - but it’s one of many strategies under active consideration. That’s what I heard today from Jose Pinero, Director of Communications for Microsoft’s TV, Video and Music Business. I had a chance to chat with Pinero at Microsoft’s consumer open-house showcase in New York on October 6."

Going along with the news of a definite Microsoft commitment to putting the Zune platform on Windows phones, this article at ZDNet is even more interesting. Microsoft would be willing, going forward to support other platforms, including Apple. What exactly does that mean? Just Zune software on the Mac? Apparently not! Microsoft even is thinking in terms of direct iPod support. Now I don't know if that's realistic or not but its something they have on the table.

The bigger picture you get from this article is Microsoft's view of what the Zune platform is to their business. Zune has always been somewhat strange for Microsoft. They tend to build ecosystems for others to play in. Even the XBox follows that mold since a game system, by default, needs broad support from game publishers to survive and thrive. The Zune though has been Microsoft's closed platform. Microsoft controls the entire experience from end to end.

But that's not how they view the Zune platform internally, according to this article. Zune is viewed as their media platform for their entire product line. They're not talking about the players either. They're talking about the whole Zune experience. Could this mean Microsoft eventually licensing out the mobile platform? After Plays For Sure I'm not sure how many would jump on that.

It will be interesting to see where it goes. With the Zune set to make an appearance eventually on Windows phones, that will certainly give an instantly broader market and really that would be the first real challenge to iPod/iPhone dominance because that platform is widespread enough to compete already. Many people are happy to carry one device around and I could see that more than anything causing some erosion in the DMP market.

"What is Zune HD? Zune HD is a couple things. Number one, Zune HD is a music player with a nice music service. By the way, the same software will be available on Windows Phones and Windows PCs. You have that today on the PC, you'll see that in our phone environment as well."

Straight from Ballmer's mouth to your eyes and ears. Ballmer dropped this tasty morsel during an interview with CNET. Now of course there is no mention of WHEN, but like pocketnow.com, I believe it won't happen until the Windows Mobile 7 OS launches. Even the most powerful of the current crop of Windows Mobile devices probably would choke on a full Zune HD experience.

This is, without a question, excellent news. Microsoft desperate needs to integrate its different platforms in an intelligent way and this is absolutely one of them. I no longer use Windows Mobile (I switched to Android almost a year ago) and I was just saying today I can't see a reason I'd come back. This could be a reason. This would be a major upgrade over WMP at least!

"I can live in Mac completely as I normally do, making zero concessions or compromises, then boot into Windows occasionally to sync my music to the Zune HD. I don’t have two separate music libraries or anything, but rather the master Mac iTunes library, then the Zune software builds an index and syncs the music to the Zune HD based on said library. Is it an elegant solution? Maybe not, but it definitely works and is dead simple."

Nicholas Deleon over at CrunchGear has an interesting writeup about his double life as a Mac user and Zune HD fan. Its an interesting perspective from someone who doesn't really use Microsoft products except when he has to. To use his Zune he manages all of his music on his Mac with iTunes and then boots into Windows when he wants to sync. This works for him I think since he's not a subscription user and doesn't add music too often. That said, he must really like the Zune HD because that's a lot of work to use an media player!

Interestingly, he seems to like the Zune software more than iTunes but knows he won't likely be using it anytime soon on the Mac OS. If you're a Mac user and the Zune is at all interesting to you, his article is worth a read!

"We have slightly modified the wireless sync behavior for Zune HD. Instead of remaining connected once you establish the wireless connection, you will now automatically exit the connection once the player determines there is no content to sync. In the auto sync wireless scenario, the player will continue to attempt to reconnect every 10 minutes if wireless sync has been set-up, the player has AC power, no media is playing, and there is no user activity on the player."

If you are trying to unlock every bit of potential that your new Zune HD has, then you might want to head over to AnythingButIpod and check out their forum post detailing every little thing that you may not have known how to do but want to. Or how to do things that you didn't even think about. ABI has TONS of tips up in its forum so if you're a proud new owner of a Zune HD you should definitely follow the link and see what cool things are hidden!

"After entering Best Buy I first asked the greeter where I could find the Zune HD. His response, “the what?” I then explained that it was Microsoft’s latest music and video player. He pointed me towards the music device section. Once I arrived in that section I saw the Apple devices on display, the Sansa devices, and then the Zune section. Noticeably absent was the Zune HD."

Geek.com has a combined purchase experience and first impressions review up on the Zune HD. While the Best Buy experience sounds slightly humorous, I think if I was Microsoft I'd be a little annoyed with Best Buy if this was common across all of their stores. Was anyone else in Best Buy at launch to know if this was a common problem or perhaps just something specific to this store? Hopefully this was an isolated problem.

Geek does like the Zune HD overall but I think they have some pretty legitimate gripes with the out of box experience. I don't understand why Microsoft makes the Zune pretty much unusable until you've hooked it up but I've seen this trend in other devices too. My G1 was completely useless until I had it all set up with my GMail account.

The Zune HD really has gotten a pretty good reception so if Microsoft is trying to breath new life into the platform its a good start. Let's see if all of this positive press translates into sales.

"You will need: Tri-wing screw driver. #0, T-4 & T-5 Screw driver, Tweezers. Tri-Wing screw drivers can be found on Amazon or if you need to search elsewhere it is the same screw type that Nintendo uses on their Wii and DS Lite."

If you're a brave or crazy individual who wants to pull apart your shiny, brand new, Zune HD then according to AnythingButIpod, those are the tools you'll want onhand. If you're less brave or perhaps just sane, you'll want to follow this link over to AnythingButIpod to see what's actually inside. ABI really did an excellent job on showing off all the Zune's guts so if you've got a strong constitution for mangled electronics then you should really go check out the whole article.

I don't want to give it all away, but I will say that the tribute that Microsoft apparently has on the inside of all of its Zune HDs in memory of a Zune team member who passed away is actually very touching.

“A 32GB Microsoft Zune HD media player arrived at our doorstep today, and we had just enough time to take it out of its packaging and snap some first shots. Unfortunately, Microsoft didn't provide the Zune 4.0 software necessary to sync it up and actually use the unit, but we still were in awe of its spectacular 3.3-inch 16:9 OLED touchscreen. It's responsive, bright, sharp, and contrasty. Beautiful.”

DVICE has a quick first look at the Zune HD. They seem to like it even they weren’t really able to use it since they don’t have the software for it yet. Never-the-less, they are still impressed by the styling of the Zune HD and its size and performance! Microsoft really seems to have a hit on its hands here since all of the commentary on the HD really has been positive.

There’s nothing else new here since DVICE couldn’t actually use the Zune HD yet but if you want to check out a nice gallery of some Zune HD shots, check out their first look and admire what you can soon buy (or just pre-order now). Release day is almost here!

This is great news for Microsoft. The Zune HD of course only has two models but clearly this shows there is some excitement for the Zune right now. How long will it last is the big question. Can Microsoft build off of what looks to be a little momentum for the first time in a couple years? Microsoft really needs to do just a few things to really have a strong presense in the market.

They simply have to have a larger capacity Zune HD. There is no excuse for the lack of a 64 GB device. That the 32 GB device is selling so well shows people are willing to spend more for a bigger device.

They need a small standard player. I know people who just want a little DAP to take to the gym. I have a coworker who won’t consider anything bigger than a Nano. And get this thing out in multiple markets already! Whatever it takes just do it. Sell your soul for it. I don’t know if this would all translate to success but I can’t imagine Microsoft really considers what’s happened up until now a success.

The iZel is a small, portable digital device holder (stand) that allows you to easily watch video content in comfort while on a plane, train etc. All you need is a surface to put the iZel on. In the video I test it out with a variety of devices: Zunes, smartphones, an iPod Touch, etc. When I travel, I like to load up my Zune with a movie or two, but I end up holding it in my hand to watch it - not very ideal. The iZel offers a solution to that problem, although depending on the screen size of your device, and how good your eyesight is, watching a video at tray-table height might be difficult. The iZel is made of very durable materials, so it should last a very long time, making it worth the price tag in my opinion (though not everyone agrees). I'll likely be travelling by plane in September, so I'll get a chance to use it in a real-world situation. In the meantime, I'm going to use it as a holder for my cellphone-du-jour, the Samsung Jack. The iZel can be purchased for $24.95 from Amazon.com. [Affiliate]

"The Zune HD also comes with Internet Explorer (with tap-to-zoom technology), which means you'll not only have access to you favorite websites, but you'll also have access to other Wi-Fi features like song sharing, channel streaming, and the Zune Marketplace). Beyond that, the Zune HD has everything you'd expect a PMP to have and the standard Zune stuff, such as podcasts, Zune Pass, games, and a photo viewer. Zune HD is available with either 16GB or 32GB."

We know that the Zune HD is going to be Flash-based, but Microsoft has remained tight-lipped on the exact storage capacities that the Zune HD will be offered with. An Canadian American publication named CRAVE has published an article in which, as you can see by the quote above, the storage capacities are listed in a matter-of-fact way at 16 GB and 32 GB. I emailed the editors at CRAVE last week to ask for a confirmation of this information, because it wasn't presented as a rumour or a "maybe this is what it will have", but the editors didn't reply to my email. So will the Zune come in 16 GB and 32 GB capacities? It seems like a reasonable guess - 8 GB would be too small to be of much use with HD content, and 64 GB would likely drive the price of the device through the roof. So what we're left with is either 16 GB, 32 GB, or both. Will those be the two storage capacities we'll see this fall? We'll see...

UPDATE: The Managing Editor at Crave got back to me, and the author got the 16/32 GB capacity information from this PC World article where they also are quite matter-of-fact about the storage capacities.

Deals site Woot.com is offering up refurbished (Microsoft Recertified) Zune 30s for just $80 plus $5 shipping. That's a whole 30 gigabytes of fun and an awesome scratch-proof casing. Not to mention the latest Zune software update: quite a bargain! If nothing else, you might want to check Woot to see their infamous ad copy ruthlessly mock the 30 GB model and its inability to keep time this past New Years. That, and the excellent v2 Car Pack is available for just $10 plus $5 shipping from sister site sellout.Woot.com. As with all Woots, it's only sold until the end of the day or they run out--whichever comes first. And judging by past sales, this tends to happen pretty quickly.

"One of our staff visited a Chevy dealership to confirm that the new Camaro’s MP3 connectivity kit worked great with production Zunes. The test was very successful - and this culminates a considerable amount of work with both GM in Detroit and their supplier in Korea to ensure a great user experience."

Brian Seitz tweeted this earlier today and it is really exciting news. I'm pretty surprised actually that any car would come standard with connectivity for the Zune. Let's face it, the iPod is so ubiquitous that it makes sense to have standard support for it. But I won't complain! It seems some 28 GM models will be supporting this which isn't surprising since many GM cars share audio components.

But let's not overlook the best part of this. Its the Camaro. I currently own a red 2002 Camaro and I've always been a big fan of the American muscle car. I'm very seriously considering getting a 2011 Camaro next year and this is just icing on the cake. And hey, if Bumblebee prefers the Zune, everyone should!

Most of us have a media player of one sort or another. Whether it is an iPhone, Archos or Zune, PMPs typically come with stock earbuds. While great for space and portability, they usually lack decent sound reproduction. iHarmonix manufactures several lines of earbuds to improve upon what comes packed in a tiny bag of cellophane. I had the opportunity to put one of their Platinum ev-Series Earphones through its paces and I was fairly pleased with what I heard. Perhaps as an indication of thoughtfulness, the earbuds thankfully do not come in a cut-my-arteries-blister-pack, but one with a cardboard backing which is much easier to open. Inside, the earbuds came with three sets of ear gels in different sizes, a soft velvety pouch to and a slip of paper to serve as instructions. Read more...

"After doing some digging, we can confirm that the release this fall will be international . While we were not able to get a list of countries that the Zune will ship to, we can confirm that it will be shipping to: Australia, China, and Europe. A company representative told me that there will be far more countries that the Zune will be shipping to. Stay tuned for more, including specs and pictures (We've seen the internal video!). I'll leave our readers with this: It's slim and you won't need a D-Pad. Feel free to speculate."

We pretty much knew that new hardware was coming this year, but the interwebs are blowing up over a single tweet from Brian Seitz where he confirmed that there's new hardware in the pipeline. People seem pretty excited about a new Zune, so that's good to see. The above quote from this Neowin article has more specifics than I've seen elsewhere - though I disagree with the use of "confirm" when they can't quote their source. At any rate, if this news is accurate, I'd say it's very big news indeed. Not only does it seem to firm up the rumour about an iPod Touch-like Zune (slim and no D-Pad), but it seems the Zune is finally ready to bust out of the confines of North America. Take this all with a large grain of salt mind you, because none of this is confirmed, but I think it's worth getting excited about! I wish I could add my own speculation into the mix based on what I learned spending two days with the Zune team, but I can't...I do hope though to be among the first to be able to provide you all with accurate information when the time comes.