Zune Thoughts - Daily News, Views, Rants and Raves

"[W]ith the impending release of the Windows Phone 7 Series, which will include full Zune HD functionality in its "Music + Video" hub, I've begun to wonder if Microsoft will phase out the Zune as a standalone music player. Here's one clue: Microsoft developer Michael Klucher on Tuesday put up a blog post about the upcoming XNA Game Studio 4.0. Thus far, XNA Game Studio has been primarily used to develop casual games for the Xbox 360 and, more recently, to create games for the Zune HD. ... Long story short, Klucher confirmed that XNA Game Studio 4.0 will support game development on Windows Phone 7 Series phones, but not on the Zune HD."

Well that's a kicker. Microsoft really isn't going to roll out the Zune HD app plan like they said they would? It's hard to see a silver lining in what is essentially Microsoft cutting off any hopes of a Zune HD app store, at least for this generation. Microsoft's Klucher confirmed that current XNA 3.1 code will continue to work with the device, but the features in XNA 4.0, like 3D APIs, Xbox Live integration, and the cool cross-platform Windows/Xbox/WinPhone7 game porting won't be coming. There's talk of a Zune HD2 in the works, which would follow Apple's lead in providing an experience similar to WinPhone7 without a cellular radio (i.e. iPhone to iPod Touch), but Microsoft has made no announcements yet. Personally, I prefer having a dedicated device for music and video, rather than feeling like they're tacked on as an application which needs to be loaded each time I search for a song, but it appears that device convergence is the direction the market is heading.

Haven't had a chance to install the Facebook app on your Zune HD yet? Or don't have a Zune HD and want to see this app in action? My friend Matt Miller shot a video - an especially geeky one since he shot it in his car while the Zune HD was connected over WiFi to his Palm Pre - that walks you through the whole thing.

A quick note to let you know that I've updated the International Zune User's Guide. I spent a couple of hours on Saturday going through every part of the article, seeing what was new, and what was the same, updating it for the Zune HD era we now live in. About a month ago I had my buddy Grahm Skee from ABI send me a couple of Zune Pass cards in the mail - the one-month pre-paid cards that sell for $14.99 - and guess what? They worked! So if you live outside the USA and want a Zune Pass, this is the only way I'm aware of for you to get it. Sadly, there's still no way to get any video content other than music videos - hell, I can't even watch the movie trailers. Really Zune team? Even the movie trailers have to be IP-blocked? Sheesh. :-(

As of last night, the Zune HD Facebook app was still busted for me - updates not loading, news feeds not loading, etc. This morning, surprisingly, it all started to work - without a new version of the app. That tells us that it wasn't a problem with the application itself - which I guessed at - but instead a problem with Facebook itself, or something between Facebook and the Zune HD application. The Zune team has made some vague statements about Zune and Facebook engineers addressing the problem, but they've provided no details about what actually went wrong. Regardless of whose fault it was, or why this happened in the first place, it's unfortunate to see the Zune HD getting more bad press related to apps - and this is the second botched app release in a row now, after the Twitter curse-word blow-up (which most people made into a bigger deal than it really was).

Ultimately this highlights again how broken the Zune team's approach to apps is: they can't continue to release apps one by one, relying on internal resources to build up their app selection. The only thing that makes any sense is to open up the Zune HD to third-party developers, give them the ability to make money in a marketplace, and let them have it it. I suspect we'll hear some good news on this front when MIX10 happens in a couple of weeks - the root problem here is that Zune HD app plan was out of sync with the Windows phone 7 series app plan, and the only thing that makes any sense is for them to come together into one big happy "develop for our two device type" family. Guess we'll have to wait and see!

After a long wait, the Zune HD app is finally available - good thing I opened my Twitter client tonight! You should see it in Marketplace > Apps now, but if you don't, it will likely appear shortly. I downloaded it and decided to take it for a spin. After waiting 10 seconds for it to start - seriously Zune team, you've got to fix the awful app load time - I entered my Facebook log-on information using the shockingly impressive keyboard. I don't use my Zune HD for much Web browsing, so I haven't used the keyboard since it was first added, and they've definitely improved it since launch. After logging in, you'll be presented with your wall and most recent status update. You can pivot left or right and choose from photos, status updates, or news feed. Unfortunately, nothing loads for me. I waited several minutes, but none of those three feeds showed me any information. Not a great first experience.

I pivoted over to the profile tab, and this was more functional. It loaded my status update, and I could see my info and uploaded photos. More photos and impressions after the break. Read more...

Looking at the price in our affiliate Amazon.com, the price on the Zune HD 32 GB has dropped to $249 USD, and the 16 GB Zune HD is $189.99 USD. Not bad!

The Zune HD is one of the gadgets up for Engadget's "Gadget of the Year" award - jump over to the voting page and cast your vote. We can't let the iPhone 3GS win! ;-)

Perhaps it has something to do with all the love the Zune guys feel at this time of year, but for the last three years the Zune Originals team have brought out a set of limited edition tattoo engravings to celebrate the Valentines Day holiday. There are ten designs in all, and all but one feature the heart shape in some fashion. Each of the Zune HD's six colors is available for free engraving, and can be ordered in 16 or 32 GB variety (it looks like we're going to have to wait a little longer for a 64 GB model after all.) Those finding themselves less interested in heart-covered patterns this February 14 can still pick up a design from the Artist, MLS, or Xbox series, at the usual $15 charge.

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.

Soon after the Zune HD Twitter app was released yesterday, people who were following people who swore in their Tweets noticed something strange: the app on the Zune was filtering the swear words and replacing letters with asterixes. It looked like this:

Image courtesy of Engadget

Now, personally I don't follow many people who swear - and would probably un-follow anyone who swore constantly - so this issue didn't bother me at all. Many people got worked up about this though, so when I started to think about why Microsoft did this, the reason seemed obvious to me: parental controls.

If you're a parent, and you bought an iPod for your kid, you might not want him to be able to download any app he wants from the app store. The app store doesn't have truly "adult" apps, but there are some "mature themed" apps. From within iTunes you can control which apps your kid is allowed to download. If you own an iPod you've doubtless seen the pop-up warnings about age 17+ content on apps like FML [NSFW] - those are more of a "cover your butt" thing from developers. The reality is that if a parent wants to control which apps their kid downloads, they need to lock it down from iTunes. Read more...

Details are scarce - if I hadn't checked my Twitter feed early this morning, I wouldn't have seen this - but apparently the long-awaited Twitter app for the Zune HD is going to be released on Zune Marketplace today. Watch for it!

UPDATE: The Twitter client is now live in the Marketplace. Anyone tried it yet? What do you think of it? Some screen shots after the break. I'm on Twitter a fair bit, so this app is by far the most useful of them all for me. What I really want is an email client though... Read more...

There you have it. Exciting, no? Magenta is coming on December 1st, and so is Purple. I'm kind of curious about these choices because magenta and purple aren't exactly far apart on the colour spectrum. Myself, all I want is a Zune HD with 64 GB of storage. Colours are great, but capacity matters even more.

"Stillwater has developed a firmware update to make its existing Kicker-brand ZK500 Zune-docking speaker system compatible with the new Zune HD. Consumers who bought the $249-everday speaker system after Microsoft released the Zune HD in September are eligible for a free firmware update. Consumers who bought their speaker system before the Zune HD's release must pay $40. In either case, the system must be sent in to Stillwater to make the upgrade. Stillwater will cover all shipping costs."

Good news for ZK500 owners, though it's a shame they didn't use the Zune-as-a-firmware-host method for updating the ZK-500 dock. Having to send your dock back kind of sucks, though it's nice that the $40 is all it costs you since Stillwater is covering the shipping costs both ways.

This morning six new games (well, five games and one app) were added to the Zune Marketplace for Zune HD owners:

• Audiosurf Tilt: Audiosurf creates a rollercoaster ride from any song. Choose any song from your music collection and watch Audiosurf turn it into a unique roller coaster track for you to ride. The song you choose determines the shape, the speed, and the mood of each track. Tilt your Zune like a steering wheel to collect colored blocks and avoid speedbumps. Unlock more than 30 designs, each with its own special theme and color palette.

• Checkers: Enjoy the classic game of Checkers in a beautiful outdoor park setting. Play against the computer or against a friend.

• Lucky Lanes Bowling: Bowl in different game modes: exhibition, blackjack, golf. Play in five different bowling alleys with unique themes, all with the swipe of a finger. Choose from twenty different bowlers and twenty two different ball styles. You can play against the computer or play with up to four friends.

• Piano: Play your own tune, or play along with your favorite music on this electronic piano.

• Project Gotham Racing: Ferrari Edition: Tear through the streets of London, Tokyo, and New York in the Ferrari of your choice using multi touch controls and the built in accelerometer.

• Vans Sk8: Pool Service: From the Admiral to the old abandoned rec center pool, Bucky Lasek and Omar Hassan know a good bowl to skate. Hit the pools and put these Vans skaters to the test with all the tricks in their bag and achieve hero status once you unlock their pro model skateboards.

The games still have those silly ads in front of them - I can't imagine Microsoft is making any significant money off of the ads, so I have to wonder why they exist in the first place. The app story on the Zune HD isn't a good one, so every barrier Microsoft puts in front of Zune HD customers (or reviewers) makes a bad story worse. Don't get me wrong, I'm glad to see these apps released, but there's still no open marketplace for developers to sell and give away their creations. The Zune HD isn't going to take off as an app platform until that happens. Microsoft is planning to release a Facebook and Twitter application, so that will please some people, but until they really allow the Zune HD to blossom as an application platform, this luke-warm app experience isn't going to lure people away from the iPod Touch. And the whole "12 seconds to start the calculator" thing has got to get fixed as well - I don't want to show apps to anyone on my Zune HD because that's just embarrassing.

There's a Zune HD firmware update that has just been released - it will take your Zune HD from 4.1 to 4.3...I don't know why they skipped 4.2, nor do I know what this firmware update adds or fixes. There's no information about this firmware update at Zune Insider. My Zune HD didn't automatically detect the new firmware update - I had to go into Settings > Device > Player Update in order to get it. It installed without a hitch, but I don't know what's been changed. If anyone has any information, please share!

"When holding the Zune HD it is very obvious that a great deal of time and resources were spent on the design and build. Its assembly is very impressive; there is no give or creaking at all. The lines where one material meets another are precise and buttons have the perfect amount of travel and tactile click. Simply put, the Zune HD is a premium piece of hardware."

AnythingButiPod's Graham Skee posted his review of the Zune HD device, software, and services, and likes what he sees. He also dives into depth on video with the media UI, touch gestures, and a bunch of the other included goodies. And, in trademark ABI fashion, Graham's got a shot of his Zune HD stacked up against 30 other portable devices. It's worth checking out the article just for this preposterous shot.

Zune Boards forum member Creative Zune has put together a set of unboxing pictures and videos of the Zune Originals series Zune HDs. There's a shot of one of each color, just in case you might be on the fence. Just as a heads-up, the green HD appears a bit more yellow than it is in person, so keep in mind that the colors may not be as they appear.

"But the Zune HD soldiers on with the same weird limitations as its predecessors and as Apple expands and enhances the iPod lineup and its surrounding hardware, software, and services ecosystem, the gap only widens. Today, the Zune HD is offered in only one country worldwide, the United States, and when I asked Microsoft about this, I was met with a cooler-than-usual response that offered little to no hope that the company took this product seriously enough to offer it outside its own locale."

Paul Thurott, of Win SuperSite fame, has finished up his exhaustive review of the Zune Software, Device, and Services, assigning ratings (in the form of pictures of his head) for each of the key parts. Overall he seems to like the device and software, but finds many parts lacking in a number of ways. It's a long read, but well-worth it.

"It's tough to know just how often this particular problem is occurring, but we've heard a fair share of reports on the Zune HD's otherwise gorgeous OLED display having performance glitches. And needless to say, you'd notice it. Here, the touch controls are 100% intact; the problem is that the bottom majority of the screen is completely washed out in a bright, white filter."

We'd heard about the non-responsive screen issue last week, but this one seems to be unrelated. A white mask shows up over the lower half of the screen (it appears to cover everything but the "breadcrumb" navigation area of the interface.) As Gizmodo points out, at 28 seconds in it appears the colors show up normally, lending credence to the theory that it's merely a firmware-based glitch and can be fixed in a future update.

"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!