Zune Thoughts - Daily News, Views, Rants and Raves

Be sure to register in our forums! Share your opinions, help others, and enter our contests.


Laptop Thoughts

Loading feed...

Windows Phone Thoughts

Loading feed...

Digital Home Thoughts

Loading feed...





All posts tagged "details"


Thursday, September 14, 2006

Diving Deep on the Zune: Tech Specs

Posted by Jason Dunn in "Zune Talk" @ 02:45 PM

Today I was fortunate to be one of only two Zune sites involved in a conference call with Chris Stephenson, General Manager of Global Marketing for the Zune. Along with one other Zune site (Zunerama) I was able to get 30 minutes of time with Chris to ask a variety of questions. I'll be unravelling that information over the rest of today - there's a lot to discuss.

First up, I was able to ask some technical questions about the Zune, because those details were sorely lacking from all the press materials released today. Here are the highlights:

  • The three inch screen is 320 x 240 in resolution
  • Video CODECS supported: WMV, H.264, MPEG4
  • Video is limited to 320 x 240 currently, but they are discussing options for higher resolution video support
  • Supported bit rates for video haven't been finalized at this time
  • Audio CODECS supported: non-FairPlay AAC, WMA, MP3
  • Chris was unable to confirm if the battery was 700 mAH as the FCC documents indicated, but I believe that will be the case
  • The battery life is still in flux due to last-minute firmware adjustments, but Chris said that compared to the iPod the battery is quicker to reach full charge, quicker to partial charge, and is "very comparable" to the video playback time on the newly announced iPods - I'm hoping that means around six hours of video playback, which would be impressive indeed
  • The Zune battery is built-in and not user replaceable
  • The Zune player is 5.6 ounces in weight, 4.4 inches tall by 2.4 inches wide and 0.58 inches thick. By comparison, the iPod is 0.47 inches thick. By way of comparison, my Zen Vision:M is 5.8 ounces, 4 inches tall, and 1 inch thick. So I can definitely say that I don't think the Zune is too thick, especially while serving up that bigger screen
  • WiFi is 802.11b/g, and Chris described the WiFi as being "on when you need it, off when you don't" - I assume that means it has a very aggressive sleep state that will minimize the battery impact
  • Photo support is JPEG so far, I have no further details at this time
That's about it for the technical details - next up I'll talk about the Zune vision and where Microsoft wants to take this product. Any technical details you'd still like to know? Post your questions and I'll try to get some answers!


Folks, It's Z Day!

Posted by Darius Wey in "Zune Talk" @ 09:42 AM

That's right. Today's Z Day - when all things Zune come out of the Microsoft offices and into the hands of the public. We've got official press information, pictures of the device (none of that blurry FCC stuff), and words straight from the mouths of folks on the Zune team.

First, what is the Zune project all about? Today, we start to realise that Microsoft's vision of "community" could not be any clearer. It struck gold with Xbox Live by connecting gamers worldwide. It plans to do the same with the Zune by connecting music fans worldwide, from the average music lover to the audiophile. All in all, these visions form this global picture of "connected entertainment". Quoting the words of Cesar over at the Zune Insider blog, "Take MySpace, YouTube, Xbox Live, and every cool record store on the planet. Then add 1000 of your closest friends, and make it all accessible though a little device in your pocket. That’s what we’re doing with Zune."



Moving on, what's in the Zune? Yes, it's confirmed. The Zune, available in three colours (white, black, and brown), is a 30GB media player with a bright 3" LCD - that's enough storage for up to 7,500 songs, 25,000 pictures, or 100 hours of video. You can create playlists and you can create slideshows, but more importantly, package all of your different media into different recommendations and experiences that you can share with your friends. Directly related, the Zune features wireless connectivity, so you can share your media (yes, for the doubters among us - that's media in its entirety from start to finish) and play it back with limitations (up to three times in three days). Like what you see/hear? Flag it. Find it later. Buy it later. Sounds simple! And keeping with tradition, we all know of Xbox Live's download central as the Xbox Live Marketplace. The Zune's service will be called the Zune Marketplace, and it supports individual track or album downloads, and all-you-can-eat Zune Pass subscriptions (take that, Apple). The fun doesn't stop there. An integrated FM tuner is included, and it supports RDS, so not only can you pull audio from stations, you can view track information too.



Enough rambling, though. Jason has posted the press information in the previous post. There's oodles at Zune Insider to absorb. Head over to Coming Zune and check out the updated clip (be prepared for a raging bird). And of course, we'll be keeping you updated throughout the day, so keep your eyes and ears (it's all about the audio, right?) locked on Zune Thoughts.


Reviews & Articles

Loading feed...

News

Loading feed...

Reviews & Articles

Loading feed...

News

Loading feed...

Reviews & Articles

Loading feed...

News

Loading feed...

Reviews & Articles

Loading feed...

News

Loading feed...

Reviews & Articles

Loading feed...

News

Loading feed...

Sponsored links