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Microsoft Zune is not a rumor, says Microsoft
comment: 26 | Friday, July 21 (2006) 09:38PM | Posted by Lone
It's officially official: Microsoft has confirmed that their Zune media player (mockup pictured left, courtesy of Engadget.com) exists, and is nearing completion.

Microsoft Corp. said on Friday it plans to release a new music and entertainment player and accompanying software under the "Zune" brand this year, in a belated attempt to challenge the dominance of Apple Computer Inc.'s iPod player.

Microsoft confirmed the plans for an entertainment device and software in a statement after touting those products to record companies in recent months.


LINK (Reuters) via 'The Internet'

That's not all though...as previously rumoured, "Zune" is actually "a family of hardware and software products", possibly including a high-capacity flash competitor to the iPod Nano and/or a portable gaming device.

LINK (Billboard, paid subscription required)


More stuff:
ZuneInsider.com
ComingZune.com

Thanks, erratic
Comments

Allen
Location: Dub Vee Ooo
Comments: 1511
 		Jul 21 (2006) 11:25PM  

surprise surprise

Microsoft making a shift farther into the consumer electronics market.... interesting



dap_pad

Comments: 519
 		Jul 21 (2006) 11:31PM  

LOL let's see if they'll succeed or fail like their last attemps into the GUI market (excluding the Gigabeat S30 and 60)... i just hope that the picture above isn't the real thing... it's pretty plain and generic-like



chicubs

Comments: 915
 		Jul 22 (2006) 12:48AM  

supposedly, there will be different faceplates or something along those lines.



Intelli

Comments: 125
 		Jul 22 (2006) 02:37AM  

hmm... well... MS really needs a homerun with this one... iPod is a gateway to Mac and thats hurting windows real bad. That being said, they prolly dropped a huge amount of coin in developement.

So... it's definitly going to be something and anything but generic. And it can't possibly be the one in the pic... looks way to boring. They know a device needs to be sexy in order to sell and won't make a mistake like that.

They've been sitting around watching apple reak in the dough for a long time now.



koppite1

Comments: 248
 		Jul 22 (2006) 03:24AM  

See Billy, Xbox chief or whoever is in charge of this, what you need to do is have a huuuge screen as the centrepiece, then as little interference as possible. Or get the image of Sony*

*on the internet at least



peacemf

Comments: 9
 		Jul 22 (2006) 05:15AM  

hope they do well
this way:
all mp3 players will have the same port
a set standard in software and hardware....

think of it as the windows of the mp3 players



Malloc

Comments: 46
 		Jul 22 (2006) 05:46AM  

iPod gateway to Mac?
I feel some doubts gathering around that sentence.
People seem happy to have their iPods not work with Windows :p

I wonder what kind of battery the Zune will have.



csidinim

Comments: 17
 		Jul 22 (2006) 06:49AM  

the ipod is indeed a gateway to macs in that apple strategically intended it with itunes to expose typical windows users to the mac os interface and gui. it definately wasn't the hardware part, of ipod or macs, that people were ecstatic about.



Malloc

Comments: 46
 		Jul 22 (2006) 06:53AM  

They may have intended it, but has it happened? And iPod gui!=OS X gui :p

[ edited Jul 22 (2006) 06:56AM ]



bumper

Comments: 15
 		Jul 22 (2006) 08:35AM  

I can't wait!



sdsdv10

Comments: 243
 		Jul 22 (2006) 10:49AM  

Can someone point me to an example of a MS consumer electronic device that has a really nice design? There may be one, I am just not aware of it.

The original Xbox certainly was no "tour de force" in design. The Xbox 360 might be considered significantly better, but I have read many comments complaining about the overly larger power brink and so so controllers. The older style WebTV or the new MSN TV2, again not really cutting edge.
[Linky]
There keyboards and mice are OK, but nothing all that much better than say Logitech.
Here is a link to there hardware page.
[Linky]

Show me a clearly outstanding design and I will believe that they can design a nice DAP (or any consumer product).

I am not anti-MS. I use only Windows machines at home and work. I think they can write a nice piece of software. On the hardware side, they have had less than stellar design results. I certainly wish them well, as better DAP's only raise the bar for everyone, but I don't think MS has go it in them.

[ edited Jul 22 (2006) 10:51AM ]



sdsdv10

Comments: 243
 		Jul 22 (2006) 11:11AM  

Sorry to follow up to my own post, but I couldn't resist. Here is another classic example of MS design.

I found this quote on a tech blog site.

Reminds me of the MS wireless phone they released years ago and promised all the great things it would do with Windows. Some of my schools bought them and they all died. I called MS and they denied that they ever made a phone.


A quick Google search found this link to the actual product.
[Linky]

I foresee a fiery crash and burn here. Again, I hope I am wrong and would happily say so if the Zume and related product are big hits.



Peacemaker636

Comments: 104
 		Jul 22 (2006) 11:40AM  

This picture is so bland. If they want this to sell, they need to market it as the portable 360. Create seamless syncing with the 360. Allow access to your 360 through WiFi hotspots to stream media. Be able to send messages to a friend's XBox/Zune via Live. But most importantly, COME UP WITH A 360-ESQUE DESIGN THAT DOESN'T LOOK CHEAP AS HELL.



sdsdv10

Comments: 243
 		Jul 22 (2006) 12:25PM  

Peacemaker636, linking sales of a DAP to the Xbox360 may not be the greatest of ideas.

In the 2Q of 06, Apple shipped over 8 million iPods.
Meanwhile, iPods are still dominating the portable media player market. More than 8.5 million units were shipped during the second quarter, up 61 percent from the year-ago period, the company said.

[Linky]

On the other hand, in 2Q of 06 (listed as 4Q, as their finanical year is not linked to the calendar year), MS sold 1.8 million Xbox360. This out strips MS Xbox360 sales by more than 4 to 1.
In the fourth quarter alone, ended June 30, 2006, the company sold 1.8 million of the next-generation consoles.

[Linky]

Adding this feature, while adding no extra cost to the unit, is no problem. But to me personally, Xbox360 intergration is meaningless, as I will never be buying that (or any other) gaming console. However, I sure am looking to get a DAP. Whether I am in the majority or the minority remains to be seen. Regardless, it needs to have great stand alone functionality.


Lone

Comments: 973
 		Jul 22 (2006) 12:31PM  

sdsdv10, that's not really a fair comparison, because iPods are quite a bit cheaper than the Xbox360 (the highest selling models are the cheap Nanos', which start at $150, the Xbox's start at $300).

As far as consumer hardware products go, it's hard to gauge Microsoft as they haven't done a whole lot in that area. I will say that their mice and keyboards that I've used are exceptional products (if a bit expensive), something even many Apple fanboys agree on.



Peacemaker636

Comments: 104
 		Jul 22 (2006) 02:33PM  

Also remember that when you get an XBox, it's most likely for a whole family, whereas an iPod is for one person. So you could have 5 Zunes that work with the one XBox.



sdsdv10

Comments: 243
 		Jul 22 (2006) 03:27PM  

Lone, I'm sorry I didn't make my point clear. What I meant was that it wouldn't be a good marketing plan for MS to link their DAP to closely to the Xbox360. Having good connectivity is fine, but it shouldn't be a strong or the strongest selling point as Xbox's will never sell as many units as a DAP will. Therefore, if they make the connection their main focus, it will automatically limit their possible market penatration. The total unit sales was only an illustration of this point.

As far as consumer electronic hardware goes, I agree their keyboards and mice are fine. Your comment on price "(if a bit expensive)" is very telling of what the general consumer will think too. When I have compared their items to Logitech, I have always bought the Logitech product. Just as good or better design with typically better price. Now for their DAP, if the rumored price really is $399 for their 30GB model, they will price themselves right out of the market. As you noted in your remarks, this is something MS has already shown a propensity to do in the past (at least with their keyboard/mice). But, since this price is just a rumor I don't think it is worth dwelling on until MS releases the actual MSRP. To reiterate, I have nothing but "positive waves" for the MS DAP. [Please note the "Kelly's Heros" reference! ] It is just that from what I can find, MS's history in the area isn't all that stellar. Anyone with contrary examples are respectfully asked to submit them. I am always willing to change my mine.

Edit: Clean up a few of the typos and some (but certainly not all) of the most egregious grammatical errors.

[ edited Jul 22 (2006) 06:21PM ]



Couch

Comments: 5
 		Jul 22 (2006) 04:29PM  

Unfortunately, MS is going to make this a direct iPod competitor in every way. It's only going to be compatible with the ZUNE service. It won't support subscriptions, or other media players.



koppite1

Comments: 248
 		Jul 22 (2006) 04:57PM  

Sorry, if the rumours are to be believed, Zune is part of a bigger erm plan for want of a better word

Apparently a iPod competitor and a portable Xbox as seperate devices



jbhitter24

Comments: 351
 		Jul 22 (2006) 06:20PM  

although its a little disappointing that all these features wont be all in one device, it was kinda expected. i mean a portable xbox, browser, and all out dap seem a little much.



pecker

Comments: 501
 		Jul 22 (2006) 08:56PM  

@ sdsdv10


iv got the ms notebook laser mouse 6000
and id say that is a beauty of a design...yes yes its a mouse but i love the look of it!!



ilh

Comments: 168
 		Jul 22 (2006) 10:21PM  

wrote ...
i just hope that the picture above isn't the real thing... it's pretty plain and generic-like

wrote ...
And it can't possibly be the one in the pic... looks way to boring

wrote ...
This picture is so bland


I find it weird how everyone always says the iPod is sexy (which I don't think it is) and all that crap, yet this is apparently bland when it has more to it than the iPod.

wrote ...
Lone, I'm sorry I didn't make my point clear. What I meant was that it wouldn't be a good marketing plan for MS to link their DAP to closely to the Xbox360. Having good connectivity is fine, but it shouldn't be a strong or the strongest selling point as Xbox's will never sell as many units as a DAP will.


The 360 can connect to the iPod, just doesn't allow it to play stuff bought from iTunes because of the olde DRM. Be a bit stupid allowing the competition to connect and not make any kind of big deal of making your own connectable.

[ edited Jul 22 (2006) 10:22PM ]



Steve

Comments: 1197
 		Jul 23 (2006) 04:10AM  

I kind of like the design. It's simple, which I prefer over something that's busy or bizzare just for the sake of being 'stylish'. It has a good size/screen ratio, looks like a d-pad rather than a joystick (big plus), and looks like tactile controls rather than touch (also a big plus). No matter how capable a device is there are plenty of ways to get the basics wrong, and that's what makes using the player frustrating. It doesn't matter if it looks plain, as long as when you use it it's so easy that the player itself fades into the background and lets you focus on the media your playing. That's good design, not something that 'looks good' and kicks you in the ass everytime you want to use it.



bumper

Comments: 15
 		Jul 23 (2006) 08:20AM  

Agree



zip22

Comments: 1809
 		Jul 23 (2006) 03:57PM  

its a wheel, not a d-pad according to a user at engadget as well as other rumors.
[ edited Jul 24 (2006) 12:13AM ]



Nightwing

Comments: 23
 		Jul 24 (2006) 08:11PM  

Some things have occured to me.....

1) Suprised no one has mention the Toshiba Gigabeat S30. I know it does not look alike but. Doesent the S30 run a version of Windows Mobile? They need to get this thing built by some one. Why not buy the rough designed or work from a base. Add some features like Wifi etc. Would answer the fast turn around time.

2) Wasent there a iRiver also sporting Windoes Mobile at a trade show?

3) This thing starting to sound like the 2nd comming of a PDA...
[ edited Jul 24 (2006) 08:12PM ]



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