Items tagged with Zune
I’m not ashamed to admit; I used to own a first generation Zune 30, although my particular model was black instead of turd brown. The integrated Wi-Fi was a novelty at the time and I ended up keeping it for about a year (it served me well during its tenure) before I bought a 32GB Apple iPod touch to replace it. Now, nine years after the first generation HDD-based Zune media player was released, and four years after creasing production of its hardware MP3 players altogether, Microsoft is finally shutting down the complementary Zune Music service. The Zune Marketplace was shutdown in November 2013, so we’re surprised that Zune Music lasted this long. So what exactly does this mean if you’re still...
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As we inch closer to the Windows 8 launch, taking place on October 26th, it's becoming ever-more clear that Microsoft has one seriously ambitious day on its hands. Not even taking into account the fact that Windows 8 is a major shift for Microsoft's OS, the company and its legion of partners will be unveiling the first-ever consumer Windows tablets - and I'm sure I'm not alone in wondering how those will fare next to the iOS and Android models that currently dominate the market. Clearly a sign of the company not having enough on its plate already, rumor has it that Microsoft is set to launch "Xbox Music" on the same day as the Windows 8 launch. As it sounds, this looks to be a music service to...
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And just like that, on the eve of Apple's iPhone 5 event, the Zune was no more. Microsoft's valiant effort into the world of portable media players seemed to have a snowball's chance in summer at making it, even from the start. Despite a huge marketing effort and a name like Microsoft, trying to crush the iPod, or even match it, seems to be a fool's game at this point. Years back, an astute SanDisk CEO uttered that you "can't out-iPod the iPod." He tried. SanDisk attempted to come out with a wide range of PMPs, none of which reached even a small amount of the success garnered by the iPod. But Microsoft, of all companies, had the best shot. The Zune and the Zune HD were decent players, but they...
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So, wait. The Zune HD isn't dead? Hmm. After hearing that Microsoft was transitioning away from the Zune HD hardware and focusing more on software, it seemed easy to assume that the Zune as a standalone hardware icon was dead. But that may not quite be the case yet. Microsoft made it pretty clear that Windows Phone 7 would be their focal point this year, and the media integration aspects were taking over for Zune in some sense. But now, DaveMac-MS -- manager of business development for Zune hardware -- is saying something a bit different. He claims that he still has the title just mentioned, which wouldn't be possible if Zune were dead. He was quick to point out that no one at Microsoft has officially...
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She's dead, Jim. According to a report in SAI, Microsoft has decided to kill off the Zune music player. To be clear, the company will continue to sell existing models. It will not, however, be developing new ones. The original source of the information was Dina Bass, Bloomberg News Tech Reporter. In two Tweets, she said first that Microsoft would eschew any further hardware development on Zunes, but also that Microsoft would take the Zune software and on the Zune software that's used on Windows Phones, Xbox and other devices. Zune was to be Microsoft's answer to the iPod. However, it never took off, despite some respect for its software performance. The ecosystem around iPod,...
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Given the lackluster success of the Zune line over the years, would anyone really be shocked if Microsoft pulled the plug? We sort of doubt it, and according to reports, the company may be on the verge of doing so. Numerous sites are noticing that Microsoft executives have been hesitant to use the Zune word in discussions, and it's unusual for Microsoft to distance themselves from something they care about dearly and/or are spending valuable marketing resources on. As for the Zune's future? It's all up in the air for now. There could be a rebranding, or there could be an outright execution. With Nokia now in the mix, there's even an outlandish possibility that Ovi Music technology could take...
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There can be some perks to being an early adopter. In addition to the fun that comes from having the latest and greatest gadget, AT&T plans to reward its customers who purchase a Windows Phone 7 smartphone before the end of the year with a few bonuses. New adopters will get a free Entertainment Pack valued at $29.97. In this Entertainment Pack, you'll get a new 3D puzzle game known as ilomilo, 30 days of free unlimited music service, 10 free songs to keep through one-month Zune Pass trial, and 30 days of free access to download and watch TV shows through U-verse Mobile. After the 30-day trial, U-Verse Mobile will cost $9.99 per month (though you can always cancel it). The promotion begins...
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Microsoft's Zune platform has been fading from view in most accounts. Apple is still marketing their iPod family heavily, but Microsoft has seemingly given up on pushing the Zune line of music players. Just like everyone else. It has proven extremely tough to even compete with Apple at all in the music business, and even Microsoft has all but conceded. But that doesn't mean that Microsoft is giving up support of those who still believe in Zune. Along with the Windows Phone 7 launch this week, Microsoft also released Zune Software version 4.7, which adds support for the new mobile operating system. Zune Marketplace version 4.7 media player and synchronization software (v4.7) is now available,...
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Microsoft's Zune HD sure has seen a difficult road. No matter how hard the company tried, they never could gain ground on Apple. The iPod has proven too strong for even Microsoft's marketing powers, and now it's rare to hear anything about the player at all. Microsoft is still making them, but they're hardly marketing it; at this point, the iPod has simply taken over, and as SanDisk's CEO pointed out a few years back, it's hard to "out iPod the iPod." But that's not to say the Zune HD is dead. United Airlines has just given the media player a new lease on life thanks to a partnership that will place Zune HDs into the hands of patrons. Reportedly, United will host around 500 Zune players on extra-long...
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Netbooks, smartbooks, mobile devices, and tablets were a major focus of Computex earlier this month but the number of Tegra devices on display was surprisingly low, given how much weight NVIDIA CEO Jen-Hsun Huang has thrown behind the company's mobile platform.The Microsoft Zune HD was supposed to be the first of a series of high-profile Tegra devices—rumors that the next-generation Nintendo 3DS would be NVIDIA-powered were dispelled recently when dark horse candidate Digital Media Professionals (DMP) announced that its heretofore unknown Pica200 GPU would provide the handheld's 3D hardware. There are still Tegra and Tegra 2 devices in the pipeline from various manufacturers (NVIDIA claims...
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As if oftentimes the case, where there is smoke, there is fire short behind. Just a few days after the rumor-mill began to suggest that Microsoft's J Allard, who was senior vice president of Design and Development for Entertainment & Devices, would be leaving Microsoft, that is exactly what has become official. But that's not all. Microsoft has this week revealed that J Allard is indeed heading for the exits after 19 years at Microsoft, but rather than heading out for good, he'll be taking "an official role as an advisor in a strategic role for CEO Steve Ballmer and his leadership team." Ballmer had only kind words to say about J when making the announcement, saying that "J has brought a...
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When you hear "Microsoft," you probably think of a few things: Windows, for one. Bill Gates is another. Maybe even Steve Ballmer, the company's current CEO. But unless you're a loyal follower of the company, you may not be familiar with J Allard. But you should be. This guy has had a hand in many, many Microsoft projects, and a lot of those have hit the retail world. In other words, he has more impact in how your Microsoft product looks and acts than most people realize. His official title, even now, is "Chief Experience Officer and Chief Technology Officer, Entertainment and Devices Division." That's a long and fancy way of saying that he's way up the totem pole when it comes to molding Microsoft's...
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Microsoft plans to launch a 64GB version of its Zune HD on April 12th via the Zune online store. With this new model, Microsoft claims you'll be able to store up to 16,000 songs or 20 hours of high definition video on the media player. With the announcement of the new model, Microsoft is also lowering the estimated retail price for the 16GB and 32GB models by $20, making them $199.99 and $269.99, respectively. Microsoft also mentioned a v4.5 firmware update that will add the ability to browse, stream, and acquire music from Zune Marketplace on your TV; Smart DJ auto-playlists; and expanded codec support. Unfortunately, the company didn't give us a release date, only saying more news about the...
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If you have been looking to free your mind of daily troubles and drift away into Xbox LIVE land, you should probably do it soon. Microsoft is sending out announcements ahead of time in order to let its loyal fanbase know that all Zune Marketplace services will be down for around a day or so, starting this evening. Your existing video library will remain available, but for 24 hours starting at 10PM (PT) tonight, you won't be able to buy new content, play games, download certain updates, etc. So don't flip out when things go down, okay? This is supposed to happen. Just go ahead and pound that into your head (though it won't make living without your precious Zune Marketplace for a full day any easier).As...
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