Zune HD will be a music player, not a super-device
After months of increasingly wild rumors, CNET's Ina Fried got the official scoop yesterday: Microsoft is indeed releasing the Zune HD this fall. The device will feature an OLED touch screen, high-definition video output (with an optional add-on), a version of Internet Explorer (it sounds similar to the version planned for Windows Mobile 6.5, which uses the core IE6 engine but adds Flash support, as well as some technology from IE8 to better support JavaScript), and HD Radio.
(Credit:
Microsoft)
I spoke to the Zune marketing team this morning, and they didn't have much to say beyond those points. In fact, they weren't originally planning on saying anything until later this summer, but felt they needed to set expectations for Zune customers in light of all the rumors.
Here's why: the Zune HD isn't going to be the super-device that some geeks had been hoping for. It will play games--just like today's Zunes, which ship with a couple simple games--but it won't be a full-fledged gaming device like the Sony PlayStation Portable or Nintendo DS. It won't have its own application store, although Microsoft hinted it might connect to the forthcoming Windows Marketplace for Mobile, which could let third-party apps like Facebook and Pandora find a home on the device. It won't feature WiMax connectivity, although that might be planned for a future touch-screen phone with a similar form factor.
In other words, this is Zune 3.0, a music-focused device with a nice touch screen. It'll support video and apps, sure, but the team is focusing on improving the music-playback experience--think album art, more detailed artist pages with images, perhaps lyrics or video content.
Will these features be enough to get users to choose a Zune HD instead of an iPod Touch? The main difference seems to be HD Radio. I believe Microsoft when they say FM radio is the Zune's second-most important selling point, but Zune users are a very small portion of the overall MP3 player market--the tens of millions of users who bought an iPod didn't care about radio. There may be some other killer features we don't yet know about, and there's always the Zune Pass to consider--a great deal at $14.99 a month for unlimited streams and 10 permanent downloads--but I think the uphill battle against Apple will continue.
As far as the other half of the news goes, it's been clear for some time that Microsoft was getting ready to integrate the Zune Marketplace into Xbox Live. The company will have more details to show off next week at E3, so I'll save further comment until I see what they've got.
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Matt Rosoff is an analyst with Directions on Microsoft, where he covers Microsoft's consumer products and corporate news. He's written about the technology industry since 1995, and reviewed the first Rio MP3 player for CNET.com in 1998. He is a member of the CNET Blog Network. Disclosure. You can follow Matt on Twitter @mattrosoff. 
Imagine that, and still the Appletards think that Apple is so great, forgetting that it was Apple that introduced DRM to the music industry and allowed only their music from their site to be played on their devices.
Yeah there have been much better and liberal alternatives to the average sheep's ipod!
Really?
"In 2002, Bertelsmann (comprising BMG, Arista, and RCA) was the first corporation to use DRM on audio CDs.[citation needed] In 2005, Sony BMG introduced new DRM technology which installed DRM software on users' computers without clearly notifying the user or requiring confirmation. Among other things, the installed software included a rootkit, which created a severe security vulnerability others could exploit. When the nature of the DRM involved was made public much later, Sony initially minimized the significance of the vulnerabilities its software had created, but was eventually compelled to recall millions of CDs, and released several attempts to patch the surreptitiously included software to at least remove the rootkit. Several class action lawsuits were filed, which were ultimately settled by agreements to provide affected consumers with a cash payout or album downloads free of DRM."
ref: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Digital_rights_management#DRM_and_music
Clue: the iTunes Music Store didn't exist in 2002, genius.
The sources claim that the device could possibly be unlike anything in the market today. The ?xYz? device is believed to give competition to Apple, Sony, Nintendo and even Google.
And what's this about the Zune HD not being a "super-device." I WANT super-device. Give me super-device!
Seriously though I have heard HD radio. In the NYC area there are several and yet only 2 have gotten right. Look at the HD radio map. It is great if you live in NYC or LA or another major market. Live in a secondary market or smaller (about 60% of the country) and you are screwed.
I can see Zune owners laughing at iPod Touch owners saying I have a HD radio... of course there is no HD radio stations around, but I do have one.
It is nothing but a bullet point for the sales staff at Best Buy. We have a HD radio... what do you have? SiriusXM, Pandora? Live365? At lease ours is buit-in. With the iPod/iPhone you have to download it.
(hint: Pandora costs $0.00)
With a full browser and app support im sure it will be able to.
What kills me is that everyone is like well iPod Touch has more Apps well no ****? This product isn't even released yet.
I can't compare it to a iPod as I've never had an opportunity to play with one. The radio comes in quite handy at the gym as the TV's broadcast their audio over the FM range.
I look forward to checking out the Zune HD. :)
That's the level of fail on your statment.
Yet the Korean players all have record-from FM, voice recording, and bluetooth for wireless headphones. No mention of a microphone on the zuneHD, and your option will be to BUY songs you hear on the radio instead of simply recording them. They'll have to make WiFi as amazing as what it's used for on the TOUCH, or spice the ZuneHD $50 or so less than similar memoried models.
Signed ,
Zune 30 user with no reason to upgrade
the system will be Windows CE based with Xbox live functionality...so most likely, it will EVENTUALLY work with XNA based games. It must have at leat a 500mhz (my guess is about 700mhz )processor for the realtime encoding/reencoding of HD video (something that no current generation of ipod can do). And honestly, with a real web browser, the need for an "app store" is ridiculous. (BTW, the app store is just an excuse to make apple's closed architecture seem open.)
i dont think that anyone is expecting this device to be a netbook alternative, but it is a competitent competitor for the Ipod touch. personally, this is far more appealing of a device then anything apple has produced
Signed,
dissapointed ipod touch user always looking for something better
What disappointed you about it and what does this device have that the Touch didn't?
here are alot of thing that let me down with the touch, mostly the fact that it barely worked with any ipod accessories (no radio remote support?!). i hated how little you could actually do with it (this was pre-app store on a jail broken touch). the sound was terrible (compared to the zune at least) but it did have an EQ, which was a nice addition, but the hardware amp just couldnt keep up. the browser was very good, but its overall usefulness was lost on me because (at first) most website didnt work correctly.
I should specify that i was only dissapointed in the sense that i am an early adopter of alot of technolgies, and this simply didnt live up to the hype.
out of the box, the zunehd is offering all of the same ORIGINAL features of the touch PLUS the HD features and support for the zune software (which kind of makes itunes look primitive).
ALOT of people love the touch/iphone...but its pretty much just ok, feature wise.
My gosh, your completely brainwashed. Jobs never wanted DRM and has always pushed for DRM free music.
http://www.apple.com/hotnews/thoughtsonmusic/
Here is something you might find interesting if you believe everything a company tells you:
http://www.microsoft.com/presspass/press/1997/nov97/dojpetpr.mspx
According to this Microsoft has never ileagally abused their monopoly.
ref: http://news.cnet.com/2100-1027_3-6156763.html
'course, everyone misses the point: iTunes Music Store was the first commercial store to mainstream digital music, which in turn allowed them to push for an end to DRM, when other stores (especially the subscription ones) were happily pushing for tighter DRM restrictions.
Now to be perfectly fair, there was one music store out there that sold DRM-free tunes first... allofmp3.com, I believe the name was. Problem is, it was operating illegally and out of Russia, so it doesn't quite count...
BTW: I have never shopped at the iTunes Music Store, but I will give them credit where credit is due.
"That is DRM in itself because it _restricts_ the music to their devices"
...then kindly explain the "burn to CD" feature that's built into iTunes.
iPods have the highest failure rates of portable devices.
iPods have been criticized for their short life-span and fragile hard drives. A 2005 survey conducted on the MacInTouch website found that the iPod line had an average failure rate of 13.7% (although they note that comments from respondants indicate that "the true iPod failure rate may be lower than it appears"). It concluded that some models were more durable than others.[87] In particular, failure rates for iPods employing hard drives was usually above 20% while those with flash memory had a failure rate below 10%, indicating poor hard drive durability. In late 2005, many users complained that the surface of the first generation iPod Nano can become scratched easily, rendering the screen unusable.[88][89] A class action lawsuit was also filed.[90] Apple initially considered the issue a minor defect, but later began shipping these iPods with protective sleeves.
P.S. - I should know. I dropped mine and the hard drive failed afterwards. Managed a warranty replace even though I did wrong but a week later they came out with larger models so they may of been trying to get rid of the older generation
And Marketplace is a big word, and they have nice big font for everything. Get over yourself.
That's not true. You're making a huge generalization with no proof of your thesis.
I've bought iPods but I do care a lot about having radio, and HD radio would be even cooler. I simply bought an iPod because a competitive Zune wasn't released yet when I was buying my music player (this was back when only the v1 Zune was out). If the Zune HD works well I very likely will buy it.
Having radio is a huge benefit for when I get bored with the music I have loaded on my device, or when I want to listen to news or NPR. It's also super useful if you workout at a gym that uses FM frequencies to broadcast the audio channel of their TVs (I used to go to a gym that did this).
Re: a commenter above who said if you don't live in NYC or LA then you get no HD radio stations, the hdradio.com site says I can get like 20 or 30 HD radio stations in Seattle, including my top 3 favorite stations that I already listen to on my non-HD radio.
Everyone is trying so hard to find flaws in everything microsoft does, seriously think about it you can download whatever the hell you want as much as you want and pay $15 a month. Right now I have downloaded 2344 songs (about 18GB) and 50 permanently, I don't need to tell you how much that would cost on itunes.
It's not for everyone but just because it's microsoft doesn't mean it's evil. If you download a lot of music (legally at least) than this is a lot cheaper.
Also Zune HD seems awesome, I'll probably buy it on boxing day with Windows 7.
i have new zune 120,
And I don't dislike Microsoft. I use PC's, I have a PC laptop, and desktop. My smart phone uses Windows Mobile. And I love Halo for the PC. (And don't forget Flight Simulator!) I just don't like the way Microsoft is marketing Zune Pass. They keep using the word unlimited and that is highly misleading at best. (Besides, my phone not only has FM radio but is are pretty decent MP3 player to boot.)
My iPod is just easier to use, and I like just buying my music outright without the shenanigans. In any case, enjoy your Zune. I'm sure it will bring you great joy. As long as you keep paying 14.99/month.
But lets compare apples to apples. (Sorry. I couldn't resist) Assuming you buy 10 songs a month with either system. The cost for those 10 songs is still significantly cheaper at iTunes. 10 songs/mo. on iTunes at your 154 months comes out to 1524.60. The same 10 songs will cost you 2308.46 using Zune Pass. For the same number of permanent songs you pay 783.86 more for Zune Pass. iTunes is still cheaper. But you are correct that you cannot stream songs on an iPod. (But you can on the iPhone. I don't know about the iTouch)
Also we have not seen Apples new pricing model where they say the average cost of a song will be 1.09. We'll just have to wait and see. They could come up with something worse than Zune Pass.
And responding to scrubbingbubbles, I don't see FM going away anytime soon. Not when you consider that it is available for 100% of the US population, and it is free. HD currently has less than 20% geographic coverage.
It deactivates all you need to do is renew the sub and I found with only a month subscription I ended up downloading music for like 5 months before they cut it off. Idk if it was a glitch though.
You sound like someone who is pretty young. Plenty of people own music more than 12 years old--many people own music more than 50 years old--1960 was 49 years ago, and a lot of Beatles music by itself is going on 40 years. Then there are all those Guitar Hero games with Aerosmith, Van Halen, and all sorts of junk from the 1980's (25 years ago). 12 years might sound like a long time if your a kid, but not so much if you're at the other end looking back.
Having said that, I'm glad to see MS putting out something that looks competitive. I have a 3G iPod that still works wonderfully, and I've wanted to get an iPod Touch but can't justify the expense until my current one breaks. Marketplace competition is great. MS would have never developed this if there were no Touch/iPhone, and this will push Apple to develop newer, better features. In the end, it's good for all of us, so I don't understand all these people who are in love with a corporation to the point they have to be rude to each other about their allegiancies on boards like this.
I don't really see what is matters if people want to use the Zune Pass to get their music. It is not like it is a requirement to have a Zune, if you want to have it you can, and if you don't you don't have to. You can get your music from Amazon, iTunes, or other sources. You don't have to have a pass to get music.
I personally feel that the Zune Marketplace is a much better interface that iTunes is. Just remember that iTunes and the iPod didn't really start to take off until Apple made a PC version of iTunes.
Fm radio is a novelty selling point at best. Of course i would listen to it if I had it. But not like i listen to podcasts (which is religiously)
HD radio is again a novelty unless you live in a HD hotbed. Namely LA, NYC and the like.
only good explanation is the Zilch HD is really a place holder for MS until a real WinMobile 7 Zune with apps is ready in 2010. so make some lemonade with the Zune lemon - HD radio and XBox tie-in - and add lots of bravado - bring on the Touch! - hoping to just to keep the brand alive until then.
but this could backfire big time. the 2009 Touch could well be a sensational product - and a no-kidding Zune "killer."
Really? Yeah there are about 30,000-40,000, but I could count on my fingers the number of apps that I've found useful or entertaining for more than a couple of minutes on my Touch. And the display is definitely not 25% larger, the figure is closer to 18% if you're talking about the total number of pixels, and less than that for the physical screen size. Any advantage in screen size is rendered null by the sheer quality of an OLED screen, here take a look at this comparison http://www.pocketables.net/2009/03/apple-ipod-touch-2g-vs-cowon-s9-vs-samsung-p3.html .
Shut up, sheep.
i see this thing with a very viable chance in the market.
From what we know at the moment is that It has all the selling points of the touch ooooooo and Plus at the moment the better of the two processors. The zune actually looks may I say it manly unlike the rounded block called the touch. The hd has corner that remind me of a Muscle cars body IDK I just like the shiny screen and the smudge resistant back.
- by lonewarriorjs May 28, 2009 1:21 AM PDT
- ok sorry but radio has upgraded to digital radio, or at least in california, and digital radio is the same as hd radio.
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Showing 1 of 2 pages (99 Comments)Personally i think MS is wasting their money doing this. its just a slimmer slightly more advanced version of the zunes that are out now. if they really wanted to make an impact i think they should have incorporated a phone in to the device.
so until they make a zune phone im just going to stick with my current zune which ive had for 2 years and no problems. Unlike the ipods ive previously had which seem to have something go wrong right when the warranty ends.