Current-generation Zunes going bye-bye
As first reported by Paul Thurott of SuperSite for Windows, Microsoft is discontinuing the current generation of Zunes.
So long, Zune 8, we hardly knew you.
(Credit: Microsoft)Leaving aside all the easy insults--yes, we all know Microsoft never sold many of the things--and the possibility that your candy-apple red Zune 80 may someday be a collector's item, this means Microsoft has basically ceded the low end of the MP3 player market.
While the current Zunes start at $80, the Zune HD, which becomes available on September 15, will run you at least $220. This is great news for competitors such as SanDisk, whose Sansa Clip+ suddenly looks like the best deal around for folks on limited budgets.
On the other end, eliminating the 80GB and 120GB models means that folks with huge digital collections and no interest in touch screens will probably just stick with the iPod Classic, which is pretty much what was happening anyway.
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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. 
- that's assuming Apple doesn't make the same decision to elminate hard-drive players as part of this imminent iPod refresh, or even a bit later down the line. Those that have been using WMA or other formats iPod won't accept will have a lot of work getting a large library re-ripped or transcoded. And it will be an enormous irritant to do that only to have Apple eliminate large-capacity players, too. When you get beyond a certain large size of library (how big depends on user), the idea of streaming from the cloud looks more appealing, but that model is more of a fantasy than a working option now, particularly if you're somewhere without wireless connection.
This is the modern dillusion that often dissapoints me. Ever heard of Archos or Cowon?
i like flash players so i wouldn't mind having to buy one but i have just north of 32 gb and i don't want to sacrifice any of it, so i guess i'll have to wait till 64gb players come out and hit the under $300 mark because i'm not willing to pay more than that for less memory than i got for $250 a year and a half ago
i know i could always get a classic but after experiencing the awesomeness of zune i don't think many people could handle that downgrade
That was one of my concerns as well, but according to zune boards, the current gen zunes will be getting firmware updates. I don't expect that to continue for a while after the HD, but its a safe bet that your will get a firmware update on sept 15 when the 4.0 software launches.
- by Renegade Knight September 10, 2009 7:17 AM PDT
- They should push a 128gb Model into the market and fill the gap Apple left. I'm not alone being dissapointed that the touch didn't get the bump in size. My old Archos will have to keep doing it's job.
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(11 Comments)The classic's screen is too small for movies (the touch screen is too small as well, but the entire package is hard to beat).
Maybe the tablet will come out soon.