Report: Microsoft to announce flash-based Zune on Tuesday
Update 5:30 p.m. PDT: Microsoft plans to announce the second generation of Zune digital music players on Tuesday, according to a source close to the company.
Microsoft Chairman Bill Gates is supposed to take part in the formal announcement of the new music player, the Web site BetaNews reported on Monday. A source with knowledge of the announcement confirmed the report when contacted by CNET News.com.
The upcoming player, which will be available in November, will be the first Zune to feature flash-based memory, BetaNews reported.
The site also said Zune's flash-based players will measure 3 inches by 1.25 inches and the device will look very similar to the iPod Nano.
A Microsoft spokesman did not immediately reply to an interview request.
Greg Sandoval covers media and digital entertainment for CNET News. He is a former reporter for The Washington Post and the Los Angeles Times. E-mail Greg, or follow him on Twitter at http://twitter.com/sandoCNET. 
...which Apple promptly pulled from the market when the new unit was available.
Now Microsoft, late to the party, is introducing a model that fills the space the missing Nano is leaving.
I don't think it will make much of a difference, but it is curious to see one company mimicking another just as Apple discontinues their most popular iPod model.
I just don't get it. Why would Apple do it? Why would Microsoft continue the silly line known as the Zune? It's clear from sales that the Zune isn't something the public really wants. They want the product- that Apple just discontinued and replaced with the fatboy.
Um... huh?
Those new iPod nano(s) are selling extremely well. According to my friends in three
different states (Wa., Ga., and Fl.) they are very popular, and the stores there are
moving them faster than the other iPods.
I was bummed when they discontinued the original mini. So were a lot of other
people. However, the newer models became a desired choice when they brought
back the aluminum body. I played with the new nano, while at a store recently, and
quite frankly I wanted one. The so-called "fatboy" is deceivingly thin ... very thin. The
nickname is simply not deserved.
But you are right about the irony. A giant, walking in the footsteps of David.
has a tendency to relase some very poor initial products but they
continuously work at them until they end up being, if not market
leaders, serious contenders. MS has very deep pockets and an
uncommonly long point of view.
being used out side an electronics department.
users past 1 mil. However, with 100 million ipods out there, is
flash really gonna do it?
Paradigm shifts aren't MS specialty, but that's what's needed. Dont
think this is going to be another netscape vs. explorer situation
since you can't bundle a zune with every Dell.
Ummm..the Zune already sold 1.2 million..for the end of June..and that was even before the big price cuts in July.
The Zune has ben selling much faster since the big price cuts recently
Your "me too" products reek of desperation.
Step 2. Show it to a prospective partner.
Step 3. Offer to "squirt" them a song.
Step 4. Join a monastery or convent.
When I think of a Zune the size of an IPod Nano I think of cumbersome DRM, not music.
This is going nowhere.
Go back to Apple's 1st gen iPod, that got less than lackluster reviews and only worked when connected via FireWire to an apple computer, or through a cumbersome interface to MusicMatch.
The fact that the iPod still uses FAT32 for it's windows load is a pile, and means that you have 50% of the drive you could have on the HD versions. Then again, they are pushing everything to flash, with the touch and the new nano. The jukebox version (aka HD versions) are linked to a single PC only, even though you can license up to 5 machines to get iTunes music to.
When I think of Apple I often think of crippled against non-conformist use. I'd love my 5th gen to be a backup device of my music such that if I have my primary HD crash I can restore it. But to do that costs me money for a program that will read the HD and re-import the songs.
Or their owners are too embarrassed to tell people they own one.
Or both.
usually in some sort of case or holder and it can be difficult to
discern the model. However, when I do see the device, or more
often just the scroll wheel, it is almost always an iPod.
Filipino guy holding a '70s era cassette player up to his ear as he
was walking. It sounded like he was listening to Benny Goodman or
some other big band, and he looked quite content.
Meh.
I like my Zune, but am first to admit it is no better or worse than any other MP3 player out there.
I can tell from your comments that most of you have never used one - keep your uninformed opinions to yourselves.
It's a good device with shortcomings. Just like the ipod or the iriver or the Sansa players it could be improved.
I'm still waiting for support for video formats besides WMV - I may never get it. The wireless is useless, but battery life, video and music playback, the screen, and navigation couldn't be better or simpler.
Zune Marketplace is weak, too.
If I were to buy again, I wouldn't choose the Zune, but I wouldn't choose the iPod either. There are other players on the market that suit my needs better.
- Ipod is thought of as a device type now...
- by Sparky650 October 2, 2007 6:09 PM PDT
- I've found it odd that most people I've met in the "wild" call all daps an ipod. While out and about I've heard people call a various array of products I've used ipod even though I have never owned one. I would say my Gigabeat F (rockboxed) has been called an ipod at least 50 times. I've had the Vosonic 8360 called an ipod. I've even heard one refer to a pda I own as an ipod.
- Reply to this comment
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(42 Comments)Ipod name=Soda, or in the South any soft drink is a "coke".