Crave

The Zune Originals online store offers tons of colors and etching designs for the Zune HD.

You've held your tongue through all the Apple iPod propaganda. Resisted the temptation to put a stock, 32GB Zune HD on pre-order. You've scrimped and saved and patiently waited until the day when you could order your own unique blue, green, red, custom-etched, deluxe-packaged Zune Originals Zune HD.

Well, dear Zune-ster, that day has come. As of September 15, you can now log onto the Zune Originals online store and design your very own dream Zune HD. Beyond the two capacity options (16GB and 32GB), and five colors (black, platinum, green, blue, and red), you also get access to more than 50 etchings and the ability to inscribe your own personal message.

The downside to the whole Zune Originals option is that you're paying full price for your Zune HD, plus a few dollars more for some designs, and of course, there's shipping. But hey, what's a few extra bucks when it comes to letting your iPod-avoiding freak flag fly?

To get a better sense of the colors and designs available from Zune Originals, check out our hands-on photo gallery.

Zune HD Originals--photos

Gentlemen, start your engines.

The Microsoft Zune HD portable media player is officially available for preorder today. Outlets ranging from Best Buy, Walmart, Amazon, and Microsoft itself are taking preorders on a black version of the 16GB Zune HD, or a silver version of the 32GB model. As Tuesday's pricing leak suggested, the players are retailing for $219 (16GB) and $289 (32GB). Preorders of the Zune HD are expected to arrive on September 15, the same day we expect they'll hit store shelves.

Also on sale today is the Zune HD AV Dock, which allows you to connect the player to your television or home entertainment center and output videos and menus at 720p HD resolution. The dock retails for $89 and includes an HDMI cable, power adapter, and a remote control.

Microsoft has also sent out an e-mail (see above) showing off three additional color options (blue, green, and red) of the Zune HD along with 10 designs, that will be available from the Zune Originals online store starting September 15.

But Microsoft may be shooting itself in the foot by not offering these custom colors and designs for preorder. By not doing so, it's effectively telling customers that they can preorder a dull version of the Zune HD now, or wait to order a cooler version on September 15. With new iPods likely to drop in September, I would think Microsoft would want to put its full weight behind preorders before Apple potentially spoils the enthusiasm.

For more on the Zune HD, check out CNET's Zune Central.

Yeah, we're not sure what the title of our show means today, but it's what happens when you let the chat room run the show. We think they want us to take off our clothes. Anyway, we're back to our old antics today: Bittr, Wii, Wolverine, iPhone, and pedometers.

As you can see, Slate.com already stole our idea for a skit mocking Twitter. We were going to shoot a video about a one-character status update. Some times, "F" is the only character that describes exactly how we're feeling at the moment.

On today's show, we talk a bit about how Nintendo is almost literally printing money with its Wii console. Apparently, it costs Nintendo 45 percent less to make a Wii than when it first came out. Nintendo is also trying to make more bank by releasing a pedometer, a device that measures foot steps--not an alarm for child predators. Also, we've got some info on a new iPhone app called Bad Decision Blocker that blocks your ability to make drunk phone calls. Seriously, though, if you need an iPhone app to stop you from making drunk calls, you need to 1) stop drinking 2) leave your phone at home, and 3) go see a therapist about your lingering girlfriend issues.

Finally, we get to our favorite "It came from Fox News!" segment. This time around, a Fox News commentator was fired for reviewing a pirated copy of the new "X-Men Origins: Wolverine" movie. Yeah, smart one. Fortunately, Jeff stopped selling DVDs of "Two and a Half Men" a few months ago. And a reminder, please call in with your most death-defying story to win your copy of "To the End of the Death: Our Epic Journey to the North Pole and the Legend of Peary and Henson" by our guest, Tom Avery. Yeah, long, long title.

In Episode 24 of the Digital City, we discuss light-up MacBook mods, the pirated Wolverine film, how to repair your Guitar Hero drum kit, and the cool packaging for Nintendo's new DSi.

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Dennis Crowley, inventor of many things good, including Dodgeball (the social Web tool, not the terrible movie or the gym game Justin and Wilson can't play because of their thick glasses), joins The 404 today to talk about some interesting stories from the Web and his latest social Web tool, Four Square.

(Credit: Dennis Crowley)

Today, we go a bit back in Web 2.0 history with the first Twitter/Loopt social-networking tool, invented by Mr. Crowley, Dodgeball--from its inception, to its purchase by Google, to its eventual shutdown.

Not to be deterred, Dennis is back at it again with Four Square, another social-networking tool, where users can compete with one another and earn badges and points when they hang at certain places. It's available for both iPhone/iPod Touch, BlackBerry, and SMS. We encourage you to check it out and report back to us, whether it improves your social life or earns you a "Douchebag Badge."

Also on today's show, we get to some voice mails about Buzz Out Loud infringing a little too much on 404-territory. It's no surprise, given our general awesomeness. In actual stories, we've got Justin Yu's review of the new "X-Men Origins: Wolverine" movie that his "friend" let him watch through a telescope in another room.

We learn through the new Digg Bar that young, white males binge drink. You can thank the U.S. federal budget deficit for that wonderful, no-duh study.

Per usual, send us a voice mail, especially about your social life experiments with Four Square, at 1-866-404-CNET (2638). Or via e-mail, if you're international, at the404 [at] cnet [dot] com. More guests coming up, including an appearance by Dan the Mantern and Alison Rosen.

Here's a tip. If you want your Zune Originals etching to appear as silver on black, you'll need to grab a model with a black backplate like the black Zune 16 or Zune 120.

(Credit: Microsoft)

If you're going to go with an underdog like Zune, you may as well let your freak flag fly high by getting your player engraved. The Zune Originals online store, which went live last year, allows you to order your Zune MP3 player directly and receive an engraving of artwork or custom text on the back of the device.

There are new designs to select from, as well as new colors and capacities of third-generation Zune. While the Zune Originals engraving launched as a free service last year, the customization will now cost you an extra $10-$15 (depending on your design) on top of the retail price of your Zune.

It may be worth it, however, since Microsoft is stating that the only way for customers to currently get their hands on red, green, pink, and blue versions of the new 16GB Zune is to order directly through the Zune Originals online storefront. Brick and mortar stores will only be seeing the black versions of the new 16GB and 120GB third-generation Zunes (at least, for now).

Here's an interesting post on how to save the Zune over at digital lifestyle blog Last 100. The blogger is Michael Pinto, creative director of Very Memorable Design, a design company that specializes in youth marketing.

To summarize: Microsoft needs a super-cheap Zune--maybe $25--to compete against the $50 iPod Shuffle, and should create limited-edition Zunes associated with fashionable brands, artists, comic books, and sports heroes. He also suggests preloaded content, including selling cheap Zunes loaded with concert recordings immediately after the show ends, as some artists are already doing with flash drives.

Customizable Zune Originals (shown here) are a good idea, but limited-edition Zunes emblazoned with popular brands would be even better, according to one commenter.

(Credit: Microsoft)

Memo to Microsoft: offer this guy a job if you haven't already.

That said, I disagree that Microsoft needs to focus more on the form factor and the fashion instead of the technology. It needs to work on both simultaneously.

I was a fan of the company's original goal of reaching out to hard-core music lovers, similar to how the first Xbox tried to appeal to hard-core gamers with a built-in hard drive and Ethernet port, two features that the PS2 lacked at that time.

But I think that focus got blurry last year when Microsoft tried to move down-market with the flash-based 4GB and 8GB Zunes, which were neither cheap enough to capture the casual youth consumer that Pinto's talking about nor sophisticated enough to take market share away from the high-end iPods.

So yes, cheaper Zunes would be great. But I still think there's room at the high end of the MP3 player market for Music Freak Zune, with features such as a gigantic hard drive (160GB to match the biggest iPod Classic), more EQ choices and volume balancing, support for more codecs (Apple Lossless, Vorbis, and FLAC, for instance), a line-in or built-in microphone for capturing live shows, and an analog recorder in the software for ripping tunes from vinyl, DVDs, and other sources.

They could even build out a competitor to GarageBand and offer it as an add-on to the Zune software--imagine users putting their own tunes onto a Zune then exchanging them wirelessly with other users or posting them on the Zune Social site. Hard-core.

Then sell the high-end device below cost--maybe $300, which is $50 less than the 160GB iPod Classic--and continue to deepen the catalog of music on the Zune Marketplace (3.5 million songs so far, with two-thirds of those now available in DRM-free MP3 format), and I think they'd start to build some serious market share.

Want a red Zune 80 without all the lovey-dovey sentiment? They're now on sale at Zune Originals.

(Credit: Microsoft)

After appearing briefly as the Valentine edition of the Zune 80, today Microsoft has brought back the red version of the Zune 80 through their Zune Originals online store. Unlike the fumbled Valentine's edition, however, these red Zunes won't come cheap. In fact, Zune Originals is now charging an extra $15 for the artwork engraving service that they initially offered free of charge.

Still, for those of you who really want to fly your Zune freak flag high, the red Zune 80 definitely looks like it will get some attention.

You can't accuse me of not putting my money where my mouth is. I paid full price for my custom Zune 80. Let's hope I don't regret it. Click on the photo to view the Zune Originals unboxing image gallery.

(Credit: Donald Bell / CNET Networks)

As a longtime iPod loyalist, I had a lot of mixed emotions ordering a Zune 80 for myself last Sunday. Part of me felt like a traitor, honestly. I thought about my poor 5G video iPod, which had been ignored for weeks at the bottom of my messenger bag while I played with Microsoft's loaner for my review. Now, I'd never abandon my iPod completely, especially considering that part of my job is reviewing the seemingly endless parade of iPod accessories. Still, I figure there's room in my life for another MP3 player, right? I mean, I would be negligent as a digital audio journalist if I didn't order one.

Well, my Zune 80 arrived today, and I can honestly say I have no regrets (so far). I went the custom route and ordered the Zune 80 directly from Microsoft on its ZuneOriginals site, complete with custom artwork. Say what you want about the Zune, but the designers have definitely outdone themselves on packaging details. From the foil-embossed box, to the golden envelope, the entire package from ZuneOriginals felt like it should be holding Lil' Jon's diamond-encrusted Pimp Cup. ... Read more