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Microsoft Announces Zune Specs

Thursday, September 14th, 2006 at 1:50 PM - by

Microsoft officially revealed the specifications for its first Zune media player on Thursday. It didn't, however, reveal the unit's price, or exactly when it will be on store shelves - only that it will be available "this holiday season."

The first Zune will include a 30GB hard drive, 3-inch color LCD screen, a built-in FM tuner, wireless networking that lets other Zune users listen to your music, plays music and videos, displays pictures, and will come pre-loaded with several songs. It will be available in three colors: black, white, and brown.


Microsoft's Zune.

Along with the music player, Microsoft also announced its Zune music download service, dubbed Zune Marketplace. The service will offer individual tracks for sale along with a subscription package.

Microsoft's Zune offers a few things that Apple's iPod does not: a 3-inch display instead of a 2.5-inch display, wireless networking, and the color brown.

This is Microsoft's first attempt to dethrone Apple's iPod, and it has a long battle ahead of it. The iPod holds over 75 percent of the digital media player market, and the iTunes Store is the most popular legit music and video download service.

The iPod also has an easy to use interface that other players are measured by - an interface that Microsoft will have to work hard to match in terms of usability. The Zune is also limited in that it only works with Windows-based PCs. The iPod is both Mac and Windows compatible.

J Allard, Microsoft's vice president of design and development, commented "The digital music entertainment revolution is just beginning. With Zune, we are not simply delivering a portable device, we are introducing a new platform that helps bring artists closer to their audiences and helps people find new music and develop new social connections."

Based on the success of the iPod+iTunes juggernaut, it looks like Microsoft missed that the digital music entertainment revolution started about five years ago.

31 comments from the community.

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Biff said:

member since 08 Apr 2004 with 1479 posts, unranked, send him a message or view his profile

Thu Sep 14, 2006 2:16 pm

LOL. Brown. That's classic.

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KitsuneStudios said:

member since 25 Oct 2001 with 2490 posts, unranked, send him a message or view his profile

Thu Sep 14, 2006 2:25 pm

Also available in Navy, Kahki and pinstripe.

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Edison Carter said:

member since 10 Aug 2006 with 228 posts, unranked, send him a message or view his profile

Thu Sep 14, 2006 2:27 pm

Biff wrote:
LOL. Brown. That's classic.

Yes, that cracked me up, but it has some things going for it. It is not too conspicuous, it is kind of retro looking, warm and inviting instead of the cold snow color or stark black. The Nano iPods are metallic. Of course you can always add color, and texture, to your iPod using a case/cover, or pay to have it painted.

For me it is iTunes that really make the iPod my player of choice.

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kevdo said:

member since 09 Dec 2004 with 54 posts, unranked, send him a message or view his profile

Thu Sep 14, 2006 2:42 pm

The highly touted screen is still only QVGA (a fancy way or saying 320x240, same as the iPod only with larger pixels). There was some talk of this thing being priced at $299, though after Tuesday I can't see how anyone would purchase at that price.

I'd like to know more about the dimensions and weight of this thing. Looks heavy and thick.

Oh yeah... brown? This thing makes SanDisk's offerings look positively refined!

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tethernaut said:

member since 14 Sep 2006 with 3 posts, unranked, send him a message or view his profile

Thu Sep 14, 2006 3:41 pm

Biff wrote:
LOL. Brown. That's classic.

"Ladies and Gentlemen... now, introducing the next iPod Killer... the MicroSoft iPoop!"

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Biff said:

member since 08 Apr 2004 with 1479 posts, unranked, send him a message or view his profile

Thu Sep 14, 2006 3:44 pm

I would love to see the market research they did that determined brown was a top pick for color. Maybe the focus groups were secretely a bunch of anti-MS people.

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Bosco said:

member since 03 Jun 2002 with 1002 posts, unranked, send him a message or view his profile

Thu Sep 14, 2006 4:00 pm

Brown is the new Orange.

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Intruder said:

member since 07 Jul 2004 with 3149 posts, TMO Mac Specialist, send him a message or view his profile

Thu Sep 14, 2006 4:41 pm

Biff wrote:
I would love to see the market research they did that determined brown was a top pick for color. Maybe the focus groups were secretely a bunch of anti-MS people.

Same group that liked Dalmatian and Flower Power iMacs.

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Bosco said:

member since 03 Jun 2002 with 1002 posts, unranked, send him a message or view his profile

Thu Sep 14, 2006 5:07 pm

OK, I've thought about this brown Zune and now I understand. It's the limited edition "UPS Zune".

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burrito said:

member since 07 Aug 2005 with 177 posts, unranked, send him a message or view his profile

Thu Sep 14, 2006 5:34 pm

i guess microsoft feels the need to prove to the world that their products really are s**t..

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stuartea said:

member since 08 Aug 2005 with 327 posts, unranked, send him a message or view his profile

Thu Sep 14, 2006 7:00 pm

Zune rhymes with Tune. oooh

Having a wide screen is good (for those who like watching video on a little screen) although it's actually at the same 320 Ч 240 as the iPod.

Erm, sharing tracks, hmm being I'm not at school and want to go ooh let's have that track cool yeah awesome, it's really a friggin useless feature.

Analogue radio won't exist in the UK soon enough.

Lots of people will buy them.

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A guest said: (hide)

Fri Sep 15, 2006 12:45 pm

Biff wrote:
LOL. Brown. That's classic.

In reading another forum the term "iPoop" was coined to describe the brown MS Zune

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A guest said: (hide)

Fri Sep 15, 2006 1:13 pm

tethernaut wrote:
Biff wrote:
LOL. Brown. That's classic.

"Ladies and Gentlemen... now, introducing the next iPod Killer... the MicroSoft iPoop!"

bwahahah...iPOOP, nice! or maybe iBRICK...that brown variant really represents that guy from the I'm a MAC/I'm a PC ad. Can't wait for this to be the subject of the next MAC TV ads, im an iPOD, im a ZUNE

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Ahnyer Keester said:

member since 25 Jun 2001 with 663 posts, unranked, send him a message or view his profile

Fri Sep 15, 2006 1:34 pm

The thing that strikes me as weak is the "scroll wheel". It isn't, it's just four direction selection buttons disguised as a scroll wheel.

Brown is the new poop. Or old poop. Or just poop.

The menu backgrounds are too busy for me too. The "ooh, pretty colors" effect wore thin real quick.

I do like the Bluetooth or WiFi or whatever the file sharing thingy is. Cool. However, this is being implemented by Microsoft and so there will be 10-year old children writing code to copy all the music of any Zune in range and replace it all with Xavier Cugat organ music within the first week of its release.

I wish iPods had bigger screens with the same sized pixels.

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geoduck said:

member since 30 Dec 2003 with 1922 posts, unranked, send him a message or view his profile

Fri Sep 15, 2006 1:46 pm

This is so typical Microsoft. They announce something and build the hype with implied and leaked features. When it finally gets here everyone is paying attention and whatever it is ends up being fairly mediocre without many of the features people were expecting. Vista, Zune, the list goes on and on.

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A guest said: (hide)

Fri Sep 15, 2006 3:33 pm

I actually do like the portrait->landscape rotation for different types of content... full-width album art with metadata and controls below for music, flip the unit on its side for widescreen while viewing video. It strikes me as something that's too clever for MS to have come up with on its own, and I suspect they ripped the idea off from some other device I'm not familiar with.

Overall the hardware is pretty blech, but where they may have an advantage is the service side and sharing. If they worked out a deal with the labels such that users who sign up for music under the subscription model were allowed to do podcasts with anything offered on the music store, at least to other users who also had subscriptions... that would be big, big viral marketing potential. Unlimited "mixtapes" for your friends with anything on the ITMS? I'd sign up for that in an instant of it were available on the Mac.

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Ahnyer Keester said:

member since 25 Jun 2001 with 663 posts, unranked, send him a message or view his profile

Fri Sep 15, 2006 4:27 pm

The guest is on to something. I was opining the other day that what makes the iPod such a success is not good looks alone. It is good looks and the iTMS. You can get content at a good price that you own.

Microsoft can come up with something as good looking as an iPod (mmmm-aaaaa-hhahahahahhhahaaahaha. Almost said it with a straight face!!) but until they can beat the deal the iTMS gives and the content, it won't matter. That is why other iPod competitors have not faired well.

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A guest said: (hide)

Fri Sep 15, 2006 4:54 pm

MySpace is fugly and slow but it is a big hit. Customizable ugly screens and a subscription model might work in the schoolyard. If a parent can shell out c.$150 for a flash based model and then the kid gets the music subscription you might see M$ doing OK with the Zune.

Explorer and Pocket PC (or whatever) did win.

I am a Mac/Camino/Palm/iPod guy but I am also 40 something and this disqualifies me from seeing the appeal of The New Ugly Thing.

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coaten said:

member since 10 Oct 2001 with 3071 posts, unranked, send him a message or view his profile

Fri Sep 15, 2006 10:23 pm

Ahnyer Keester wrote:
The guest is on to something. I was opining the other day that what makes the iPod such a success is not good looks alone. It is good looks and the iTMS. You can get content at a good price that you own.

Microsoft can come up with something as good looking as an iPod (mmmm-aaaaa-hhahahahahhhahaaahaha. Almost said it with a straight face!!) but until they can beat the deal the iTMS gives and the content, it won't matter. That is why other iPod competitors have not faired well.

I'll share something with you about Apple's attitude to the iPod.

"It's not hardware, it's a software device." And that's from Apple Australia's iPod product manager, who went on to assert that nobody can offer the same seamless integration between player and software as Apple does. He said Wednesday that many people try to copy the iPod and some make good products, but none come close to the ease of use that iPod/iTunes users enjoy.

I'm sure Apple is very pleased when people believe that. I do.

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A guest said: (hide)

Sat Sep 30, 2006 12:21 am

Also that will definately keep me going towards the IPod, is the technical support. As soon as there is something a little wrong with my IPod, it gets exchanged for a completely brand new one. No ?'s asked. I had a 4th generation Ipod that had hd problems(quite a common malfunction) and was about a year and half old, they replaced it straight away. I sold it on ebay and bought myself the 5th generation IPod. I prayed for something to go wrong with it because it got so scrathed and once something did, they replaced my 5th generation IPod. I did not have to wait weeks for it to get repaired. It was an instant process. I have been a little more careful with my latest IPod and i am loving it. 5 stars to Apples customer support!!!

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A guest said: (hide)

Sun Oct 01, 2006 2:46 am

GET IT. IT'S BROWN, SO IT'S LIKE POOP, HAHAHAHA.

Grow up.

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A guest said: (hide)

Sun Oct 01, 2006 2:47 am

geoduck wrote:
This is so typical Microsoft. They announce something and build the hype with implied and leaked features. When it finally gets here everyone is paying attention and whatever it is ends up being fairly mediocre without many of the features people were expecting. Vista, Zune, the list goes on and on.

Actually, it doesn't. You just named two things and stopped.

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A guest said: (hide)

Sun Oct 01, 2006 2:50 am

kevdo wrote:

I'd like to know more about the dimensions and weight of this thing. Looks heavy and thick.

Heavy? UH OH. LOOK OUT GUYS. IT MIGHT WAY AN EXTRA 2OZ.

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A guest said: (hide)

Sun Oct 01, 2006 2:52 am

Edison Carter wrote:

For me it is iTunes that really make the iPod my player of choice.

Hahaha. It's the CPU usage whore that is 'iTunes' that hooked you?

Sad.

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A guest said: (hide)

Sun Oct 01, 2006 2:56 am

Edison Carter wrote:

For me it is iTunes that really make the iPod my player of choice.

Errrrr, yeah. About that:

" Import your music. Zune software can automatically import your existing music, pictures and videos from iTunes and Windows Media® Player in a variety of formats "

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A guest said: (hide)

Wed Dec 27, 2006 2:48 am

I got the Zune this holiday season, and I like it fine. I chose the Zune over the iPod because it was the Tech Toy of the year for men. Its just as good if not better then the iPod if you buy it for what it is meant to do, play music. I personally do not car if it has a click wheel or is the most popular. It may be the same pixels but it is still bigger right?

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LaurieF said:

member since 15 Jun 2001 with 3547 posts, TMO Forum Mod, send him a message or view his profile

Wed Dec 27, 2006 7:09 am

As long as you're happy, I'm happy. I prefer my iPod(s) and iTunes. I think they're better. You think your Zune is better. I personally don't care whether my iPod is white or cacky brown. So there you go.

As for the screen being bigger, well, yes it is. Nobody will deny that. But it doesn't mean that the picture looks better.

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tbone1 said:

member since 13 Jul 2001 with 3981 posts, TMO Staff, send him a message or view his profile

Wed Dec 27, 2006 8:44 am

Anonymous wrote:
It may be the same pixels but it is still bigger right?

Yes, it goes to 11.

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coaten said:

member since 10 Oct 2001 with 3071 posts, unranked, send him a message or view his profile

Wed Dec 27, 2006 7:11 pm

Anonymous wrote:
Edison Carter wrote:

For me it is iTunes that really make the iPod my player of choice.

Hahaha. It's the CPU usage whore that is 'iTunes' that hooked you?

Sad.

RC, is that you? Come on, boy. Yeah, here you go, fella, I've got some chow for ya. Want some water, too? There you go. Good boy.

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LaurieF said:

member since 15 Jun 2001 with 3547 posts, TMO Forum Mod, send him a message or view his profile

Wed Dec 27, 2006 8:03 pm

Anonymous wrote:
Hahaha. It's the CPU usage whore that is 'iTunes' that hooked you?

Sad.
Sad? No I'm happy. Running iTunes right now, locally and through two remote sets of speakers (through Airport Expresses), my CPU usage is ticking over at 6.5%.

So, are you Reality Check's bastard son, or what?

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coaten said:

member since 10 Oct 2001 with 3071 posts, unranked, send him a message or view his profile

Wed Dec 27, 2006 9:54 pm

Anonymous wrote:
Edison Carter wrote:

For me it is iTunes that really make the iPod my player of choice.

Errrrr, yeah. About that:

" Import your music. Zune software can automatically import your existing music, pictures and videos from iTunes and Windows Media® Player in a variety of formats "

But not those with iTunes Store-derived DRM. So if you bought from the iTS, those files will not transfer.

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