zune 2
Music
Zune 8GB Gets $20 Price Cut, Now $179.99 at Major Retailers
2:40AM Haroon Malik | The 8GB Zune seems to have received a no-fuss US$20 price cut. The reduction has not taken effect across the board, but we’ve managed to track the US$179.99 8GB Zune to Amazon, Best Buy, Circuit City and Buy.com, all without any official word. Buy.com are only currently offering the black 8GB Zune at the knocked down price point, but we expect their systems may not have been updated just yet. Either way, you can now get your mitts on an 8GB Zune for US$179.99 from a string of the major retailers, which means the 4GB player costs US$30 less for half the capacity. More price cutting on the horizon? It would make sense. AU: I would have thought a better option to increase sales would be to actually make the product available outside the US. But that’s just me. Not a bad deal if you can find an online retailer who’ll ship internationally though. [Bostonpocketpc] More »
Gadgets
Microsoft Year-End Report Card: B-
6:00AM Wilson Rothman | Well, Redmond, it’s been a funny year, hasn’t it? Even if you ignore those Apple commercials, it’s hard to ignore the fact that Vista was probably one of the main reasons people switched to the Mac OS, or to third-party Linux-based systems. We’ll get to the big V—and that other mighty stain Windows Mobile—in a bit, but first you deserve much credit for some impressive feats in gaming, entertainment and home networking. More »
Gadgets
Popular Mechanics Call Zune 2, Apple TV ‘Worst of the Year’
9:11AM Adam Frucci | Popular Mechanics knows how to get people pissed off. They just released their “Worst of the Year” list, and while much of it is the time of crap that I’ve never heard of that I’m sure is lousy. it has some stuff on it that quite a few people might actually, you know, like. Such as Apple TV, Zune 2 and Pleo. What were they thinking? More »
Gadgets
Question of the Day: How Many PMPs Do You Own?
12:15PM Jason Chen | We’ve been buying digital portable MP3 players since they only hold about one album (or read MP3s off burned CDs), but we’re flying high with our Zunes and iPods now. So here’s a question for you: how many PMPs do you own? List them all in the comments and say which ones you currently use. We’re loving our iPhones, iPods and Zunes, but we’re also rocking out to the Cowon Q5Ws for long road trips and aeroplane rides. More »
Zune Almost Matches iPod Battery Specs
4:12AM Jason Chen | The battery life specs are in on the new Zunes, and they match up pretty well to the latest iPods. The Zune 80 will get 30 hours on audio and 4 hours on video, and the 4 and 8GB flash Zunes will get 24 hours audio and 4 hours video. In comparison, the 80GB iPod classic has 30/5 (equal in audio, one more hour in video), and the iPod Nanos get 24/5 (again, equal in audio but one up in video). You can chalk up that slightly worse video performance to the larger screens on the Zunes—which we’d prefer over a smaller screen and slightly longer life. [Zune Insider] More »
Zune 2 Roundup
10:10AM Jason Chen | Asleep when all the Zune news was announced last night? Here’s your chance to catch up. From Zune details to UI videos, it’s all here: • More Zune 2 Details: Lossless Support, Glass Screens, Green is the New Brown • Gates Talks Zune 2 • First Video of Zune 2 and Flash Zune • First-Gen Zune Getting All The New Features: This is How You Treat Your Customers • Sizemodo: Zunes vs. iPods • Zune 2 and Flash Zune Official • First Official Zune 2 and Zune Flash Photos AU: Microsoft is yet to release official details about the new Zunes’ presence in Australia but we’ll be sure to keep you posted if we so much as hear a murmur. -AK More »
Zune US Release Date Confirmed: 13 November
7:31AM Jason Chen | Microsoft’s just confirmed with us the November 13 US release date of the new Zunes—previously stated by Amazon. Whether or not the firmware for the old Zune is coming on 13/11 is still unconfirmed. More »
J Allard Finally Photographed In Public With Zune
6:00AM Jason Chen | We’re not sure why this was a policy, but J Allard famously avoided being photographed with a Zune starting from the launch last year up until this week. Seriously, go try and find a picture of him with a Zune. It’s impossible! Apparently his shame for the generation 1 product is over, since he proudly held up a Zune at the Microsoft event Tuesday. Welcome to the Social, J. More »
Microsoft Aims Zune at #2 Spot
5:00AM Jason Chen | Microsoft’s Entertainment and Devices Devision President Robbie Bach suffers no delusions about unseating the iPod this year. He says that the new Zune Updates can put the company into the solid #2 spot for the overall portable music player market by the end of the next fiscal year (which ends June 2008) now that the Zunes are “where they probably should have been last year, when they launched”. Bill Gates says that the Zune is part of a 10-year plan to build a digital entertainment business, of which the Xbox 360 is definitely a big part of. Whether they’ll tie the Zune and the 360 (just like the Zune got some Media Center integration) is unknown, but probably coming. Robbie Bach also wants everyone to know that “this is going to be an Apple-Microsoft” thing, reiterating that not just are they aiming for #2, eventually they want to be #1. [Seattle PI] [Financial Times] More »
