The Zune was a really good media player that should have been a success. Except it was always late to the party. A party full of white earbud wearers who left the Zune to die alone. More »
Like Zune’s own Business Development Manager once said, all consumer electronics products have a lifespan, and today the (not so long) lineage of dedicated Zune hardware expires not with a roar, but with a promise to honor its warranties. Tucked away in the inner chambers of the Zune support site lies a page spelling out Microsoft’s final words on the device, “Windows Phone will be the focus of our mobile music and video strategy,” it says, “we will no longer be producing Zune players.” The Zune HD is survived by the Zune music service, which will continue to function with straggling standalone media players, as well as the Windows desktop, Windows Phone and Xbox platforms.
Zune is dead, long live Zune originally appeared on Engadget on Mon, 03 Oct 2011 23:01:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.
Hard to believe that Microsoft’s been offering consumers the ability to customize their Zune purchases for the better part of four years now, but as they say, all unbelievable things must one day face reality. Er, something to that effect. Without so much as a heads-up, the designers in Redmond have apparently decided to shutter the Zune Originals storefront. As of this weekend, no new orders for highly personalized Zunes are being taken, with interested Earthlings encouraged to throw creativity to the wind and opt for a mass produced alternative within Best Buy or Walmart. So, you’re looking at two tidbits of import: if you placed your Originals order at 5PM PT on July 1st, you likely have quite the coveted device headed your way, and if you ever needed evidence that Microsoft was making WP7 its next Zune, well… you’re welcome.
[Thanks to everyone who sent this in]
Zune Originals shut down, humans revert to being average and uncreative originally appeared on Engadget on Mon, 04 Jul 2011 07:47:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.
With Windows Phone 7 offering full Zune functionality and then some, the new mobile OS has clearly created a surplus of lower-capacity Zune HD devices, causing Microsoft to respond with a rather significant price drop. Typically, a discount would indicate an imminent refresh, but we doubt that’s the case here. The 16GB Zune HD has shaved off $30, to $169.99, and you can now grab the 32GB version for $199.99 — the same price you would have paid for the 16 gig before the drop, and nearly $100 less than the $299 you’ll spend on a 32GB iPod touch. The 64GB model is holding fast at $349.99, but with a $70 plunge on the mid-capacity model, you might have just enough cash left over for that tattoo you’ve always dreamed of.
[Thanks, Daniel]
16GB Zune HD drops to $169, edging closer to EOL? originally appeared on Engadget on Wed, 04 May 2011 09:59:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.
The future of the Zune as a standalone media player is still a little in doubt, but its future of being able to send crucially important e-mails and, in return, get a boatload of spam is now fully assured. A free e-mail app has been added to the Zune Marketplace supporting Gmail, Windows Live Mail, and of course good ‘ol POP3 accounts. Unfortunately all we have to gaze upon is that tiny screenshot over on the right, but it certainly looks familiar enough to fit right into the Zune ecosphere without making any waves. Just make sure you don’t go looking for your Steely Dan collection inside the unread folder.
[Thanks to everyone who sent this in]
Zune HD finally gets an e-mail application, still waiting on a future originally appeared on Engadget on Sat, 02 Apr 2011 18:41:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.
Microsoft is still offering neither a firm confirmation nor a denial of yesterday’s Bloomberg report citing those “familiar with the decision” that Zune-specific hardware, a la the Zune HD, is dead. Now, much like last time, folks from the Zune team are rebutting those claims — sort of. Dave McLauchlan, Senior Business Development Manager for Zune, made a long statement in the anythingbutipod forums, but he stopped well short of saying that the Zune hardware platform is alive and kicking. Here’s a taste:
ALL consumer electronics products have a lifespan, and the Zune HD is 18mo old. We were completely frank about this year’s Zune hardware being the WP7 phones, and we continue to both sell and fully support the Zune HD line of products. And as I’ve promised – we continue to bring new apps and games to the platform. More of those are in the works, I promise you.
The big question is whether that 18 month old Zune HD will ever get a phone-free replacement. Whether it’s WP7 or nothing from here. That is what Zune fans want to know, and as of now they still don’t.
[Thanks, Ed]
Continue reading Microsoft says Zune isn’t exactly dead, that it doesn’t want to go in the cart
Microsoft says Zune isn’t exactly dead, that it doesn’t want to go in the cart originally appeared on Engadget on Tue, 15 Mar 2011 13:23:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.
Microsoft reportedly kills off Zune hardware, will focus on software instead originally appeared on Engadget on Mon, 14 Mar 2011 16:38:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.
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We still have only an official non-denial from Microsoft about the continued livelihood of the name “Zune” as a brand, but now we have Zune Insider saying “Zune is not dead.” Indeed we already knew that, but the question is what’s coming in the future with Windows Phone seemingly getting all the company’s attention of late. The future we still don’t know about, but we do have some news about the present for Canadians: the Zune HD! Yes, our friendly neighbors to the north need no longer look south to purchase Microsoft’s latest entry to the Zune series — though “latest” is a somewhat sad designation for hardware that was released in 2009. However, there’s still no Marketplace available: it’ll strictly be a BYO tunage affair for now.
Zune Insider reminds that Zune isn’t dead, announces Zune HD launch in Canada originally appeared on Engadget on Mon, 21 Feb 2011 18:54:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.
We’ve been begging Microsoft to somehow add Mac compatibility to the Zune for years, and it looks like there’s a tiny little ray of hope buried in Redmond’s Windows Phone 7 Connector for OS X: a simple plist modification will let it sync the Zune HD as well. That really shouldn’t be any big surprise, since WP7’s media interface is built on top of Zune, but at least it’s something — although we’re still hoping and wishing for the full Zune suite (and Zune Pass) to make its way to the Mac someday.
Zune HD Mac support secretly hidden in Windows Phone 7 Connector software originally appeared on Engadget on Mon, 10 Jan 2011 16:16:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.
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We’ve been begging Microsoft to somehow add Mac compatibility to the Zune for years, and it looks like there’s a tiny little ray of hope buried in Redmond’s Windows Phone 7 Connector for OS X: a simple plist modification will let it sync the Zune HD as well. That really shouldn’t be any big surprise, since WP7’s media interface is built on top of Zune, but at least it’s something — although we’re still hoping and wishing for the full Zune suite (and Zune Pass) to make its way to the Mac someday.
Zune HD Mac support secretly hidden in Windows Phone 7 connecter software originally appeared on Engadget on Mon, 10 Jan 2011 16:16:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.
Permalink Download Squad | Zuneboards | Email this | Comments
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