Good things are not a-brewing. According to a recent story at Podcasting News, it looks like sooner rather than later the Zune will no longer be “just” a Zune. Looks like Microsoft could be unveiling a new product which would combine the Zune music player with the Danger Sidekick phones. The result? A device that would act more like a iPod than a Zune. On the one hand, I’m happy to see the competition but on the other, I love my Zune too much to even bare the idea of not being able to replace it down the line.
I’m hopeful that by the time I do need a replacement, the price on this fancy new device has lowered significantly or even better, that Microsoft follows Apple and provides a version of the player which doesn’t have the phone capability (I love my N95 thank-you-very-much).
It’ll be interesting to see how this unfolds. For now, you can read all of the speculation over at Podcasting News and then maybe even head over to Zunescene for some concept art. At least we don’t have long to wait. The announcement, if there is one, will be made at the Consumer Electronics Show on January 7th.
I recently added a whole whack of new music to my Zune and for the most part, I haven’t been disappointed. New Kaiser Chiefs and Keane are favourites but I’ve recently, over the last 3 days, discovered a few new things via the Zune Marketplace (which, BTW, rocks). Here’s a taste of what’s likely pounding in my ears as I’m walking around town:
Muse's Supermassive Black Hole
Within Temptation's Somewhere
What else am I listening to? You can find out by checking out my Zune Badge in the sidebar. It's under "Listening To".
I'd been remiss to upgrade my Zune software as soon as it was launched last weekend but Saturday night, while waiting for dinner to cook, and having read some great feedback about the new features included in the Zune 3.0 update, I decided to upgrade.
I downloaded the software and installed it without a glitch (other than the fact that the new software didn't import my Podcasts - bugger), the firmware upgraded with no problems and without deleting everything from my player (BONUS) but I noticed that the Marketplace link was missing from the software. I thought that perhaps I'd had a glitch during the install so I re-installed it and still, no Marketplace tab. WTF? After a little research, I discovered that the new Marketplace, which features some of the best and cool new Zune upgrades, is not available to Canadians. Saddly, what this also means is that aside from not being able to purchase any music, I'm also not allowed to subscibe to podcasts or check out any of the cool free features. Disappointing. Yeah, I can still subscribe to the podcasts but not from the Marketplace which means discovering new music/shows, something which the Zune is getting great points for, is useless to me.
I'm really disappointed by this development but am hopeful that maybe, just maybe, they'll solve this problem soon by giving Canadians a version of the software. That major disappointment aside, I am liking the social aspect of the software which lets me be buddies with people, see what they're listening to and, if the Marketplace thing was working, I'd also be able to check out recommendations based on what I'm listening to. Basically, the same thing that Last.fm does for iTunes except already integrated into the Zune Social community.
I've also updated the sidebar with a "Listening To" widget that shows you exactly what I've listened to since I last synched my Zune!
UPDATE: Just upgraded the Zune software as prompted through the software rather than a clean download and no only did the upgrade not erase my podcasts, it also installed the Marketplace. WTF?
I love my Zune. I love my Zune so much I haven't bothered to go back to my iPod. I still have it but it's being used by hubby in the car - when he actually remembers to take it with him.
The folks at Podcasting News have some information on the recent upgrades to the Zune and the Zune firmware and though they're not all that impressed with the major announcement of the radio channels, I'm not quite so down on Microsoft. Bottom line, I don't use the radio feature all that often but am thrilled that I have that option if I ever do want to use it.
That said, the radio is the least of the updates I care about. The one that caught my eye is that users can now access the Zune Marketplace music store directly from their device when they are in a recognized Wi-Fi hot spot, or through a home wireless network. It's not a huge upgrade I realize, especially for me who hasn't bought any music from the marketplace yet, but it's a step in the right direction. What I didn't see on the list that would be great to do now would be to set up the marketplace to also take credit card payments because at it stands now, I have to buy a Microsoft Card for Credits that can then be exchanged for the mucis/tv - much like the XBox Marketplace.
It was an odd, if busy weekend. Dad decided the time was ripe for installing hardwood int he front room which meant a lot of prep work on Friday night/Saturday morning but he did finish with enough time left for us to re-organize the room before guests started arriving.
Mom and dad decided to have a small BBQ to celebrate 30 years of marriage - talk about low key. So while dad installed hardwood, mom and I cooked like worker bees prepping all the goodies for consumption. Between the cooking, moving everything back into the living room and getting ready for people to arrive, I didn't have much to eat during the day. No problem except that once sis arrived, it turned into a drink fest. No crazy drinking but enough to make me a bit tipsy and overly happy. Here are a few highlights from the evening:
S practices his lift with my little sis.
Sis playing it up. "This is my supermodel pose."
"I've got one too..." [I sense a little Zoolander action here...]
Gosh, little sis is adorable!
I fall into a laughing fit.
Cuz looking suave.
By this point, I was pretty beat and I'm not quite sure who took this video but it's a bit of fun...if only because my hair isn't as crazy as I thought it was. Plus, you see me dance, if you can really call it that...
An explanation on the video. The truncated voices are those of moi and dad. We're listening to Fado and dad thinks its Amalia and I am explaining that it's actually Mariza. And you can't see it but in the background, I'm showing dad my Zune with the album cover as proof.
I thought I'd clear that up 'cause, you know, you might care.
So my new mp3 player arrived last week. Along with the player itself, the Matchstick folks also sent along an AC adapter (handy!) and the premium headphones. The first thing I did: unbox all the little tidbits and install the software. I still haven't tried the headphones but they'll come up in a later installment I'm sure.
My laptop, which acts as my main PC is pretty handy but it's a bit on the slow side so while installing the software, I decided I needed to do some more work so I brought my Eee in for action.
The install of the software itself had a few speedbumps. For some reason, my last WindowsXP update didn't work quite 100% and after a bit of hair pulling, I decided to reboot. That seemed to fix the problem and the software installed without a glitch. I'm pretty impressed with the install. The Zune software migrated in all of my music, along with the podcast feeds from iTunes so I was set to go from the beginning. I had a minor freakout when the player wouldn't turn on. I figured it would come partially charged as most of these things do but not this one. I had to charge it before I could actually check it out.
It sat on the counter for 2 hours charging at which point I checked started my first sync. First things first, I deleted all of the pre-loaded material and started adding music, podcasts and a few photos. The software is fairly intuitive and I didn't have to read any of the instructions on how to use it.
The player itself is pretty nifty. It's a little longer than my iPod but now that I've been using it for a few days, I admit I like the shape of it. It fits nicely into my hand when I'm walking though it's taken a bit of getting used to not being able to squeeze it into some of my pockets - mostly my fault because I'm using some fairly big headphones with a large headphone jack plug.
The other thing I did almost immediately was set up the software at work. I refused to do this with my iPod because iTunes seems to slow down the computers when I run it and the sync on multiple computers has always been a bit troublesome for me. The Zune was no problem. I've added all of my podcasts and set up my Zune as a guest device which lets me add the downloaded shows without losing any of the data already on the device. Very nice.
I'm really liking the basic usages of the device. It's doing all I was doing with my iPod and more than that, I'm able to listen to the radio too. I still haven't tested any of the more advanced settings like uploading video or photos or trying the wireless sync but for the time being, I'm a pretty happy and impressed camper.
A few weeks ago I was approached by the folks at Matchstick, a marketing company specializing in word of mouth marketing. Surprisingly, I'd heard about them through word of mouth, specifically, via local blogger extraordinarie Miss 604. They asked if I'd be interested in filling out a questionare to see if I qualified for an mp3 offer. I took a few minutes, filled it our and a few days later I was contacted via telephone for a few other questions. To make long matters short, I qualified for the offer and was the new owner of a Microsoft Zune. Sweet.
I came home that night and did a bunch of research comparing my current mp3 player, a third generation iPod Nano 8Gb with the Zune 8Gb player I would be getting in the mail. Checking the specs, the two are not that much different. Here are a few of the important ones, side by side:
Music-Up to 24hrs on full charge; Video-Up to 5hrs on full charge
Music-Up to 24hrs on full charge; Video-Up to 4hrs on full charge
Charge Time
1.5hrs (80%); 3hrs for full charge
2hrs (90%); 3hrs for full charge
Radio
Not included (extra)
Built-in
Wireless
Not included
Built-in (up to 30ft range)
On specs alone, the players are pretty much identical though the Zune is slightly longer than the iPod. The size difference is minimal and when you consider that the Zune also has a wireless sync option and the built in radio while they both cost about the same...the Zune seems to be the better of the two. Where on earth was this player when I was shopping for a replacement last year after the death of my Sansa?
More info to come. For now, let's just say I'm ready to start playing!
