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Details of Next Gen Zune Surface

Posted by ryuzaki0 on from the better-luck-next-time dept.

KMG writes "Zune Scene has got a scoop about the next generation Microsoft Zune. There will be two new models; a flash memory based and a hard drive based. Zune with HDD will be thinner and have larger storage capacity while the flash based will feature Wi-fi, video playback. So will we see another try from Microsoft to beat Apple's iPod or it will be another vain attempt from the Redmond guys."

11 of 308 comments (clear)

  1. More the Merrier by p0tat03 · · Score: 4, Insightful

    Bring it on I say. MS has shown that they can learn from their mistakes. The difference between the Xbox and 360 being a prime example. MS has the money to burn to keep making mistakes and learning from them. If that means they *eventually* make an iPod killer, so be it. The market needs more competing products, not less.

    1. Re:More the Merrier by LandoCalrizzian · · Score: 3, Insightful

      Microsoft has yet to show that they learn from their mistakes. The keep making mistakes only to see someone else get it right then they either:
      a) Buy out the competition
      b) Copy the competition
      c) Throw more money at the mistake and wait until next-gen to re-try A and B

    2. Re:More the Merrier by shawnce · · Score: 4, Insightful

      players have caught up in terms of functionality and are able to compete on price. What currently still gives the iPod the edge is the integration with the iTMS.
      The funny thing is many of the other players on the market, even when the first iPod shipped, had more (in some cases many more) end user features and/or lower pricing then the iPod. For example a couple players on the market at the time of the iPod could already play videos on screen or output to a TV/monitor. The initial thing the iPod had was FireWire (faster syncing and charging), iTunes (good GUI), and good UI (physical and graphical) with no extraneous features. With that Apple drove into the market and started to win almost immediately. When Apple opened the iPod up to Windows users it started to lose FireWire and gain minimal new features over the years.

      Apple was smart to slowly and systematically bring out new capabilities without making existing functionality more complex... this drove a repurchase tread that feed unit volumes and hype which allowed the iPod and Apple to capture mindshare.

      It is mindshare that makes the iPod truly successful and not any integration with iTunes Music Store.
  2. Great move for both iPod users and other users by thecalster · · Score: 3, Insightful

    Microsoft Zune may not be quite up to the iPod standard but it's getting there. One of the good things about having microsoft join the mp3 player wars is that it will make iPod come out with better updates to their ipod (the 5.5gen ipod was a little weak in the upgrade features). That and with the music copyprotecting systems getting lifted off itunes there is going to be some big changes happening with mp3 players in the future. The competition will make both of their products better.

  3. Re:"Zune Scene"? by geeber · · Score: 3, Insightful

    way to notice. Blatant astroturfing.

    I especially like how the article claims the Zune scene editor just happened to conveniently bump into a MS Zune employee on a business trip and then proceeded to pump him for information...

    Yeah, right. And then monkeys flew out of his butt.

    --
    Download my free songs!
  4. Re:Flash seems to be the way to go.... by soft_guy · · Score: 5, Insightful

    do you really need to tote around your ENTIRE collection in your pocke For the last time .. YES I FUCKING DO!!!!!!

    The reason is that with a larger collection, lets say 12,000 songs, who wants to spend the time to pick which 8,000 song to sync to the device?????

    And when I want to hear something, I want to hear it!

    So, I will not buy an MP3 player that doesn't hold my entire collection of music. I also want TV shows and movies. Eventually I plan to put every movie and TV show I own on DVD onto my computer and sync it to my iPod.

    I like hard drives. I'm not a child - I can carry around an iPod without dropping it.

    --
    Avoid Missing Ball for High Score
  5. Re:Flash seems to be the way to go.... by bberens · · Score: 3, Insightful

    Okay, I'm tired of this. 260,000 MB of mp3s at approximately 1MB/min of music means you have 180 days worth of music if you ran it constantly without ever repeating. Seriously folks, it would probably take at least 5-10 years for you to realistically listen to 260GB of music. I have a hard time believing that you have a) ever listened to all of the music you own and b) have any reasonable use for carrying it all with you on a portable device. 5 days worth of music on constant play with no repeats is a little over 7GB. If that's not enough space for you, then you need a life.

    --
    Check out my lame java blog at www.javachopshop.com
  6. Re:Flash seems to be the way to go.... by Gilmoure · · Score: 3, Insightful

    I like having a choice from all my music, depending on my mood. It's not about trying to listen to all my music all at once. I also have a 1GB shuffle and it sucks when I want to listen to a song I didn't put on it. I suppose it's the same reason I have several thousand books in my house. Choice is cool!

    --
    I drank what? -- Socrates
  7. Re:Xbox 360 is a flop by SetupWeasel · · Score: 4, Insightful

    360 is still has, by leaps and bounds, a far larger installed base than any of the other next-gen consoles. Discounting the Wii (which services a different market entirely), the 360 is selling like hotcakes in comparison to the other major competing next-gen console.

    As long as you don't include its toughest competition, the XBOX 360 is doing batshit-awesome !

  8. Re:Flash seems to be the way to go.... by bberens · · Score: 4, Insightful

    Not to beat a dead horse, but that's sort of my point. You could pick 5 different genres and record 24 contiguous hours of music from each genre on an 8GB portable music device. Contrary to the belief of several posters below super high bit-rate or lossless audio is not really appropriate for portable audio. At 128kb/s it's impossible for anyone to tell the difference between that and CD quality in your car stereo with road noise and other background. The same is said for non-noise-canceling headphones in the office. I mean sure, it's your money and your drive space so do what you want with it. People are just kidding themselves though if they think it's magically superior.

    --
    Check out my lame java blog at www.javachopshop.com
  9. Re:"Zune Scene"? by NeutronCowboy · · Score: 4, Insightful

    I'd venture to say that the astroturfing is about as blatant as that of the infamous Sony PSP Christmas site. Comparisons straight from a marketing handbook (break out one functionality into several bullet points, etc), professional quality product photos (complete with high quality photoshopping of screen quality), completely improbably insider stories (not a single product or marketing manager will divulge info on future products unless that's the plan).... the list goes on.

    Really, really lame. If I want official info, I'd like it without the horrid writing.

    --
    Those who can, do. Those who can't, sue.