Next Generation Zune Coming for Holiday Season

thefickler writes "Microsoft has confirmed the existence and coming launch of the long rumored Zune 2.0 or 2nd generation Zune, and it appears that Microsoft will expand the Zune family with new styles, sizes, and price points. 'Future Zune products will feature podcasting support and expanded video support. The Zune will also move into other geographic markets when Microsoft feels it has an appealing product to offer those demographics. Perhaps most importantly of all, the representative mentioned that Microsoft will build on the wireless support. Maybe we'll finally have the freedom of synching our digital audio players via wi-fi. The rep didn't mention anything specific about Microsoft's rumored answer to the iPod Shuffle. But interesting rumors from sources considered "reliable" point to a very innovative product.'"

Comments

expanding customer base?

[poetmatt]

I think I just heard the zune customer base may jump from 5 users to 6 this holiday season. Confirmed?

Innovative?!!

[gooman]

rumors from sources considered "reliable" point to a very innovative product

GAAA! Don't do that! I just laughed milk through my nose.

Innovation and Microsoft... too funny.

This made front page?

[Kazrael]

Does anyone actually care?

Re:So MS is pretty content...

[gig]

Why would you expect the biggest name in typewriter replacement to be competitive in consumer electronics? What has MS ever done that was not at least a generation behind? The Zune 1.0 was a Gigabeat 2.0.

Microsoft sells to IT and business, they have no idea about consumers. Why expect them to? Did you see some promise in the Zune or the Xbox that the buying public missed? The only good news on the Xbox is they won't have to repair all the unsold ones.

What Web browser are they going to put in the Zune? Pocket IE is baby Web but IE is Intel only and as we all know is a deeply integrated part of the Windows typewriter. Where is MS in Web 2.0? They're not in any position to compete with Apple or Google.

False choices. Baa-aa-aaa-aaad.

[twitter]

On the other hand, "rented" music allows you to sample a much wider variety of music than if you had to pay for it all. $15 will buy you 15 songs on iTunes forever, or it will buy you an "infinite" (limited by what's available on the Zune Marketplace) amount of music for one month.

Or you could just stick to the infinite supply of free and legal music from archive.org, magnatune.com and so on and so forth. The majors have never been fresh and they are looking more and more like the Chicago Stock Yards every day - cruel, exploitative, low quality and easily circumvented.

So turn off the wireless when you're not actively looking for or sharing with other Zune players.

You trust Microsoft to let you turn off advertising? The "features" existence should tell you that's not an option that will last, even if you knew nothing at all about their software. In the M$ stock yards, advertisers are the customers and people are the sheep.