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Wednesday, April 4, 2007
New Marketing Comain, Colors on the Way
Posted by Aaron Roma in "Zune Talk" @ 08:46 PM
"Microsoft is planning a new marketing blitz for its Zune portable media player ahead of the expected launch of new colours and new models later this year. The new advertising campaign will focus on features that differentiate the Zune from competitors..."
Prepare yourself for a second marketing wave coming from the Zune team. According to PCPro, Microsoft will be kicking off another round of marketing just in time for the release of the new pink Zune next month followed by another "vibrant" color. Here's hoping it's an orange model. Orange is about the only color that can get me to pass Brown on to my wife. Speaking of Brown, the article also mentions talk of the Zune team dropping the infamous brown color, citing negative press. Obviously there's been much criticism of the brown color from the anti-Zune crowd, but I had the impression that this color had sold quite well. (Everyone that has seen mine has loved the color.) I'm all for new marketing and colors, but I'd much rather see Microsoft step up to the plate with some major firmware and software upgrades in lieu of the bug fixes we've seen to date.
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News Flash: 33% of Listeners Want FM Tuners
Posted by Damion Chaplin in "Zune Talk" @ 11:00 AM
"In a Jacobs Media survey conducted between late February and March of 2007, approximately 33% of respondents in a survey consisting of over 25,000 listeners of various rock stations around the United States cited that they'd like FM radio playback on current or future iPods. Jacobs Media operates as a radio consulting firm within the United States. The poll also established that an FM playback ability seemed more important to users than an increased storage capacity, larger screen or video playback according to Macworld UK. To date, Apple has never included a built-in FM receiver with its iPod devices, leaving third-party firms to provide these features. Microsoft's Zune MP3 player, which debuted in late 2006, made a point of including FM radio support and marketing this as a missing feature not found on the iPod."
Wait a second here, 33% of radio listeners want radio tuners in their MP3 players? Shocking. Actually, I'm amazed that percentage is so low. Why would radio listeners not want an FM tuner in their player? Do they think it adds considerable cost to the device? Many manufacturers (namely everyone but Apple) proved that wrong long ago. So what's Apple's stubbornness here? Why is it they don't want people listening to the radio on their iPod? Because then they won't be interested in buying more tunes from iTunes? I suspect that's part of the reason, but as usual Apple's true motivations remain obscure.
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Tuesday, April 3, 2007
Don't Rely On Your Zune as a Backup Tool
Posted by Jason Dunn in "Zune Talk" @ 02:12 PM
"So I updated the Zune software and well after I did it didnt [sic] work. I had to uninstall [sic] and reinstall. Well, after you do that, the Zune Software sees your Zune as foreign and reformats it for ya to work with your new library. But, I forgot I had converted the first 40 Star Trek TOS episodes for the Zune already and deleted them from my PC. Now they are gone. I am doomed to repeat that 2 day process I fear. Somebody hold me."
I feel for the guy - I really do. It's ridiculous that the Zune couldn't update it's firmware without losing the partnership information, and it's even more ridiculous how easy it is to lose the content on your Zune. But...(and you knew this was coming), relying on a Zune, or any portable media player for that matter, as the one and only source for your video files is a really bad move. The partnership information on the Zune doesn't appear to be particularly reliable - two weeks ago, prior to the 1.3 firmware update, I synchronized my Zune - and it claimed it was a new partnership and helpfully offered to nuke all the content on my Zune. I hadn't updated or changed anything, yet it lost the partnership information. Has anything similar happened to you?
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Friday, March 30, 2007
Zune Desktop Software 1.3 Released
Posted by Jason Dunn in "Zune Software" @ 02:25 PM
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Five Ways to Make the Zune a Success
Posted by Damion Chaplin in "Zune Talk" @ 01:00 PM
"Five months after its introduction, industry experts give Microsoft Corp.'s Zune media player barely passing grades in terms of its marketplace success while Microsoft insists the device is on course... So far, Microsoft has failed in one of their market goals -- to take market share from Apple Inc.'s iPods, Rubin and Chen agreed. Rather, it has taken sales away from smaller vendors, most notably Creative Labs, which previously was in second place behind Apple... To put the hurt on iPod, Microsoft must deal with some serious issues, the analysts agreed. Here are five steps they said Microsoft must take to get itself into the game."
An interesting article over at Computerworld listing five thing that Microsoft should do if they want to ensure the Zune's success. I won't list the five things here (you'll have to read the article ;-) ), but I agree with every one or them (though I think the last one should really be two different items). What things do you think Microsoft needs to do with the Zune in order to make it truly competitive? Personally I think if they just made sure the Zune could do everything the iPod does that would be a giant step in the right direction.
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Wednesday, March 28, 2007
Video Review of Griffin Centerstage Case
Posted by Aaron Roma in "Zune Accessories" @ 03:30 PM
Zunerama has published a nice video review of Griffin's centerstate Zune case.
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Connect Your Zune, The 1.3 Firmware is Ready
Posted by Jason Dunn in "Zune Hardware" @ 12:56 PM
- "We’re fixing the skipping problem that some users were experiencing – that is, content acquired from Zune Marketplace will no longer skip when played on the device.
- Improved device and software reliability, when it comes to device detection, and improved sync'ing.
- We’ve made some changes to the FM Tuner so it no longer drains the battery when in sleep mode."
If for some reason your Zune doesn't automatically detect the new firmware, in the Zune software you can right-click on your device name (over on the left-hand column) and force it to check for new firmware. I don't have the ability to update my Zune at the moment, so I can't test this firmware update, but if you do please report back with any general impressions or problems you've had with it.
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Tuesday, March 27, 2007
Want eBooks? Will JPEG-Books Be OK?
Posted by Damion Chaplin in "Zune Content Creation & Management" @ 07:00 PM
"JPEGBook is a third party program which will automatically convert your text into a JPEG file suitable within the Zune dimensions. Now that’s called original! I’m not too sure on what to do with books that seem a bit too long, but I’m sure that if you can cope with reading hundreds of JPEGs, such quantities won’t be a problem. Also, some flair or excitement could be added to the whole deal, but I’m sure that such a program will continue to develop further."
Hmmm, interesting, though I can't imagine scrolling through a 300-page (I mean 300-JPEG) book using this. It is, however, quite imaginitive, and for someone who just can't get enough ebooks, this may be just the thing. Though I would venture that anyone that into ebooks probably already has a full-functioned ebook reader (like a Pocket PC). Any ebook fans here want to give it a spin? You can download it here (it's about 1/4 down the Japanese-only page).
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Zune for $199 at Officemax
Posted by Damion Chaplin in "Zune Hardware" @ 05:00 PM
"Until next Saturday, the Zune is on sale at OfficeMax. You can buy you black or white Zune at $199 with instant rebate. This is $50 off the retail price and shipping is also incuded."
Pretty good deal here: $50 instant rebate and free shipping and it's valid until Saturday. If you've been waiting to order your Zune, now may be the time you've been waiting for...
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- Source: www.cliczune.com
Sunday, March 25, 2007
Zune Marketplace: Weekly Freebies
Posted by Darius Wey in "Zune Media" @ 10:45 AM
"Matadjem Yinmixan" by Tinariwen
Genre: World
Length: 5:45
To learn more about Tinariwen, visit the Zune Marketplace.
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Previous stories
- Friday, March 23, 2007
- Misconceptions About Zune WiFi Sharing: Random versus Purposeful [2 replies]
- Thursday, March 22, 2007
- EB Games Releasing Light Pink Zune? [2 replies]
- Certification for Zune Software Encoders? [1 reply]
- Wednesday, March 21, 2007
- Yeah, The Zune Firmware Update is Late. So What? [22 replies]
- Monday, March 19, 2007
- Zune, P.I. [2 replies]
- Bomb-proof Your Zune
- Friday, March 16, 2007
- Zune Marketplace: Weekly Freebies
- Razer Pro Developing Keyboard With Zune Dock [3 replies]
- Thursday, March 15, 2007
- Zune for $179.99 at OfficeMax
- Wednesday, March 14, 2007
- Guerrilla Marketer Arrested at South by Southwest [3 replies]
- MacWay's i.Sound MovieTime Universal Dock
- Hack To Remove "Guest" Syncing Feature
- Tuesday, March 13, 2007
- More Proof of Zune Gaming [4 replies]
- Saturday, March 10, 2007
- Microsoft Australia Warns Against Early Adoption of Zune
- ZuneTVWatcher: MCE to Zune Conversion [2 replies]
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Top Stories
- Connect Your Zune, The 1.3 Firmware is Ready [16 replies]
- EB Games Releasing Light Pink Zune? [2 replies]
- Zune for $179.99 at OfficeMax
Articles
- Misconceptions About Zune WiFi Sharing: Random versus Purposeful [2 replies]
- Zune Outdoor Photo Contest at Zune Insider [1 reply]
- Tip of the Day: Never Leave Your Zune Connected to Your Xbox [5 replies]
- Convert Your Videos for the Zune with Windows Media Encoder [11 replies]
- Zune Marketplace Song Sharing: A Test [10 replies]
- Zune Ugly Truth #2: Embedded Album Art Not Supported [3 replies]
Recent Posts
- Aaron Roma: New Marketing Comain, Colors on the Way
- Damion Chaplin: News Flash: 33% of Listeners Want FM Tuners
- Keenyol: 7-Day Tooth Whitener Kit
- Jason Dunn: Buy a Fresh Whole Rabbit at Amazon.com
- Jason Dunn: Don't Rely On Your Zune as a Backup Tool
- NPrtmn4evr: We can finally play iTunes songs on our Zune (Apple does away with DRM)
- LaRosa: Update 1.3 & Install on New PC (Vista)
- Jason Dunn: Zune Desktop Software 1.3 Released
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