With Xbox, Bach explained, the team had capitalized on Sony’s mismanagement of the PlayStation project, particularly in how it evolved from the PS2 to the PS3. Microsoft took the decision – not universally understood within the firm – to differentiate the original Xbox in two key ways, including a hard-drive and skipping an integrated dial-up modem in favor of an ethernet port.

“In 2001, this is not a joke, we were in a meeting with Bill (Gates) and a bunch of the rest of the senior staff, and we said, we made a decision to take the modem out of Xbox. Bill said to us, that’s the craziest thing I’ve ever heard. So we had a three-week email debate, and had to go back and have a meeting and convince Bill that taking the modem out was the right thing. Today, some people in the room probably don’t even know what a modem is” Robbie Bach

That disruptive strategy struggled, however, when Bach’s team attempted to use it against Apple and the iPod. The exec, who left Microsoft in 2010, argues that Apple had left few loopholes in its own media player strategy, unlike Sony, and suggests that while the gaming industry was keen to see a big-name rival to the PlayStation, the music industry was less cognizant of the risks of putting all its eggs into one basket.

“It’s not like we didn’t try but — I don’t know how to say this politely — the music industry just didn’t get it. They just didn’t figure out that being dependent on Apple was bad for them. And they were so hooked on the drug of what Apple was supplying them that they couldn’t see past that to realize that they needed something else to actually drive their business. The label business, the music industry, has never recovered from that” Robbie Bach

In the end, Bach says, those differences in the broader marketplace had far more impact than Microsoft itself. “The reason one succeeded and one failed had nothing to do with them being part of Microsoft” he concluded. “It had to do with the fact that the batting average at startups is actually not that high. The bar is high to be successful.”

Bach was instrumental in setting up Pioneer Studios at Microsoft, a so-called skunkworks department which operated with the startup ethos and was the force behind innovative projects such as Courier. Microsoft shuttered the studio a year ago.

Meanwhile, the Zune HD is currently listed as “out of stock” on Microsoft’s online store. The company has said that it will continue to support the PMP hardware as well as “honor the warranties of all devices for both current owners and those who buy our very last devices.”

At roughly 12m 30s into episode 45 of the Windows Phone Blog Radio podcast, the team confirms that “we’re not going to be making the Zune HD any more.” The topic then turns to Zune services in Windows Phone, and how Microsoft sees the multimedia experience in its smartphone platform as being the new focus.

[via Neowin]

Meanwhile, the support article that confirmed the Zune range had been discontinued has since been pulled, though you can still read the details in Google’s cached version (and below). According to the Zune Support Twitter account, “that site was added to the Zune website in error” and there’s “no further info” at this time.

“We recently announced that, going forward, Windows Phone will be the focus of our mobile music and video strategy, and that we will no longer be producing Zune players. So what does this mean for our current Zune users? Absolutely nothing. Your device will continue to work with Zune services just as it does today. And we will continue to honor the warranties of all devices for both current owners and those who buy our very last devices. Customer service has been, and will remain a top priority for us.” Pulled Microsoft Support statement on Zune

It seems Microsoft may be keeping its Zune hardware options open, though we couldn’t blame the company for being more focused on media integration in Windows Phone than standalone devices. Even Apple appears to have lost some enthusiasm for its iPod range, announcing minor updates to the iPod touch and iPod nano yesterday, while connected media players on smartphones – with both cellular data and WiFi to choose from – proliferate.

[via WinRumors]

As we observed yesterday, the Zune HD has gone two years without a refresh; we initially reviewed it back in September 2009. A refresh was tipped for late 2010, but then Microsoft swung its focus to Windows Phone and how it could include both smartphone and media player functionality in one package.

“Your device will continue to work with Zune services just as it does today” Microsoft assures exising users, “and we will continue to honor the warranties of all devices for both current owners and those who buy our very last devices.” Late last month, Microsoft reducing pricing for its all-you-can-eat music service, Zune Pass, though also removed the ability to download and keep 10 non-DRM tracks per month.

[via WMPowerUser]

The Zune HD product page has since been restored but despite its reappearance and Microsoft’s clarification, references to the Zune HD are still missing from the Zune music pass page, where it had initially appeared as shown in this cached page. Either way, it seems like the struggling Zune HD will soon face a similar fate as the original Zune hardware that got discontinued earlier this year.

Surely the Zune HD wouldn’t be missed too much as the hardware has seen nary an update in the last two years along with plenty of price drops. Microsoft looks like its ready to phase out the dedicated mp3 devices in favor of its new Windows Phones. The company has recently announced porting Zune apps to the Windows Phone platform.

[via GeekWire]

When we last heard insider sources claim the death knell for the Zune, it was said that Microsoft would focus on the Zune software for the Windows Phone and the Xbox while letting the Zune hardware die out. The recent podcast confirmed that Microsoft is definitely porting over at least the native Zune apps over to WP7. The porting over of third-party Zune apps will depend on the developers.

Some of the apps that will get ported include games such as Animalgrams, BBQ Battle, Castles and Cannons, Dr. Optics Light Lab, Goo Splat, and Space Battle 2. All in all, there are about 26 apps. They’re not exactly exciting enough to get you springing for a Windows Phone 7 device, but it does ease the minds of Zune HD owners that all is not lost.

“Number one, we actually have some developers that have developed titles for Zune [HD] that aren’t Microsoft employees or aren’t on the Zune team. And those guys are very welcome to go and create apps for Windows Phone any time they like. The apps that we have built internally for Zune [HD], we’re actually looking at porting those over to Windows Phone. Right now, our focus for the app team is, more apps for Zune [HD]. Zune [HD] owners would like to hear that there’s more stuff coming. So that’s definitely the case,” said McLauchlan.

[via WinRumors]

The iPod and iPad question is probably the least surprising, to which Gates points out unsurprisingly that his children “have the Windows equivalent. They have a Zune music player, which is a great Windows portable player. They are not deprived children.” As for whether he would respond to calls from some investors to return to Microsoft and take back the CEO position from Steve Ballmer, Gates’ answer is a definitive no. “My full-time work for the rest of my life is this foundation” he claims. “I’m part-time involved. But this is my job now.”

It’s not just Travie McCoy songs that Gates can do – his children apparently tease him by singing the recent hit – but characters from Austin Powers. Challenged with the question of whether foreign aid gets partially skimmed off by less than admirable regimes, he dismisses it with a Dr. Evil impression. ”When we buy vaccines we are super-smart about what we pay. We get price reductions. We can track how many kids get the vaccines. People don’t stockpile vaccines. It’s not like you’re going to go to Mugabe’s mansion and you’d find polio vaccines in the basement and he’s going “Ha, ha, ha! I took it ALL!”"

Still, you can’t escape the geek for too long, and Gates’ money – metaphorically speaking – is on speech control and its integration into our daily lives. ”The next big thing is definitely speech and voice recognition” he insists. “You’ll be able to touch that board or speak to it and get your message to colleagues around the world. Screens are cheap.”

But what about the Zune HD, which has been out significantly longer than Windows Phone 7? It looks like thanks to some minor tweaks, found by some members at ZuneBoards, you can actually get the WP7 Connector for Mac to register your Zune HD. It isn’t as simple as plugging in your HD, unfortunately, but the steps aren’t too extensive. Of course, if you’re not comfortable changing some settings around, then you may not want to head on through the source link and find out how to do this.

[via ZatzNotFunny]

From Around the Web

This is the Umbilical Cord iPhone Charger: There’s plenty of third party accessories out there for your iDevice, but this one takes the cake for being the most . . . Disturbing. There’s not really a name for this thing, and truth be told, it really does look like a combination of a Facehugger from the Alien series, and an umbilical cord. And, while we may think the standard charger and cable is pretty boring, we don’t think you need to go this “outside the box” to make it look interesting. Or maybe you do. Your call. [via DVICE]

R3 Media Network

SlashGear

Zune HD Gets Windows Live Messenger
Logitech Unveiling Google TV Products on October 6th
Medal of Honor Devs Choose to Change Controversial Multiplayer Feature
Recon Instruments Brings the GPS to Your Goggles
A Story About a Prank
Ballmer Loses Full Bonus Due to Kin Failure

Android Community

T-Mobile G2 Plagued with Issues
FourSquare Gets Updated, Adds Features

SlashPhone

List of Countries Supporting Android Market Grows

You’ll be able to show off the music you’re currently listening to, as well as check on social networking updates. Better yet, though, is the ability to check up with your Facebook friends, thanks to the integrated Facebook Chat option. The application is free, and you can pick it up from the app portal on your Zune HD, or through the Zune Software if you’re already at your PC.

[via Windows Experience Blog]

After that initial tipster claimed that the Zune HD 2 was coming soon, with a product launch next year, it seems that a job listing popped up for Microsoft’s Portable Entertainment Group, which is the group that brought the current generation Zune HD to market. The job listing says that they group is “currently building the next generation of portable entertainment and communication devices.” The “communication” part could indeed be a key word in the whole thing, and this position could mean that the person hired would be working more with Windows Phone 7 than anything else, but right now it’s anyone’s guess.

However, an insider speaking with ZDNet‘s Mary-Jo Foley, informed her that the next HD 2 certainly is coming, and that it will probably have the same memory capacities of this generation: 16/32/64GB. However, further details on the device are pretty scarce, as you might imagine. Furthermore, the insider suggests that Steve Ballmer, after announcing Windows Phone 7 and the details therein, will go ahead and explain where the Zune HD is, and what it future entails. That’s where the Zune HD 2 is rumored to make its debut. Zune Software isn’t going anywhere, as it’s a key part of Windows Phone 7 and syncing with a PC, but it will be interesting to see what the next generation of Zune HD looks like.

[via ZDNet]

Courtesy of Mary Jo Foley over at ZDNet, it seems that some sources that she was speaking with have lead her to believe that a new, remodeled Zune HD could be on the way. As far as detailed information goes, you can imagine that there’s not a lot to go on here. Truth be told, even the current speculation isn’t worth holding a light to at the moment. Though, the talk of an ARM CPU powering the whole show is definitely interesting enough to give a second thought.

As for the software side of things, it wouldn’t be that big of a surprise to see some kind of Windows Phone 7-like homage in there. Considering there’s plenty of Zune love being tossed into the phone variation, showcasing both on the opposite device would make sense. The rumored date of arrival for these new gadgets would be some time in the early months of 2011. Is Microsoft working on something to combat the new iPod Touch? Let’s certainly hope so.

[via ZDNet]

Greg, that UK-based resident we spoke about earlier, signed up for a trial account for the Zune Pass, and he was greeted with a page that confused him. Instead of seeing prices in American dollars, he saw the local price instead. So, how much is the Zune Pass going to cost patrons of the UK, if it does indeed launch some time in the near future? £8.99 per month, or £26.97 for a three month subscription plan.

This is, by no means, a confirmation that Microsoft’s Zune Pass is coming to the UK. Nor does it mean that the Zune HD is getting to launch overseas, either. Though, one without the other doesn’t seem to make much sense, so you probably don’t have to let your imagination run all that rampant. And considering Netflix is finally heading up to Canada, we can safely say that anything is possible in this day and age, right? Any UK-based residents out there excited about the possibility?

[via LiveSide]

For teenagers, one of the most important concept of our lives is being connected to each other – we like being in touch with all our social circles, be it for friends around the corner from school to friends across the globe. Media, entertainment, and pictures are also huge features – consider the huge importance of music, movies, video games, and Facebook albums in today’s world. And in portable devices especially it’s become more and more critical to have these features to ensure that you appeal to teens.

A few years ago, the idea of having a Zune with a web browser or an iPod touch that has serious gaming on it wasn’t even something people considered. If you wanted to email or IM people, you’d use a computer. Gaming was done on a console or Gameboy. But now, the idea of building these features together hasn’t just become a convenience for teens – it’s a necessity. The fact is that the market wasn’t capable or expected to offer this service in years past, forcing users to buy separate devices – why older people, perhaps, are more insistent on separate, specific featured gear for each situation. It’s only now, as these multifunction devices have been made – at an affordable price point – that the new generation of technology users is becoming attached to them over the past system of specific devices for specific uses.

Teens are becoming more and more attracted to devices that multitask – iPod nanos with cameras built in, a Zune HD that plays games and has Facebook, and of course, the titanic success of the App Store (not just for Apple, but Android and other devices as well); in short, the extending of portable media players beyond media. These connected media players that not only do media, but internet and beyond, are becoming must-have device for teenagers: delivering in one package the huge wealth of features that teens want.

And this multitasking concept becomes even more important going into the summer – when most high school and college students, being off from school, go off to camp or travel. In these situations, having a device or two that can function as almost everything a young adult wants – music, video, Facebook, Twitter, gaming, pictures, emails, even eBooks is huge. One device, one charger, only one thing to worry about losing or breaking, for a teenager at camp or traveling, is a huge thing.

Finally there is another huge reason that teens are using converging devices is simple – pricing. The golden rule of teenager’s technology usage is pricing – or specifically, lack of pricing. As a general rule, teens have no money, and when spending it, hate spending their own money. (When it’s their parents’ money, think the exact opposite). So buying one device that accomplishes everything they want to do at a “good enough” level for what they want saves them the need, and therefore the money, of buying 4 or 5 dedicated gadgets that may do those same tasks, albeit slightly better then the multitasked device. Money, and teen’s unwillingness to spend it, is a huge reason for the popularity of these multifunction devices among the youth market.

So overall, it’s these devices, multipurpose, connected, and increasingly mislabeled portable media players – that do far, far more then portable media – that are what’s big in tech for teenagers right now, especially considering the time period of summer vacation: where having such a device is hugely important for a traveling or away from home teen.

Microsoft Research, unsurprisingly, aren’t saying much about Menlo – though it’s given a brief namecheck on Hunt’s own MR People page – but there are tidbits to be found.  Hunt’s LinkedIn profile, for instance, mentions the following:

“Co-lead two of the largest cross-group research projects in MSR’s history: the Menlo and Singularity projects. Menlo combined OS, UX, and applications research to explore the future of computing when mobiles becomes users primary PCs. Singularity combined language, tools, and OS research to determine how to build more reliable systems and built a new OS from scratch in managed code.”

Foley then talked to Directions on Microsoft analyst Michael Cherry, who suggested that Microsoft could be looking to “follow Apple’s lead” and develop a tablet-friendly platform on which regular Windows apps could be relatively easily ported.  He describes that as a “frankenOS” of sorts:

“Microsoft could follow Apple’s lead and build a similar tablet on CE or Windows Phone 7, and have developers create CE and Web based applications for it….Mostly, it would be a rival to the iPad with similar battery life attributes.  Microsoft could even add some USB ports just to differentiate the connectability.  They could also open the carrier access.

“Second, Microsoft could build a tablet on Windows 7 Standard Embedded, and really be ruthless in removing Windows 7 components that do not make sense in the ‘new’ tablet scenarios. I have not seen any attempt to use what they have to create a truly “designed for tablet” version of OS (key here is instead of adding tablet extensions you remove non-tablet components of the base OS).”

That actually sounds a lot like our own Courier speculation, in which we suggested that Microsoft’s apparent abandonment of the dual-display digital notebook concept was in fact only a move to cut off talk of Microsoft-produced Courier hardware.  Instead, they could take the Courier customisations and develop a special tablet build – as Cherry says, “really be ruthless” in stripping out any superfluous functionality – that third-party manufacturers could then put onto their own hardware.  Indeed, several firms have already suggested they have notebook-style hardware on the way though they’ve been coy with their OS preferences.  Such a plan would also mean that porting apps over from other Microsoft platforms could be easier, both to the newly customized tablet and to mobile devices.  Of course, this is all some way in the future (if it evens pans out that way), but it’s good to think that Microsoft might be doing the sensible thing and pulling together the different strands of their various computing options.

The Best of R3 Media

Has the HTC Wildfire Been Outed? HTC took a different route with naming a future handset. Instead of keeping it internal like they usually do, they decided to talk to their Facebook fans. They published a list that showcased different names for devices. The Wildfire won that little contest. And sure enough, HTC’s just got a new, previously unheard of device being approved by the FCC. Could be the Wilfire. Or, it could be something completely different. [via Android Community]

Facebook Shifts Videos to HTML5: The Facebook iPhone OS app is one of the most popular for the platform, but the company has yet to create an iPad application. So, that means that most people with the magical tablet from Apple have been utilizing the mobile Safari to access their social networking content. The only trouble with that is, up until today, the videos that people added to their pages have been Flash-enabled. That’s all changed, though. They’ve hit the switch, and now the videos –all videos– are coded in HTML5, which means viewing them in mobile Safari, on the iPad or iPhone or iPod Touch, won’t be a problem at all. Now, how about that iPad app? [via Everything iPad]

The Samsung Galaxy A is Almost the Galaxy S: We’re eagerly awaiting our close, personal time with Samsung’s Galaxy S Android 2.1 handset, but for those in South Korea, you can pick up something a little bit like the real thing. The Galaxy A features Android 2.1, and it’s technically the company’s first Android 2.1 handset. It’s got a 3.7-inch AMOLED Plus One touchscreen display, and TouchWiz 3.0. So, like we said, it’s almost like the Galaxy S. No 1GHz processor, though. The Galaxy A has an 800MHz processor under the hood. [via SlashPhone]

The Dredge Net

LTE Has More Longevity Than WiMAX: Probably not good news for Sprint, but definitely good news for Verizon Wireless. According research firm IDC, it seems that WiMAX’s current spotlight in the news isn’t going to last. The company suggests that spending on LTE equipment is going to exceed WiMAX spending by the end of 2011. That’s a good bit of distance from now, but in the long-run, it’s still not that good for companies utilizing WiMAX for their 4G technology. As it stands, over 100 operators around the world are using LTE, which include nine of the top 10. An additional dozen are said to launch just this year alone. So, it seems that WiMAX may want to keep on running, because LTE may just leap over them before they know it. [via Gearlog]

New PS3 Firmware to Add Background Download: The PlayStation 3 keeps getting updated. It’s a bit over the top now, but we like new things way too much to turn them down. This time around, it’s just good news. According to rumors, the new update will add background downloading for patches to your favorite video games. Right now, it’s about as much a rumor as a rumor can be, but we’ve got our fingers crossed that Sony’s going to let us download our patches while we play the game of our choice. Especially considering those patches aren’t necessarily always that small. [via PS3 Blog]

The Zune HD gets Solitaire, Labyrinth, and a stopwatch: When you look at your Zune HD, the one thing you know it’s missing is the game of solitaire, right? Well, thankfully Microsoft has heard your inward pleas for justice, and have officially added the game to the roster. On top of that, there’s a labyrinth game, too. And, for all those moments when you need a stopwatch, they’ve got you covered with that, too. So, hurry up and go download the new goodness. [via CrunchGear]

The person in question, James Gunn, got the chance to attend Microsoft’s “The Microsoft Experience,” and while he was there, he got to peek the latest and greatest in Microsoft toys. The most notable is what he called “the new Zune.” Now, there was a new Zune HD that just got released, you know — the 64GB model. And, that could very well be what Gunn witnessed, especially considering he doesn’t give any further details. But, we’d wager that Microsoft said something along the lines of “new,” and perhaps Gunn is of the mind to know what exactly is new on the market.

Gunn also noted his time spent with Project Natal, and the fact that he also saw a new Microsoft tablet, which, apparently, is a lot like the iPad. From what we heard yesterday, we don’t know if that would be the HP Slate. Of course, he also got to see the new Microsoft phones, so that’s probably Windows Phone 7, and not the Kin One or Kin Two. This doesn’t necessarily mean that a new Zune HD, the Zune HD2, is coming, but it’s just another rumor to pile up. And we’d be willing to be that they’ll be piling up pretty quick over the next few months.

[via Zunited]

With OpenZDK, developers can create Zune HD apps – as well as apps for the original Zune models – that take advantage of the Tegra APX2600 chipset, including using custom vertex and fragment shaders with OpenGL ES 2.0 and programming in C++.  The resulting apps run on top of the regular Zune firmware, and shouldn’t impact your Microsoft warranty at all.

The end result is the ability to make games that match up to Microsoft’s own titles, such as PGR: Ferrari Edition and Audiosurf Tilt, rather than the more mundane possibilities that the dumbed-down XNA allows.  More information on getting started at the OpenZDK wiki, and the ZuneBoards guys have a special forum (currently empty) for apps created with the new framework.

[Thanks Nurta!]

Not that it’s not worth it, necessarily. After all, the Zune HD is a great PMP, if not one of the best on the market, and having the extra space to fill up makes it all that much better. Especially if you’re using that Zune Pass like you should be. Plus, there’s also the fact that Microsoft just released that 4.5 update. Which, if you’ll remember, brings more codec support, smarter DJ mix on your device, and the ability to browse the Zune Marketplace right from your TV.

A whole bunch of updates, actually, to make sure that when you do pull the trigger on this bold purchase, you’re well taken care of. If you’re interested in picking it up, just head over to the Zune Store, and pick out your favorite model. If you are going for the 64GB model, it will cost you $349.99. What do you think? Is it worth it?

[via Microsoft]

The update is bringing quite a few changes. First up, we’ve got a broader, more advanced Smart DJ. It’s being upgraded on the Zune HD, so that if you’re in the mood for one particular genre, you plug in a song, and the Zune HD will take care of the rest for you. Second, we’ve got Picks for Zune HD. This means that the next time you go into the Marketplace via your PMP, it will show you some of the most relevant picks of your music liking. It’s a great way to find new bands, and keep your music selection up to date with new music. And then we have the Zune Marketplace on your TV. By connecting your PMP to the TV via the dock, you can now browse the Zune Marketplace from your TV in all that panoramic goodness.

And finally, Microsoft has expanded the video codec options for their Zune HD. And, just to sweeten the deal, there’s no transcoding necessary. Oh, but wait, there’s more! As a bonus gift, Microsoft wants everyone to know that the Zune HD 64GB model is also available for $349.99. But, that’s still labeled as coming soon, so you’ll have to wait a bit longer for that one.

It will be available in Platinum, Black, Blue, Red, Green, Purple and Magenta, and otherwise have the same specifications of the current models.  As for the Zune HD 16, that will be cut to $199.99, and the Zune HD 32 will be reduced to $269.99.  So far there’s no sign of the new 64GB version on Microsoft’s Zune.net site, though it will apparently go up for sale at ZuneOriginals.com in mid-April.

Meanwhile Microsoft are also promising more details over the next few days on the Zune HD 4.5 firmware also tipped earlier in the week.  That’s expected to include the company’s Smart DJ feature together with Xvid and AVI video container support.

That extra feature is the ability to browse the Zune Marketplace from your TV, while your Zune HD is plugged into the dock. Sure, it may not be on the top of everyone’s lists of absolutely needed features, but we’re excited about it. Microsoft is also updating the Smart DJ feature, which is like Apple’s Genius, and basically making it smarter. Now when you activate the Smart DJ, the Zune HD will pull information from the Zune Marketplace to find you related music, but will also pull information from other users as well. This means that the expansion to find new music will be fast and sweeping.

At the moment, Microsoft doesn’t have concrete information to give us about the exact release date of the update. For now, we’ll have to live with “the coming weeks.” That’s not bad, and we’re sure we can live. You’ll be able to download the update right from your PC, so you’ll probably know before we do (but probably not) that the update is up and running. As soon as we hear something, we’ll pass it along to you. Does anyone out there use the Smart DJ feature? Let us know what you think might need to be updated to make it better.

The ability to tag songs for a later purchase is one of the easiest, and most convenient ways to shop for songs that you may not have immediate access to. After all, the radio is still an avenue to learn about your favorite band’s latest release, or to find new music in general. Microsoft has been tagging songs since late 2008, but it’s a pretty big feature in the Zune HD’s
catalogue.

The HD Radio on the touch-based Zune allows you to tag a song you hear, and then purchase/download it from the Zune Marketplace at a later date. Convenient, but apparently it goes against a patent that one Edward Yavitz, a man based out of Illinois, patented back in 2002. According to Yavitz, he tried to get in touch with the Redmond-based company that created the Zune HD back in 2006. He basically said that the technology is patented and possible, and that Yavits would work with Microsoft to keep the likes of Google and Apple from doing the same thing.

Of course, Apple is doing the same thing. The technology is found in the 5th generation iPod Nano, and can buy songs that are identified by RDS text and tagged. At the moment, there’s no word on whether or not Yavitz will go for Apple, or anyone else using the same technology for that matter. Furthermore, Microsoft knows that the patent suit exists, but they are not commenting on the situation at this time. We’d be willing to bet that a settlement gets met, if Yavitz does indeed prove the patent exists. We will let you know when we hear more about this.

[via Datamation]

The Zune HD site has been updated with a new link for the 64GB Zune HD, though so far the URL it links to isn’t working.  However, we’re not expecting anything dramatically different from the previous Zune HD models, bar the greater capacity, which means an NVIDIA Tegra chipset, 3.3-inch AMOLED capacitive touchscreen and distinctive UI.

There’s also WiFi and HD Radio, along with a 720p HD video output (as long as you have the right cables), multitouch and an accelerometer.  Check out our full Zune HD review for more details.  As for Zune HD 64 pricing, the 32GB model retails for around $240, so we’d expect the larger version to come somewhere in the mid-$300 range.

[via Engadget]

According to the rumors floating around, the Zune HD2 would be more like an iPod Touch, whatever that means. Size, perhaps. Considering the HD2 has arguably (or not) better hardware than the iPod Touch, that’s really the only thing we can say that insinuates. If the sources speaking with ZDNet’s Mary Jo Foley are to be believed, than the Zune HD2 is certainly on the way, and has a real shot at being released later this year. And, we all know what other thing is launching at the end of this year, and, whoa, look at that! They’re made by the same company!

We don’t think that would be a bad thing. Yes, the Zune HD came out last year, and yes, it’s a great Personal Media Player. But what Microsoft needs is more than just a few phones coming out at the end of this year rocking their Windows Phone 7 Series mobile Operating System. Just like Apple has done with their iPhone Operating System, Microsoft can capitalize on the fact that WP7S looks and works great on a bunch of devices. And sometimes, even across those platforms. There’s also the glaring fact that the current Zune HD won’t be playing those nifty XNA Game Studio 4.0 titles, so it’s time to update anyway. Right, Microsoft?

[via ZDNet]

Microsoft told us that “After launching the Facebook application for the Zune HD, we discovered a technical issue related to the API calls to Facebook which does not allow Zune users to view News Feed. The Facebook and Microsoft engineering teams are working together and hope to have a solution in the coming days.”  We’ve also heard of other problems along with this one, such as zooming issues and late updates.

We’re sure Zune HD owners welcome the fact that the app itself is free of charge, but not so that it doesn’t work as planned.  It seems like the official Zune Twitter account has also confirmed that the Facebook app is “experiencing some issues accessing data”, and that “We are investigating & will provide an update as soon as possible”.

The free application will also let Zune users share photos, links and videos, as well as check out what their friends’ activities directly from the device itself.  I don’t currently own one myself, but congratulations to the Zune HD owners out there who waited it out; this is indeed a worthwhile update.

I don’t understand why I’m still reading people clamoring for a Microsoft “Zune” phone. It’s pretty clear that we’re not going to see a phone from Microsoft themselves, at least not one based on the Xbox and Zune business models. I’ve talked about why we wouldn’t see a Zune phone before but it’s worth repeating.

The business model of Windows Mobile is totally different than Zune and the Xbox (in fact, I’d argue that we’ll see Microsoft get out of the Zune hardware business long before they become a direct handset vendor, but that’s another story).

Zune was a good idea to some extent, since the technology Microsoft was licensing wasn’t getting them anywhere. As it was, hardware partners were taken aback by Microsoft’s actions but at the end of the day, they simply were not delivering on the markets needed by Microsoft to be successful.

Phones are different. Windows Phones are a core platform that is strategic to Microsoft’s other lines of business and built on Microsoft’s traditional business model of licensing technology to partners. The problem is that no one has ever been successful licensing technology platforms to others and then competing with a device of their own. Apple failed (twice, with both Mac OS and the Newton platform), Palm tried it only to have to split the company into two and Nokia tried it with Series 60 (which it’s now open sourced). No matter how creative you are, it just can’t be done. Microsoft now has traction with more than 20 million licenses sold last year and a good collection of partners (many of whom are looking at Google and Google’s hardware aspirations) along with a new crop of phones for consumer and business use. A Zune or any other phone sold by MSFT would potentially hurt all that and for no good reason.

Moreover, how would MSFT bring this to market? There’s no mass market for unlocked phones in the US (just ask Nokia how hard it is to sell a high end phone with no carrier). MSFT as an MVNO? Not happening. A partnership with a carrier as Apple did with the iPhone? Well, it could work but that would alienate licensees and carriers alike.

There’s always some possibility of MSFT exploring a different type of business model for a phone, but it’s far more likely more Microsoft branded functions and services get baked into a versions of Windows Phone and integrate well with other platforms. That is, of course, something we’ve heard Steve Ballmer hint about in the last few months.

So, now that we’ve got the whole Microsoft getting into the phone business cleared up, let’s move on and try and resolve that whole “moon landing is a hoax” thing for our next project.

Users have registered similar complaints on the Zune forums, disappearing acts ranging from  including all the music from some artists (Arcade Fire, Vampire Weekend, and Spoon, and others), while others have seen only some albums, or some songs disappear.

The software giant’s customer service reportedly responded  to users that their music has gone away because record labels have pulled them, but reports from users indicate that there’s not much logic to that answer.  Any Zune Pass users have music that has escaped their libraries?  iTunes isn’t the greatest, but at least it doesn’t go near your music with an axe to grind.

Meanwhile further entries referred to the ability to “View and manage pictures and videos taken with your phone at the Studio”, with users able to sign up as “Studio members”.  The suggestion is that this could be Microsoft’s new media upload service, enabling content produced on the handset to be shared via a web gallery.

It’s not the first cellular tidbit discovered in the Zune software recently; earlier this week references to what could link the PMP’s Zune Pass subscription-based music download service with a mobile phone were discovered in version 4.2.202.0 of the firmware.  Microsoft have continued to deny any intentions of producing a Zune phone, however recently collated Twitter messages seemingly tip a surprise consumer-focused announcement at the Mobile World Congress 2010 in a little over a week’s time.

[via Engadget]

The update will also address a long-standing criticism about a feature gap between the Zune HD and its PC client-based software– Smart DJ playlists will also be added onto the player itself, currently only available in the Zune’s PC software.  This would finally make the Zune HD’s playlist feature a contender with the on-the-fly Genius playlist capabilities of the iPod Touch.

Even better, Zune Pass users connected to wireless internet will be able to to create Smart DJ playlists that incorporate streamed content from the Zune Marketplace, besides the songs already stored on the player.  I’m not a Zune HD owner at the moment, but this prospective firmware update coming Spring is slowly becoming a strong reason for me to look for a Zune HD to play with.

For video, the PMP will happily churn through MKV, AVI (DivX 3/4/5, XviD, H.264), RMVB/RM, MP4, FLV (H.264/H.263), VOB, MPG, DAT, MOV and 3GP files, which neatly bests what the Zune HD can cope with.  Meanwhile, over in audio it’ll play MP3, WMA, APE, FLAC, OGG, WAV and AAC files.

There’s also the usual picture viewer, ebook reader, calendar, calculator and games, as well as what’s described as a “colorful sliding touch UI”.  What with there being no pictures of the MT-V660 turned on, we don’t know how Zune-like that UI might be.  Also unknown is pricing and availability.

[via Cloned in China]

The new hues are pretty subdued – which we’re not saying is a bad thing – and go very nicely with the Zune HD’s angular, almost industrial casing design.  Unsurprisingly Microsoft are also pushing their Zune Pass unlimited music service, too; you’ll get a free month’s access with a new Zune HD, but after that it’s $14.99 per month.

Pricing for the new color versions is unchanged, at around $220 for the 16GB model and around $290 for the 32GB version.  They’re available to order now.  Check out the SlashGear review of the Zune HD here.

[via ArsTechnica]

There are no official shots of the new Zune HD models – the above image is just a render someone threw together – but we’re guessing the real things won’t look too different.  Although there aren’t any especially striking hues among the three, we reckon that’s a pretty good idea on Microsoft’s part; lime green sounds a great idea initially, but after a few months (and some accumulated grubbiness) it’s a whole lot less appealing.

As far as we know the features and pricing of the new Zune HDs will be the same as the current PMPs, which means you get video, audio and image playback along with internet access over WiFi and excellent sound quality.  MRSP is $219.99 for the 16GB model and $269.99 for the 32GB model, currently available in black and silver.

[via DAP Review]

According to the unnamed source, the handset design leaks were likely from Microsoft themselves in an attempt to drive enthusiasm for the Pink project.  However the news that Sharp has been the Pink team’s sole hardware partner is expected to sour Microsoft’s relationship with Windows Mobile device manufacturers such as HTC; Palm and Motorola have already dropped out of developing new Windows Phones.  Similarly, Verizon are expected to be angry with their being named as a potential Pink carrier, since this could impact their CDMA iPhone, webOS and RIM plans.  The source also quotes a whopping 25-percent Windows Mobile Verizon return rate for dissatisfaction.

T-Mobile are another carrier tipped to be affected, as they work closely with the Danger team and Sharp on the Sidekick.:

“I don’t know exactly what Microsoft has been telling them, but they have no doubt realized that they’ve been cut out of this deal in favor of their largest competitor. What’s worse is that apparently Microsoft has been lying to them this whole time about the amount of resources that they’ve been putting behind Sidekick development and support (in reality, it was cut down to a handful of people in Palo Alto managing some contractors in Romania, Ukraine, etc.)”

The source fingers Roz Ho, head of Premium Mobile Experiences (aka the lead in the Pink project), together with Ray Ozzie and Craig Mundie as most responsible for the ongoing disaster.  Windows Mobile and the Zune teams have already been duplicating each others’ work as the projects have been kept segregated; now it’s transpired that the Pink team have been doing the same, and not only that but potentially cannibalizing elements of both (but particularly the Windows Phone platform).  It makes for an interesting read – Apple Insider also chart the development of the various mobile platforms, including Android and iPhone – together with a worrying diagnosis for Microsoft’s mobile outlook.

That would mean not only that Mac-using Zune HD owners would be able to use the supplied software to manage their media collections, but potentially that third-party PMPs would more easily be able to access the Zune Pass subscription-based music download store.  Right now it’s possible to tweak certain PMPs into accessing it – Foley herself has a Sony Walkman playing Zune Pass tracks – but there’s no broad, official support for it.

Meanwhile Pinero also confirmed that “our next step is mobile phones” and giving, presumably, Windows Mobile devices access to Zune Pass; however he maintains that “we haven’t talked about a timeline for when that will happen.”  Still, Microsoft continue to protest that “Zune is a music and video service from Microsoft. Period” and not just the company’s attempt to oust the iPod, and so we’re hoping they see sense and throw open the doors.

That’s more than $310 more than Amazon themselves are selling the Zune HD 32GB for, or Zune Originals are offering it for; the latter even throw in free laser engraving.  Now we can understand paying a premium for a device that’s perhaps not as commonly available in stores or online as people might like, but more than double?

It’s a shame, because the Zune HD is a decent PMP.  We found the screen to be bright and clear, with the capacitive touchscreen responsive, while the ZunePass unlimited downloads subscription service really makes this a mediaplayer for music lovers.  More here.

[via Zune News]

Zune HD Unboxing:

If apple have gone with the worn-smooth-pebble look with their iPod touch, Microsoft have taken the engineering route. The Zune HD teeters just on the attractive side of distinctively industrial, with an angular casing, exposed screw-heads and slab-like controls. Physical buttons are limited to the long, thin home key on the front, a power/hold key on the top edge, and a shortcut button on the left-hand side that triggers the Quickplay menu. In a sea of identikit touchscreen PMPs and cellphones all quietly borrowing Apple’s style, it’s great to see a distinctive design.

Excellent build quality and an awesome display – with one frustrating flaw – certainly don’t hurt, and it’s handy that the Zune HD’s construction and materials feel as sturdy as they look. Lashings of aluminium, glass and rubberized plastic in a slender form-factor are great, and once the 3.3-inch OLED touchscreen lights up the whole thing gets even better. While Windows Mobile smartphones may have languished up until now with resistive panels, the Zune HD snaps neatly into the capacitive camp with an accurate and responsive display. Side by side with the iPod touch the Zune HD’s display is, at 3.3-inches, 0.2-inches smaller diagonally, and that shaves off some pixels, too; 480 x 272 versus the touch’s 480 x 320. Still, it’s true 16:9 widescreen, which makes sense for video content compared to the letterboxing on the iPod touch.

Microsoft have certainly come up with a distinctive UI, and though as a first showing there are some issues still to be ironed out, it’s generally easy to use. Rather than attempting to replace everything with pictorial icons, there’s plenty of clear white text on a black background. Herein lies the OLED display’s key drawback, or at least that of the glass and color scheme. Screen reflections are very noticeable, occasionally to the point where some experimental angling is required in order to see the screen clearly; a matte-finish screen protector would clear this up quickly, though.

The Zune HD’s homescreen is, like Windows Mobile 6.5, made up of a list of functions – videos, pictures, radio, etc – but there’s also a slide-out Quickplay menu triggered by the side button. That offers speedy access to favorites – here called “Pins”, and which can be made up of music tracks, videos, photos and more – as well as play history and most recently added content. It also shows details of the currently playing track, complete with album art. Like with the iPod touch there’s kinetic scrolling to navigate through lists of media, though as you do so there’s no side list of letters to jump to a particular title or artist; instead, you tap any of the letters which are in-line with the list, and that pops up the full alphabet to choose from.

Zune HD User Interface:

While that works, certainly, it suffers from not being alike any of the other major PMP platforms that have come before it. Similarly the now-playing page at first glance lacks playback controls; these are hidden on the Quickplay menu, triggered again by the side button or by tapping on any point of clear space. What makes it confusing is that Microsoft have scattered a few less important controls – to trigger repeat or shuffle, or rate the track – on the now-playing page itself. The consistency of the side button is good, and we like having fast access to playback wherever we are in the menu structure, but the now-playing page does seem one place where a little duplication could’ve been allowed. Still, what you do get is not only album art but an image of the artist that the Zune HD automagically locates and uses as the wallpaper. Happily sound quality is very high, especially when you drop the bundled headphones and replace them with a decent aftermarket set.

There’s a feeling that the PMP is so image-heavy because Microsoft want to show off the quality of the OLED display, and that’s no more so than in video playback. Having reviewed the Sony Walkman X, another OLED display mediaplayer, we had high hopes for the Zune HD’s visual performance, and we certainly weren’t let down. The Zune Store is packed to the gills with 720p HD content, and while the Zune HD itself can’t natively play it back at full resolution, the end result is so impressive we can see how it could fool many. Blacks are inky and colors rich and vibrant, with little bleeding or blurring during fast-moving scenes. Again, either tapping the display or the Quickplay button pulls up the controls to play/pause, skip and stop playback.

In terms of codec support, we fear Microsoft missed a trick by leaving out any of the current online favorites – Xvid, DivX or MKV – in preference to the more mainstream WMV, MP4, H.264 and Media Center’s DVR-MS native recordings. It’s a vast shame, as paired with either the $89.99 AV Dock – which gets you a remote-control, HDMI and composite cables, and radio antenna – or merely the AV pack for the original Zune, the Zune HD makes for a very capable big-screen playback device. The distinctive UI makes even more sense with a few dozen inches of screen real-estate to play with, while the 720p content is very impressive; it’s easy to forget that this is a pocket-friendly PMP driving the show, rather than a full HTPC.

Zune HD demo video:

While Apple impressed a few people by bundling FM radio support into the iPod nano recently, Microsoft are still one step ahead with their HD Radio playback on the Zune HD. There’s also no facility to record radio broadcasts, though you can pause live transmissions and then resume them afterward, useful for when the phone rings and your listening is interrupted. As for tuning, the Zune HD does a decent job of picking up various stations automatically, though the choice will depend very much on where you are at the time. Track identification is done via RDS, complete with station and album name, though we wish Microsoft had tied this into their ZunePass unlimited subscription-based download service so you could easily queue up a download having heard it on the radio.

Speaking of ZunePass, Microsoft’s music service continues to split opinion with some decrying subscription-based downloads and others welcoming the breadth of choice on offer. We’re tentatively looking at it as an expensive single album a month – for the $14.99 ongoing fee, you get 10 tracks to download and keep forever – with the bonus of unlimited access to the rest of the catalog that lasts as long as you can stomach the price. Microsoft have integrated their own version of Apple’s Genius suggestions engine, Smart DJ, into ZunePass, which means you can tap “Related” on any existing track you have and see what artists they reckon are similar; the Zune HD automatically turns on WiFi and, if it can get a connection, immediately downloads a new tracklist and starts playing. While we can’t always say we agreed with Smart DJ’s choices, it’s a very easy way to find new music and of course there’s no extra fee above and beyond ZunePass. Neatly, the prediction functionality will also work – only with just your existing music catalog – if you haven’t opened your wallet for ZunePass access.

Microsoft have made good use of the Zune HD’s WiFi connectivity, and while you can no longer flick tracks between PMPs, it does support wireless synchronizing. Not something you’d want to use the very first time you load your library onto the Zune HD, but for adding a few new tracks it works well. WiFi also stretches its legs in the Zune HD’s browser, and here’s a piece of software that really shines. While the display may be slightly narrower than that of the iPod touch, the new browser – which we’re told is based on the same Internet Explorer Mobile technology that will make a showing in the next-gen version of Microsoft’s smartphone OS – handles content very well. No Flash support, nor even a standalone YouTube player as Apple provide, but pages render as they would on a desktop and the integration of Bing for search is slick and fast.  There’s also pinch-zooming and the usual multitouch support.

WiFi should also get to flex its legs with application downloads, but they’ll be a little longer coming than we’ve seen on smartphone platforms. Preloaded are a few games and some simple usability apps – weather and a calculator – while Microsoft have confirmed that Twitter and Facebook clients will follow on in November, but there seems to be less impetus to get third-party developers involved. There’s no true Zune HD SDK, though there is a new XNA Game Studio 3.1 add-on which will allow developers to create software.

Time will tell if that holds the Zune HD back compared to its PMP brethren. Audio quality and video playback are particularly strong, and in fact the Zune HD’s media functionality edge ahead of the iPod touch in many ways. While a lot of people still aren’t convinced about subscription-based download services, ZunePass works exceptionally well with the Zune HD’s suggestion system. We’d definitely budget for a subscription – along with the AV Dock – if it was our own money and we’d decided on Microsoft’s platform.

Given the lackluster appeal of the original Zune models, it’s come as no small surprise how much we like the Zune HD. There’s a sense that the Zune team really love digital media, and put above and beyond the usual effort into crafting a PMP capable of not only showing that off to its best, but doing so in a way that endears and pleases with its creative UI. Yes, boosting native codec support and ironing out the few confusions in the control structure would make it even better, but if you think of the Zune HD as the first generation of Microsoft’s new breed of PMPs then you have to admire everything they’ve achieved. Even the pricing is reasonable: $220 for the 16GB model and $290 for the 32GB, though we wish Microsoft offered a 64GB version too. Those buyers looking for broad mobile flexibility – apps, media playback and everything else – should stick to the iPod touch for the moment, but anybody wanting an excellent PMP should definitely be considering the Zune HD.

Hi guys. How are you doing these days? There’s no doubt that you must be frustrated. Really frustrated. After all, you were in digital music long before Apple, had cool phones that played music long before Apple and in general had a pretty compelling story for the digital consumer that was very complete, but no one paid a whole lot of attention. There were WMA players on the market long before iPod. In fact, Microsoft might have been dominant in digital music if it weren’t for that pesky iPod and iTunes combo. You’ve taken some hard hits, I remember when Apple introduced a flash memory music player, removed features and had customers waiting 2-4 weeks to get one. Gladly waiting I might add and ignoring all those other devices your partners brought to market. Yep, it’s been a tough few years.

You’ve been in the TV space with some really nice offerings. Media Center could run rings around TiVo, didn’t have a monthly service charge and you could even sync your recorded TV content to a portable media player or even your phone (few people outside of enthusiasts communities even knew that feature existed).

I won’t even get started with what’s happened in the phone space. First you ignored Apple, then you denied the iPhone was a problem. Today, I hear more and more folks wondering what the future is for Windows Phones, Zune HD and Windows Media Player software.

The irony is you have all the tools and technologies to respond. Windows Mobile 6.1 works really well. Windows Media center in Windows 7 is a best of breed DVR. Folks who are critical of Zune HD are likely folks who haven’t spent five minutes with it. You have the technology but, somehow, you seem to lack the ability to message it as well as tie it all together. A few years ago I suggested you needed a Music Czar. Today, I think it’s time you thought about Mobile and Media Czars. You need master strategists that can deliver what Brad Silverberg and Brad Chase did for Windows and Yusuf Mehdi did for IE back in the last century, for products like Zune HD and Windows Mobile today.

Folks, it’s time for you to create a different type of leadership role. You have some pretty darn good differentiated products and services, in my humble opinion, along with business models that can make money. You have subscription services, yet hardly any consumers understand why they would want to use them. You have a viable DRM, not to protect old business models but to enable new ones. You have partners to deliver services and devices with diverse offerings.

What you don’t have is a coordinated strategy to make all this stuff work together, or a marketing strategy to let consumers know this stuff exists and can work together. Yes, you’re getting better with the Zune HD and Xbox 360 story. You’ve started talking about your commitment to three screens and a cloud but you can do better. There’s still no single, coordinated marketing message that can be presented to consumers, press or analysts articulating what your vision is for the 21st century digital consumer. To me, that’s a big problem. Without it, the best products might as well not exist.

It’s not too late. The market is still nascent and there’s still time to act. There’s time to pull together what you need from your partners along with internal products and services and really get out there and compete. Suit up! Get in the game. Find some war time consigliore like the Chase/Silverberg team who actually use your products, who like your products and can evangelize them. The clock is ticking though and it’s time to get to work. Feel free to call anytime and we can discuss further.

Best.

m.

The PMP does, apparently, have a hidden message on the inside back cover, reading “For Our Princess” and said to be in memory of a member of the Zune HD development team who passed away during its creation.  For more on the Zune HD, check out our unboxing video and hands-on gallery.