Think Secret dishes on Zune, future iPods
By Evan Blass 
posted July 16th 2006 3:35PM
posted July 16th 2006 3:35PM
Apple rumor site Think Secret has been busy chatting it up with all those company insiders whom Misters Jobs and Gates would love to get their rich and powerful hands on, and turned those leaks into an article which dispels some of the recently-circulating iPod rumors, along with providing a few more tantalizing deets about Microsoft's upcoming "iPod killer." For starters, it looks like we shouldn't be expecting the "true" video iPod until at least the annual MacWorld Expo in January -- though larger capacity 5G 'Pods may arrive in the interim -- and apparently the long-rumored iPhone also won't be coming anytime soon, as that project has reportedly been put on hold for the foreseeable future. Furthermore, when the 6G iPod is finally released, it will likely lack both the wireless capabilities and talking interface that some people have been anticipating; Apple is said to believe that the former feature would have too much of an impact on battery life, while the latter would only feed what's seen as a marginal consumer demand. Finally, Microsoft's so-called Zune -- which is rumored to sport WiFi for communicating with MTV's Urge service -- may also come equipped with a powerful 400MHz processor suitable for gaming, as well as a built in tuner for receiving satellite radio broadcasts. Obviously all this info is just speculation from unnamed sources for now, but if the Zune does end up duping your iTunes tracks, playing high-quality games, and giving you access to Sirius or XM on the go, then Apple may be facing its first real marketplace battle in the iPod's brief but influential existence.
Im an Apple user and i own a 3g ipod (in fact - 3 of them, 2 of them broke down) and I love playing video games on my X-box...while i like the ipod, I would like to see more competition in the market place.
The thing that im more comcerned with is battery life. I also own a psp which I take with me on trips overseas and while its useful having a lot of features - the plain fact is that the battery life sucks.
Whats the battery life on this thing that Microsoft are making ?? because 4 hours just aint going to cut it.
Bluetooth...will there be Bluetooth on the Zune?
Apple reportedly believes that Wi-Fi would have too high an impact on an iPod's battery life, which is a valid belief if we're talking about downloding, browsing or streaming.
However, if you just wanna send songs wirelessly between devices that's a less demanding feature, but does not need all the overhead that Wi-Fi demands. Bluetooth would be better choice, while simultaneously allowing wireless headphones.
Microsoft is planning another FEATURE CREATURE!
You'll be able to do everything under the sun for one and a half hours between recharges. So just bring your hydrogen fuel cell with you wherever you go.
Just curious--is it Zune (as in tune) or Zune (as in zoonee)? Does anybody know--or care?
Not that exciting looking. But if its easy to use and has all of those features it might have the best chance yet at challenging the iPod or beings a strong 2nd place.
"There have been many things said against the iPod (lack of features, no optical out (or line out for that matter, scratches like nothing else, no user replaceable battery), but signal quality is not one of them. I don't know which "audiophiles you're speaking of, but amoung groups such as head-fi, the iPod is a very well received player. Some argue that older players like the rio kharma or iriver ihp 1xx/3xx series are still better, but the general consensus is that there is little deviation in sq between most major dap makers. In fact, those going for the best portable source send their iPods of to red wine audio. As, such I have a hard time understading how the iPod sounds worse than the offerings from other companies (especially with rockbox)."
Check your favourite head-fi forums again. The ONLY iPod that gets stellar reviews in sound quality is the Shuffle, the rest are garbage.
There's a reason why Apple doesn't release their audio specs...
I don't think it will have a touch screen because then they would probably try to market as a DAP/Organizer to compete with Pocket PCs or Palm.
As far as positives, i think they will succeed if it is possible to broadcast the music to which you are listening to other people with the Zune around you, then you could bookmark the song and buy it later. That would be a great way to sell songs, right? Anyway, i'd like to hear more news about this zuner than later.
Check out my views on the "iPod Killer" ZUNE.
All apple, all the time.. reviews, comments, opinions and rants (sometimes): http://macgomez.com/
Sebastien Gomez
Do you know that "zune" or "zoune" is slang for PENIS in Québec ? And I heard that I Hebrew it means something like "Fuck"
Great name Microsoft !!!!!
Who cares about the French