Zune revealed by FCC as "Toshiba 1089"

Well, here's a bit of a surprise: a wireless PMP just showed up on the FCC, featuring a 30GB HDD, FM tuner and a strangely familiar 3-inch screen. And it ain't being manufactured by Microsoft. Instead it looks like Microsoft got their good pal Toshiba to produce the Zune, which not only saves Microsoft the job of gearing up some production lines for the thing, but seems to keep them from stepping on at least one PlayForSure licensee's toes. Things get more interesting from there, since the documentation refers to those other heavily bandied code names: "Pyxis" and "Argo." From the looks of things, Pyxis seems to be the name for the network which Zune devices will use to share content, since in the "DJing Content" section it states that "Pyxis allows you to stream music to up to 4 other Pyxis devices." A bit more confusing, however, is that "You can invite other Argo members that you meet to be your friends wirelessly." Of course, it's always likely that they hadn't gotten all the codenames smoothed out by the time they wrote that up, but it's clear that the Zune player as we know it is only a small part of the overall "Zune" plan. It's also clear that Toshiba is part of the party, so we'll be keeping our eyes peeled for any other manufacturers who might be hanging on to Microsoft's coat tails here. Keep reading to see the Zune cracked open, tested, and completely dissected...

[Via MobileWhack; thanks Sandeep]

[anthonysimilion @ Aug 25th 2006 9:26AM]

No wonder the interface mockups look very similar to the recently released Toshiba Gigabeat S - which appears to be a similar product to what the Zune will be. :S

[astutefool @ Aug 25th 2006 9:27AM]

First! I wish they could have shown a side view. Well the tension is building ...

[astutefool @ Aug 25th 2006 9:28AM]

nooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooo i was beaten!

[anthonysimilion @ Aug 25th 2006 9:28AM]

It's got a WLAN module, as shown by the internal photos.

[Leo @ Aug 25th 2006 9:30AM]

This is probably the first leak that was on purpuse. Or maybee microsoft is periodicly realesing info to get everyone interested

[Jonathan Keim @ Aug 25th 2006 9:32AM]

Microsoft always has someone else manafacter the hardware. All they do is software and this is really not all surprising.
Remember the UMPCs?

[gib786 @ Aug 25th 2006 9:40AM]

If you look at the pics in this pdf - http://gullfoss2.fcc.gov/prod/oet/forms/blobs/retrieve.cgi?attachment_id=696974&native_or_pdf=pdf you can see just how chunky it is

[Jarod @ Aug 25th 2006 9:44AM]

LOLOLOLLLLLLLL! This pile of shit is just waiting to go BOOOM!

This is more of a Microsoft Killer than an iPod Killer. LOLOLOLLLL!!!

[Osiris @ Aug 25th 2006 9:44AM]

I just hope it has video out, that's one of the best features i've found with my Creative Vision M, the ability to watch films i have on it on fullscreen tv.
Even if the quality is average, it's like being able to carry a dvd collection in one tiny device.

Been waiting for a wifi capable mp3 device, being able to share songs/videos/files with friends will be so convenient, WHAT we share is our responsibility, why should the manufacturers not implement wifi sharing for fear of piracy if they are not liable it?

[o0adam0o @ Aug 25th 2006 9:47AM]

lol @ gib786

I bet it is about the thickness of the Vision M. The screen looks pretty big also.

[skype_fan @ Aug 25th 2006 9:49AM]

Clearly the next version of the Toshiba Gigabeat S Series :) Just with a stupid and ugly name "Zune"

[Shriek @ Aug 25th 2006 9:49AM]

astutefool, don't bring that "first" bullshit to this site. Nobody cares and everybody hates it when people do that.

[astutefool @ Aug 25th 2006 9:52AM]

Sorry! (I thought) it was my first time! No need to be so aggresive.

[_man1c_ @ Aug 25th 2006 9:55AM]

im still interested, but just thought it would have been an actual MS in-house build. oh well.

[Slash @ Aug 25th 2006 10:01AM]

If it doesnt come in 60gb i'm going with the next ipod.

[z @ Aug 25th 2006 10:05AM]

It definitely looks like an old iPod with some black borders...

[dave95 @ Aug 25th 2006 10:13AM]

This just don't add up!

I thought the XBox team was going to Build it, in house? hehehe!

And why is this so thick, is one of its features being able to use it as a weapon?

[tyler @ Aug 25th 2006 4:00PM]

hmm, strangley enough, greddy has a new interface for controlling there turbo that looks just like the zune.

http://www.greddy.com/products/display/?Category=electronics&SubCategory=56

[joe @ Aug 25th 2006 10:19AM]

wow, some one call Jenny craig and put that thing on a diet..

Talk about thick...

[Qweltol @ Aug 25th 2006 10:20AM]

"It definitely looks like an old iPod with some black borders..."

I'm definitely with you on that, Z. I keep looking at these pics, and I keep thinking, "That cannot be the final design." It really does look like a prototype of a 3G iPod.

Full disclosure: Yes, I am an iPod user. I have been since the second generation. Yes, I am a Mac user. I have been since the beginning of time. But even if I wasn't, there is no way in hell I'd be able to look at what is leaking as THE Zune and not see a resemblance. Anyone who can't see and admit to a resemblance is blind. And yes, I know they are going to be available in a shit brown color as well.

[georgedakota @ Aug 25th 2006 10:22AM]

what i want to know is how come some of you say its thick when you cant really tell by the pics? Makes no sense.

[Joel @ Aug 25th 2006 10:23AM]

Yeah, I think there's been too much Zune info lately. I had a dream about it last night, actually. I dreamt that I got a sneak preview of the Zune- which was actually quite large.. but, you removed a core part which was the portable music player segment- the problem was, when it was removed, wings unfolded and it resembled a space shuttle. I remember, in my dream, thinking "There's no way this thing will ever beat the iPod." Pretty worthless dream, really.

[Charles Taylor @ Aug 25th 2006 10:27AM]

If that last photo is the battery I think i'm going to laugh and cry at the same time! And they say the iPod doesn't last long enough on one charge!

[dave95 @ Aug 25th 2006 10:41AM]

Joe, step slowly away from the computer, you need a vacation from Zuneland :-)

[Apple kills another small project @ Aug 25th 2006 10:50AM]

That isn't the battery you a$$ lol

Microsoft always partners with other groups for hardware, Toshiba is a big hardware manufacturer, and a very tight partner with microsoft (look at hddvd) it's no suprise the product would be FCC'd by toshiba.

[Revels @ Aug 25th 2006 10:51AM]

I wonder how many people will buy this thinking it's the 6th gen iPod, just by the way it looks?

[TeleCustom @ Aug 25th 2006 10:52AM]

a.)With all this wireless stuff, color screen, and who knows what DRM, the battery will last two hours.

b.)30 gigs? Pardon me, but there's a great many users out there whose artists A - G can fill 30 gigs. Not there yet myself, but my 40 gig iPod is just about full.

c.)This thing is twice the size of the iPod and half the capacity. And seeing as it's design is so similar to the iPod, it's going to discourage the people who buy iPods for the look (you don't move millions of units, especially ipods, to people who care about sound quality and features) since they'll be seen as having some cheap ripoff.

I could go on, but there's no point really. This thing is looking to take a belly flop into the world of DAPs.

[Sean DL @ Aug 25th 2006 11:02AM]

I think this shuts up the people who said that Toshiba had nothing to do with the Zune and that it wasn't the Gigabeat repackaged...

[Rax @ Aug 25th 2006 11:05AM]

Toshiba Gigabeat S is by far one of the best mp3 players in the market. Especielly is you watch movies using MCE, Zune should be fantastic as well.

[Ricky @ Aug 27th 2006 7:17PM]

Wow that thing is thick at oatmeal. I personally never bought an ipod because my dell digital jukebox (doesnt that just roll off the tongue) refused to break. Powerful guy, that Dell DJ. Well, after...4 years it finally bit the dust, and I'm in the market.

I was hoping that the people who developed the 360 would develop this guy too, to create some sort of visual semblance. Out of the 70% of the market share apple has, 80% of that is on the basis of visual appearance alone. You know this to be true. I would think m$ would know this to be true, and to get it right. Man was I wrong. That thing is hideous. I mean, wtf were they thinking? Who's in charge over there? And on top of that, it looks like they didn't even develop the damn thing, so they couldn't even RIP OFF a good looking one. Terrible.

[shirizaki @ Aug 25th 2006 11:19AM]

Zune = Gigabeat with more girth and DRM.

No thanks, I'll aim for the gigabeat or the WSiPod.

[uberpinguin @ Aug 25th 2006 11:21AM]

"That isn't the battery you a$$ lol" --Apple kills another small project

Yes, it is. It is marked 'Lithium-Ion' and bears many of the marks and declarations found on batteries. Additionally, if you save a copy of the picture you'll see it titled 'zunebatt.jpg'.

[Brett Dalton @ Aug 25th 2006 11:24AM]

Actully to the person who said that wasnt the battery if you look closely at it, it says li-ion so it is in fact the battery

[Jnetty @ Aug 25th 2006 11:32AM]

How does one find stuff on the FCC before it comes out?

[Dolomite @ Aug 25th 2006 11:32AM]

What a god-awful design. Looks like something from the mid-80's. Every picture that gets released is like another nail driving into the Zune's coffin.

[Tyler @ Aug 25th 2006 11:37AM]

"LOLOLOLLLLLLLL! This pile of shit is just waiting to go BOOOM!

This is more of a Microsoft Killer than an iPod Killer. LOLOLOLLLL!!!"

This is clearly a statement of your complete intellectual limits. I believe this to be good competition in one or another in the mp3 player market against the iPod, as the iPod advantage is clearly marketting over any other mp3 player out there, like there are already way better products out, ie the Zen and the Gigabeat, but those arent really marketted like they should. Microsoft on the other hand knows how to market (better anyways), so they have a good battle for the common man. If Microsoft does an extremely good job on marketting this, well we shall see.

[solomonrex @ Aug 25th 2006 11:39AM]

No, Microsoft doesn't always partner with hardware. But they do TRY.

The first xbox was initially going to be manufactured by computer manufacturers, but Compaq/HP/Dell, et al wisely decided there was no money in console hardware.

So MS went to Flextronics, which is NOT an independent manufacturer. They do contract manufacturing, which means you need to come up with your own blueprints, and you're responsible for everything before and after assembly. And they bought off-the-shelf computer chips from Intel and graphics card from NVidia. It was the worst of all worlds: they didn't own or control any piece and they didn't design anything, they just threw it together in a big black box. Which is why Xbox is so unprofitable today, they've discouraged new games on a console that isn't all that old.

So this IS a surprise that Toshiba is manufacturing this, because it's another data point that shows MS' impatience. The X360 was designed in part by another firm (chip by IBM, casing by a design firm, graphics by I Forget), and it's manufactured by Flextronics or their competitors. But MS owns all the IP around the chips, etc. Intel, Toshiba, etc., none of them were used. MS's reliance on Toshiba here shows they don't have time to actually make it like X360.

Anyway, let me join the chorus of doubters by saying that it looks an awful lot like a pocketPC, not a good thing by any means.

[Devin @ Aug 25th 2006 11:40AM]

TeleCustom,

I'm not sure where this is coming from...it appears slightly larger than a nano. I believe the 3" dimension is the diagonal screen size isnt it? Which means it is slightly shorter than than 3" in the height and perhaps a bit more than 1" in the width? It seems awfully close to the size of the nano width and height wise.

Perhaps I am seeing this wrong but that connector you see on the bottom of the 2nd or third picture down looks very similar to the ipod usb connector and can give you a pretty good idea of the actual width of the device. If this is the case, they this is quite a good deal smaller than any of the normal sized ipods.

[Wingsy @ Aug 25th 2006 3:53PM]

Compare the Zune to something Apple is likely to come up with next:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-5qGn7kIkMA

[astutefool @ Aug 25th 2006 11:43AM]

I have no objection to the design. It is very reminiscent of, but as refined as, the iPod. The thickness is ridiculous though, they are shooting themselves in the foot. Why would I want to go BACK to the MP3 players with 3g ipod form factors? It's seem to be too much shit in one package without much thought to the presentation. Lord knows Microsoft will sink a sum the size of a small country's economy into this, and it will be advertised to death.

[Wingsy @ Aug 25th 2006 3:49PM]

Compare the Zune to what I think is close to what Apple has in store for us next:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-5qGn7kIkMA

[Shriek @ Aug 25th 2006 11:46AM]

"Sorry! (I thought) it was my first time! No need to be so aggresive."

No problem. However, I'm a firm believer in tough love, hence my aggresive tone in the post. Carry on!

[geekdreams @ Aug 25th 2006 11:47AM]

Looks like Pyxis was the original name for the device, and Argo is the name of the service (music store/community/wi-fi network).

[Tomas @ Aug 25th 2006 11:49AM]

This thing is probably the same size as the Gigabeat S, which means that it is a little bit thicker but not as wide as the 5G iPod. The vertical screen is a huge advantage when you scroll through your music.

I love my S30, but the Zune looks very promising. Maybe a firmware upgrade to the Gigabeat S Series will make them compatible? No Wifi obviously...


Can't wait to get the full specs on this thing!

[keith waddington @ Aug 25th 2006 11:52AM]

Mmm.

[Johnny Appleseed @ Aug 25th 2006 11:53AM]

Those who say the iPod's success is solely based on marketing are ignoring its interface design, form factor and software integration. There are a lot more things going for it than image, and most of the market seems to appreciate this. Also, Apple would never allow the iPod to be as bulky as the Zune looks to be.

[Vince @ Aug 25th 2006 11:55AM]

Devin, compare the width to that of the laptop next to it. It's wider than an iPod, maybe only 5 mm or so, but it does look a lot thicker.

[PixelNurse @ Aug 25th 2006 11:57AM]

I'm so fed up with the microsofties who always shout and scream that the only reason anyone buys an iPod is marketing. It's such a loser argument.

I always evaluate my options before spending money as I'm by no means a rich man, and in the portable digital audio player market the iPod+iTunes is the best system out there for my needs. It has nothing to do with the marketing for me, it has everything to do with the aesthetic beauty of the product, the reliability and the ease of use. The iPod is simply a better product for the majority of it's users than any of the competition.

That's not to say there aren't groups of users who will get better value from another product or that there aren't other good DAPs out there, but it's utterly ridiculous to attribute the iPods overwhelming success and dominance to purely marketing.

[TheChosenOne @ Aug 25th 2006 12:00PM]

Devin,
You've got to be kidding me. Look at the pictures of the Zune in relation to the laptop. How can you possibly believe it is the size of the iPod nano? For even more proof (in case you believe the laptop is very small, or something along those lines), notice that the Zune has a HARD DRIVE.

[keith waddington @ Aug 25th 2006 12:04PM]

It looks to me, at least in terms of thickness, like my wife's first generation iPod. Last week we took it in to an Apple shop to get the battery replaced. They said they could not change the battery of that model so for 70 US gave her a NEW first generation iPod. Well the case and battery are new.

She was over the moon because now she has a FIRST generation iPod that looks pristine! I admit the thing i chunky, but it has character! A bit like my Mac Plus which still works!

Peace
http://www.waddo.net/