Red Zune coming on June 10th, try and contain your excitement

If you've been holding out for a red version of the Zune to hit the market before you finally make the plunge, we're guessing the more reasonable metrics of "number of friends with a Zune" or "number of rational software features implemented by Microsoft" aren't really your cup of tea. That's cool, wholly rational actors are totally overrated. On June 10th you'll be able to nab a special edition Red Zune at Target or Amazon (who's laughing now, GameStop?), but just in case you need help holding out that long, Microsoft has unleashed some official press shots of the "watermelon red" player. Not a bad color choice in the slightest, but we were hoping for some aquamarine doubleshot to really make this guy pop. More pics after the break.

[Via Zune-Online]

[Ismael @ Jun 4th 2007 5:29PM]

Now thats quite nice!

I still need to catch up with this mp3 player market stuff... i dont have an ipod or a zune or anything mp3 player related lol... i let my vaio do the mp3 playing business..

[Forrest @ Jun 4th 2007 5:38PM]

Ismael, I'd recommend looking other places than Engadget to help you make an informed decision on the purchase of an mp3 player. Many of the commenters (and even some of the writers) can't see past their own preferences (and in some cases rabid loyalties) to offer objective comparisons.

I like my Zune a lot, but the only other mp3 player I've ever owned was an OLD Sony/Nike thing, so I can't say how it compares to anything recent.

[calvin @ Jun 4th 2007 5:29PM]

interesting... red and it's not affiliated with the product(red) stuff. or maybe i'm wrong?

[MrGam3r @ Jun 4th 2007 5:37PM]

yeah they'll just say its the (RED) Zune - 10 percent of profits go to help microsofts branch in Africa

[EDomain @ Jun 4th 2007 5:33PM]

@Ismael:

You have a Sony Vaio? You should just looooove the Zune then, what with the Vaio's easy interface with all things and systems electronic

[justin @ Jun 4th 2007 5:36PM]

I am sure the zune is a great product, but what makes these limited editions worth while if every zune out there is a limited edition.

Seems like they are diluting the brand rather than building it.

[Ozbone @ Jun 4th 2007 5:43PM]

Well Forrest I think you're only half right. When I research a product I want the objective stuff for sure ... but I want to hear what real people think too - and engadget is a great place for that.

[Forrest @ Jun 4th 2007 9:40PM]

I would agree that opinions from real people count. But are fanbois real people? :)

Seriously though, if I hadn't bought my Zune the day it came out, I probably wouldn't have gotten it at all based on what I've read on this blog, both the articles and the comments. That would have been a real shame.

[EDomain @ Jun 4th 2007 5:43PM]

Forrest and Ismael,

My post about the Vaio (and hence Sony) is dead on. I had a friend with a Vaio and you would be amazed at the number of devices he could not get to work with that computer. Sony is not in the habit of playing nice with other devices/formats and I watched him swear, plead, and cry at his Vaio for months until he finally got rid of it and got a new system. Yeah, it was that bad.

As for the Zune, well, I'm glad Forrest and the other ten Zune owners love it. When's the social?

[tubes @ Jun 4th 2007 5:58PM]

"When's the social?"

Whenever your mom gets here! D'Oh!

Ha! Just kidding; I couldn't resist the joke!

Um... Red Zune. OK, cool. Whatever. Looks nice.

[McGinley @ Jun 4th 2007 6:32PM]

Real people do not pass here.

[Rush @ Jun 4th 2007 5:48PM]

Now you can truly build a wall with these bricks...

[Ismael @ Jun 4th 2007 5:49PM]

To be honest, I know vaio's arent the best computers, but they are quite versatile to be honest.
The only reason i compared my vaio to an mp3 player is because of versatility and lightweight (the vaio SZ series is quite good).
For other hardcore gaming (etc.) related things, i gladly prefer my Toshiba Qosmio!

Regarding the engadget comment, i do think engadget is abit apple biased sometimes.. I really respect microsoft for their good OSystems especially vista, I dont know why we have to fight (apple fans and MS fans).. sometimes i think its because apple fans are jealous MS has 96% of market share.. but anywho..
I can say lots and lots about this subject but im tired.

[brian @ Jun 4th 2007 5:51PM]

Instead of them trying to make us buy their products by coming out with them in new colors, why don't they make products that we want to buy?

[Mark @ Jun 4th 2007 6:09PM]

apparently they made one that a million of us do

[Robert @ Jun 4th 2007 5:56PM]

i waited 6 months for the 60+ gb zune, then one day i got a chance to use a mac, at my church. It was so fast (took 18 seconds to turn on) and easy to use that i reconsidered my stance on Microsoft.
i no longer want vista (its too bad that i got it on amazon the day it came out "pre-order") Vista crashes every time i want to do video edting, or music, or iTunes, heck even Zune crashed my computer. so now i am going to make the switch to mac. Don't waist your time on Zune go and get an iPod. Since i gave up on microsoft i now have the 80 gb iPod Video, the battery lasts 19 & 1/4 hours on music (i timed it), and 5 (i timed it) on video. why would anyone want a zune (i really don't know why i waited 6 months to switch to apple, i wish i had done it sooner.)

[anonymouspimp @ Jun 4th 2007 5:56PM]

Oh my god...

Engadget actually wrote an article about the Zune without linking to the "5 Things Microsoft Needs To Do To Fix the Zune" article...

Truly amazing. I applaud your restraint.

[Josef F @ Jun 4th 2007 6:00PM]

They also managed to avoid linking to their own completely unbiased an scientific poll of iPod fanboys who named it the worst product of the year.

[gibber9583 @ Jun 4th 2007 6:04PM]

@EDomain,

I think you are placing the blame on a Vaio? How is that possible? A vaio runs XP or Vista, how is that 'interface' to blame for anything? Yes, sony products typically do not play well with many other products, but a computer is a computer. its running XP/Vista.

[Eric @ Jun 4th 2007 6:05PM]

You can knock it all you want, but aside from running on a Mac and the Video market (yet, and yet) there isn't anything an iPod can do that a Zune can't. There are more than a few things that the Zune can do, that an Ipod won't or can't do. Issues with the Zune are software related, meaning they could be fixed in the future. Apple isn't going to magically enable that hidden wifi, or radio with a patch.

So Engadget can really stop slamming the Zune, cause it's old. OMG its .2mm thicker than an iPod. Have you guys ever used a Treo? The Original V? Some Blackberries? All those devices are thicker than a Zune, yet they seem to sell very well, and people tend to become addicted to those devices.

[Ignacio @ Jun 4th 2007 7:17PM]

"So Engadget can really stop slamming the Zune, cause it's old. OMG its .2mm thicker than an iPod."

Actually, it's 40% thicker, and is also heavier.

[anonymouspimp @ Jun 4th 2007 6:09PM]

Ten owners? Apparently you don't know as much as you think you do. Microsoft recently announced they have sold 1,000,000 Zunes... in 6 months. And they only had 1 product... which is in the HDD DAP market (where they are already #2 behind Apple)... which has way lower unit sales than the flash player market.

But anyways, stop acting so insecure. You'll still look "cool" with your white earbuds (even after Zune releases a flash player and snags a huge chunk of the market share). It will be at least 2 years before Microsoft levels the playing field (but probably not much more). And by that time, you'll be in college and people won't give a damn which mp3 player you use anyways (just giving you a heads up!)

[Ryhan @ Jun 4th 2007 6:26PM]

I am hardly the apple fan, but microsoft does not have a huge percentage of the market sharewith the Zune. The Zune, though equipped with a nice interface and radio tagging plus wifi features, lags when it come to content, which is most important. "ZuneMarketplace" is riddled with problems, and I believe has exclusive control over video...

I personally "dislike" the ipod, though I the interface is very good and it is fairly reliable. However, those looking for a truly quality, simple, reliable, and "awesome" player should look outside the ipod and the zune; for example, the creative Zen Vision M (or the V-Plus), the Meizu Miniplayer (or even the music card), and PARTICULARLY THE COWON D2. Read more about all of these players at
http://www.anythingbutipod.com/

Personally, I believe it is better when a company dedicates itself to a single field, putting all of its resources there, which ultimately creates better products, like the cowon d2...

[Deezee @ Jun 4th 2007 6:13PM]

I like the Zune, but they really need to start improving the actuall player instead of slapping new colors on it. Its getting old.

[BoZs13 @ Jun 4th 2007 6:13PM]

Eric, the thing is that no one gives a crap about all the Zune's features. This is exactly what Microsoft just doesn't get. It's nice and all when it works, but if you take a step back...that's not what I care about most. Wifi? Who cares about the wifi connectivity on the zune? Please, think about the features before you go raving crazy about them.

[Ismael @ Jun 4th 2007 6:19PM]

Who cares about WiFi? Can you upgrade your iPod's features? I didn't think so.
When you said "no one" were you talking on behalf your little macfanboy community?

[Eric @ Jun 4th 2007 6:23PM]

Bozo,

It's not the fact that it doesn't work the way you want it to, it's the fact that it has it, and it works the way MS says it does.

[anonymouspimp @ Jun 4th 2007 6:29PM]

LOL @ BoZs13

No one cares about the features the Zune has that the iPud doesn't? Like FM Radio? Well... I am someone. And I bought a Sansa E260R over a Nano. Because it has an FM tuner.

(I also got a Zune from work for free. If I HAD to choose between the Zune and the iPod, I would have chosen the Zune based on extra features. But I didn't need 30+ gigs. If Zune had a flash player with a FM tuner I probably would have bought that.)

[cattadoris03 @ Jun 4th 2007 6:14PM]

I dont see why everyone makes fun of Zune for making more colors for it. It makes it much less "generic" compared to the Black or White ipod. I love the idea, (even though im sold for the Black version)

[Duffy @ Jun 6th 2007 3:12AM]

And all that success comes from... what?

because, of course, before today, we'd ALL heard of the "COWON D2".

[thuff @ Jun 5th 2007 2:06PM]

radio sucks. who cares about a FM tuner? i bought an iPod so i don't have to listen to the radio. yay for me.

[anonymouspimp @ Jun 4th 2007 6:35PM]

@Ryhan

I agree with your post for the most part. Meizu has nice looking products and are very inexpensive. Cowon has arguably the best sound quality in their DAPs. And I actually don't know much about Creative... my understanding is they are middle of the road. (BTW, anythingbutipod.com is a great place for reviews! good call!)

But for the record, I never said Zune has a huge percentage of the market share. I was predicting they will in 2 years with the launch of the flash Zune later this year. I simply said they are #2 behind Apple in the HDD category. :)

[Ryhan @ Jun 4th 2007 6:35PM]

No one gives acrap about the Zune's features?

First of all, it has RDS in its radio function, while the ipod needs a gay little thing to awkwardly hang from the bottom...

Secondly, it has beautiful Video-Out...

Thirdly, it has an interface that rivals the ipod's...

Fourthly, it supports AAC to play nice with itunes(which is the biggest source of AAC tracks), and can play a fewothers...

Fifthly, it is far more scrath-resistant than the ipod, and also feels much sturdier...

And finally, it allows people to share music (limited), and photos,etc... while the ipod dosen't let others listen to songs without forcing soemone else offtheir device...

Hey, the Zune isn't exactly paradise, but if the hardware is already in place, then software can make nuemoerous improvements....

[Ryhan @ Jun 4th 2007 6:37PM]

I also have a sansa 250 rhapsody (and neumerous other players, like the k5, yp-t8, ipod nano 4 gig, cowon d2, just to name the most recognized ones)... it is fairly unreliable. A flash-based zune (built by cowon... :D) would be the pinnacleof players, particularly if it was relatively cheap and hadsome more compatibilty...

[johnny @ Jun 4th 2007 6:41PM]

I don't understand why people continue to bash Microsoft for their attempt at the mp3 market. This is their FIRST attempt. Of course the iPod is a nicer piece of hardware (and software) at this point, but just give Microsoft a little bit of time and they will come out with a beautiful device (maybe better than future versions of the iPod). Look at their first attempt in the video game market. The XBOX was very solid (like the Zune is now), and PS2 dominated the market at that time. Then the 360 surpassed the Sony in only its second shot at the video game market. I'm not saying the Zune improvements will be as drastic as the Xbox's, but don't count Microsoft out yet.

[Ryhan @ Jun 4th 2007 6:48PM]

Totally true!!! I am not a M$ fan, and neither am I a macfanboy, but people shouldn't hate entire companies because of generalizations. Many people hate Windows because that's what they ahve and it's always crashing for them, while all the mac people make love to their ipods because their macbooks are advertised to be so reliable/"always working". Give me a break!!!

Most people hate sonic stage; is that a reason to hate the ps2? of course not!!! Thereis no such thing as a whole brand that is good or bad. (except maybe cowon and google, mozzila is still under consideration) :D

[Aaron @ Jun 8th 2007 6:24AM]

Exactly. A lot of people neglect to consider those things. This is their first try, and plenty of people love it. The second one will be even better, just like the Xbox situation.

[Bryan T @ Jun 4th 2007 6:42PM]

WHERE ARE MY SHOES!?!!

[Bryan T @ Jun 4th 2007 7:13PM]

I'm sorry for my pervious comments. The only reason I said that was becuause I do in fact own an original black Zune, and have problem after problem with it. Yesterday, I tried to burn a CD with the program and it only burned 12 of the 17 tracks. Heck, 2 of my 4 XP computers couldn't even get the Zune software to run. Then I see news of a new zune, thats not really new at all, and it just angers me.

[Sy @ Jun 4th 2007 6:45PM]

I remember Bill Gates making fun of Apple about all the multicolor iMacs ...I guess Microsoft thinks colors are real innovations now.

[Ray @ Jun 4th 2007 6:52PM]

This watermelon is the pits!!

[Jay Kahn @ Jun 4th 2007 6:53PM]

I have no interest in the Zune, but it sure looks good (for a zune)

[Ryhan @ Jun 4th 2007 6:54PM]

I beg to differ. Look at the 3-D rendering enabled by Vista, smart one. Albeit it takes up a huge amount of power, put can your 3000 dollar mac pro do that (without additionl software)? hmmm??? And don't get me started on the macbook, macmini (apple tv),or the imac....

However, I do agree that all of these ZUne colors are hardly neccesary... anyone who wanted one probably already has one, or is waiting out for the "mysterious" rumored flash-based Zune...

[billyboy @ Jun 4th 2007 7:25PM]

Surely you're joking. Are you speaking of the app switching in Vista? The Rolodex version of Apple's Expose? Because, every mac sold (and that has been sold for the past 2 years) has that ability. Or is it specifically the 3-dness of the effect? In that case, 3-d effects have been part of osx for-like-ever.

And are you really encourageing someone to go to a site called anythingbutipod to find unbiased information regarding pmp's?

But really... you're not a ms fanboy or anything. Whatev.

[Eric @ Jun 4th 2007 6:55PM]

Yea. Hopefully, they will eventually find that once people realize they don't know what they are talking about they will be come irrelevant. However, they still aren't as bad as Gizmodo. That blog is such a joke, it makes Engadget look like the New York Times.

[Michael @ Jun 4th 2007 7:08PM]

Looks nice. I don't see why people bash this player so much, I've seen at least 5 in my Des Moines, IA high school. Probably 70% of the student body still owns an iPod, but 5 zunes out of ~1800 10-12 is still pretty good. Plus the Zune sounds better unamped than the iPod which is all that matters anyways.

[Eric @ Jun 4th 2007 7:25PM]

"The Original V? Some Blackberries? All those devices are thicker than a Zune, yet they seem to sell very well, and people tend to become addicted to those devices."

Finish the thought. At the size of these devices in general, it's irrelevant. The Zune is slimmer, I find it fits in my pocket better than my iPod because of that. The same goes for weight, for what we are talking about it's not a big deal. We aren't debating UMPC's vs. Desktop replacements. We are talking about bloggers who really have nothing better to do than MS bash and collect ad revenue. 75% of their articles are ripped off other sites and reworded. It's not like they do anything in-depth like Tom's Hardware, or DP Camera review.

[Ryhan @ Jun 4th 2007 8:14PM]

I humbly accept my lack of mac know-how....

But still,I suggested ABI primarily because of its great reiews, and secondly because everyone has used an ipod before...

ABI is otherwise (usualy) unbiased*, and offers a wealth of information on not just palyers, but also earbuds and pretty much anything else audio-related. Of course, most macfanboys like yourself wouldn't be able to tell the difference between my cowon d2 with v-moda vibes vs. ipods with white earbuds playing illegally ripped tracks from file-sharing sites. How quaint. Have you ever heard of an audiophile bothering with ipods?...

(OK, before you snap back, I admit the zune's sound-quality is about the same as the ipod)

-------
*Enzo does have a slight bias against "touch" controls (in otherwords, not all tactile controls), and non-UMS compliant devices. which is totally understandable.

[billyboy @ Jun 4th 2007 9:17PM]

Isn't it funny? If anyone who has information about the mac and cares to comment on factually errant statements (like yours regarding $3000 macpros) is automatically a 'macfanboy'.

but yes. I am. I prefer using macs. I think they have more pros than cons than windows machines. Macfanboy am I.

and the other point was that any site that in its very name, is excluding a whole class of product, and the best selling product at that, is not the place I'd point anyone to to give them a chance to make a good decision. I don't know, perhaps because maybe the ipod is a good solution for some (%70 of) people. I have nothing to say regarding the suitability of the devices for audiophiles seeing as I am not one.

[Ignacio @ Jun 4th 2007 10:44PM]

"Finish the thought. At the size of these devices in general, it's irrelevant."
"The same goes for weight, for what we are talking about it's not a big deal."

Actually, when I bought my current iPod I was planning to get a shuffle, exactly for that reason: it *can* be relevant. It *can* be a big deal. Why? Right now on this part of the word is winter, and I could probably carry ten Zunes in my coat and don't even notice them, but during summer even carrying a cell phone is bothersome, particularly if it is too heavy or chunky.

In the end, I couldn't find a shuffle (2nd gen) anywhere (they had been for sale a couple of months in the US but still were not available here) so I ended up buying an iPod nano. It costs exactly the same as the 30GB iPod which I could have bought instead, can't play videos and only has 8GB. But you know what? I carry it everywhere, it is simply small enough to not be a burden.