Debunk: new Zunes will not have text messaging, but Microsoft's Zune Social community site will

We've gotten a small flood of emails from readers today concerned with a certain page found in last night's leaked Zune support training manuals. The conclusion immediately drawn was that the portables would start communicating with one another via WiFi text messaging; quite the surprising revelation given the near total lack of (reasonable) text input options available in the hardware. The more likely reason why the document would outline the ability to share songs with typed-in messages with your friends? Well, it might have something to do with that Zune Social music community site Microsoft is launching alongside the new players -- you know, the one they were touting as the place where Zune users and music fans could go to meet, communicate, share tunes, create "Zune cards", etc. Still, if Microsoft wanted to do for the Zune what Apple did with the iPod touch, we wouldn't complain about the addition of a full screen browser and multi-touch interface.

[Thanks to everyone who sent this in]

[Jhongerkong @ Oct 20th 2007 9:16PM]

Oh well...

[mfed3 @ Oct 21st 2007 5:01PM]

oh well? thats awesome, again converging microsoft products. gamertags and zune tags are the same thing, now cross messaging with xbox 360 is a great feature. just use the xbox 360 text interface, add in some prediction and ill be very happy with that. maybe future models will have a built in mic?

[rittertechnic @ Oct 20th 2007 9:22PM]

this is honestly the first time I heard about the Zune's ability to send text message... so I'm not so sure you can DEBUNK something no one ever mentioned...

[nate @ Oct 20th 2007 9:36PM]

someone *did* mention it though, lots of people emailed them about it because of the manual posted last night.

just because you haven't heard of something doesn't mean noone else has

[Clinton Christian @ Oct 20th 2007 9:38PM]

http://www.engadget.com/2007/10/20/new-zune-support-documents-leaked-only-obsessed-need-apply/ .

It was mentioned :)

[Cunthor @ Oct 20th 2007 9:53PM]

Fifty bucks to the person that hacks Zune into a text messaging player.

[DeoWulf @ Oct 20th 2007 10:59PM]

Zune's pretty hack-safe, unfortunately. Don't expect to lose that $50.

[John @ Oct 20th 2007 11:45PM]

My god, can you imagine trying to input text with a "squircle"? That would be so frustrating. You're only supposed to have to select three or four things at a time with the squircle, not type out "idk my bff rose"

[dj-kenpo @ Oct 21st 2007 4:13PM]

it wouldn't be any harder than text input on a game console controller.

[Don @ Oct 22nd 2007 2:53PM]

Personally, I'd like to see a keypad add-on for the device, in much the same way they have added the chatpad to the 360 controller. Maybe just attached to a cable, so that you could use the Zune as a web browser/MSN messenger platform. In widescreen mode, it would make a pretty decent small-format browser or chat app platform - and might keep some people from migrating to the iPod Touch.

I just bought a brown one in the Woot sale. In the end, I just couldn't justify $400 for the Touch versus $80 for the Zune.

[Constable Odo @ Oct 21st 2007 12:02AM]

Those new Zunes are so Albus Dumbledore. Yup, totally Albus Dumbledore.

[scott @ Oct 21st 2007 1:01AM]

lulz.

[steve @ Oct 21st 2007 11:07AM]

Snape Kills Zune!!!11!

[snitch @ Oct 21st 2007 12:08AM]

makes sense, how in hell are people goin to text with a freaking squirecle lol, am telling ya by the time it comes out no ones goin to really want one

[jilie @ Oct 21st 2007 12:29AM]

multitouch on dap, pda and phones is still useless, imoh

[css{sharp; @ Oct 21st 2007 1:33PM]

and you are clearly basing your opinion off of the iPhone and iPod Touch you have never used. Thanks for your input! Way to go...

[matt @ Oct 22nd 2007 1:19AM]

Very subtle maintenance of this site's pro-apple bias....