Microsoft's Zune Originals customizations: free, starting tomorrow
By Thomas Ricker 
posted Nov 12th 2007 5:21AM
posted Nov 12th 2007 5:21AM
[Via Zune Life, thanks Harrison]
Read -- Cool Hunting
Read -- Microsoft's Zune Originals (launching November 13)
Wow, that's quite beautiful actually. Although I'd highly recommend buying a skin to protect that engraving.
Look here for more pictures:
http://www.coolhunting.com/archives/2007/11/zune_originals.php
Actually it's pretty nice!
Nice. Now, I'm just waiting for some reviews on the zune 80.
now THAT is nice.
very pretty.
If it was Mac compatible, I'd consider getting it. :( I hope this gives Apple a kick in the pants.
I 100% agree with your comment: These things NEED to be Mac-compatible! My iPod just died and i'm trying to find a refurbished one until they come out with the next gens. I just don't dig this year's iPod line-up at all. Apple needs to add wifi and a radio in the next gen of iPod nanos at least - despite them constantly saying that no one wants many of those features.
Id rather have more storage than a radio, waste of space in the case if you ask me.
This seems to be a much better execution of what macskinz.com has been doing. I must admit.. these do look quite slick!
Wow I'm speechless... I now know what to get to my sis for Christmas ^_^... Can we use our own designs?
Haha - international artists, but no international products.
ohh....if only they supported standard subscription services, not just Zune Pass...
Wow, very very cool.
In Soviet Russia, Zune gets a tattoo of YOU!
So did that guy really change his name to Microsoft Zune?
Now if only we could add our OWN customizations that would be even more amazing!
Did you just rip off a Yakov Smirnoff reference? If you did, nice job my good man. If not, nice job my good man.
new zunes are looking nicer and nicer...
Great, now I'll have to sell the Zune I just bought off of Woot.com for $85 on eBay! I'm confused about two things though: So is the 80 still only in black? And what's the deal with no EQ? I'm assuming it's just no customizable EQ and some Mac daddy started spreading the FUD that there's no EQ at all?
If that guy really did change his name, I guess he has no choice but to allow himself to be engraved by a scalding hot laser now...There is a god!
Holy cow that beautiful. Much much more beautiful that I expected.
I'm back in Sweden now and wish I still lived in Orange County now. *banging my head against the desk*
eBay dude, eBay...
So pwetty...
Really, there are so many designs to toss up between - and they all look so nice.
Agreed... I'm almost paralyzed by the variety... I might not buy any of them because I can't buy them all.
Folks, read the CNET review, Zune tops iPod...
http://www.cnettv.com/9742-1_53-31412.html
I'm not a fan of the Zune (especially since there's no Mac compatibility), but I must admit that that looks pretty cool.
something I didn't expect and it's good. But if you're someone like me you would probably buy a case which covers the picture. Maybe it'll be durable...
A friend of mine was considering getting a Mac but when he found out it wasn't compatible with the new Zune's he got an HP.
I think it is Bills secret plan to drive down Mac sales.
LOL.
aren't HP's cool? soo much things for a reasonable price!
I have a few things to say. I'm digging on the new Zune. I think they are clean looking, the interface looks slick, and I'm just hoping that they are as great as they purportedly are and seem.
Secondly, I'm also digging on that Smiley Face skin by Laurent Fetus, clean and simple design and it looks really nice in the black and white. I'm totally picking up a new Zune, probably the 8GB and I will most definitely be getting that skin for it.
(Insert stupid McDonald's catchphrase here)
these had best come out in the uk at some time otherwise i might have to catch my private jet over to the us goddamit
Damn. I was gonna pick one up on import via eBay as soon as these hit state-side. Now I'm gonna want one with a design on and they might not stock random designs in eBay shops. Grrrr.
Not a zune fan, but that is way better than the iPod engraving crap…
Am I the only one who doesn't like the face's thick beveled puke-green look? Seriously, brown looked much better. Maybe I just need to see it in person.
How long until someone engraves the image of an iPod/iPhone on the back of a zune? :-)
very very cool ......a breath of fresh ( non-apple ) air
Maybe you could engrave the Apple logo on the back and blow people's minds.
your head would explode.
If you did that there would be a line around the block.
Dang, I was going to grab one from a local store tomorrow but I might order one from this site. Some of those designs are pretty cool. Just hope the site has larger pictures. There looks like there is a lot of detail in those drawings so I'd like to check them out closer (hard to pick one as well).
Is it me or do these new Zunes look WAY COOLER THAN THE NEW iPODs???? I think Apple has gotten complacent this generation... I have a last gen nano (not the fatty the one before it...) and these new flash based Zunes look like what the new iPods should have looked like! I really like the sqaured off design... in this day and age everything is roundy and "plasticy/toy" looking (zens, ipods, sansas, etc...) these look like the "elegent" choice! And the software looks AWESOME! This will easily kick my nano to the curb... maybe I can gift it to one of the teens in my family and save myself a few bucks this christmas! I have a feeling that these will be the new "must have" items for teens... the "this is YOUR mp3 player" idea they are going for is just awesome and I can really see kids trying to express themselves with these... not just trying to be like everyone else with an iPod XGen...
Way to go MS!!! Finally a good alternative in the MP3 player space!
i think they will take a pretty good share of the market... certainly nowhere near ipod levels but its going to take alot more marketshare than the zune 1.
why do companies keep trying to compete with apple by releasing inferior products?!? If you wanna beat the nano, you gotta make it nano-er! Duh!
big improvement over the first round of zunes, though.
Nano-er? So, basically the same size as the old Nano with more features, and that's not "nano-er" enough for you?
"Basically" isn't the same.
People go with the smaller ones for carrying convienence, if that is not a priority, they opt for the larger capacity models.
Finally, something pretty sweet from this music player.
Although I do love my iPod's look. All I need is the logo ;)
Still, options are always a good idea.
Sigh.... I had decided not to replace my first gen Zune, as it still functions perfectly and I'll get all the same toys (less the squircle of course). But they just keep adding in perks.
Why oh why must they tempt me so?!?
I feel the same way!
Well these will keep the Zune guy's Tattoo artist busy for a while
I can almost hear them laughing at the zune guy: "Yeah, try tatooing THAT - all EIGHTEEN of them! Tee hee!!"
Oh wait, that's me laughing.
Well I just canceled my pre-order with amazon so I can get my hands on one of these.
The TADO one looks pretty sweet.
Niiiiiiiiice...... I just might get one.
Now if only Apple and Microsoft would engage in pricing wars...
This is a cool idea.
Wow! So far, it seems the Apple cult is speechless. No one has popped in to seriously bash the Zune yet.
Man, these do look tasty. Of all the companies to release something thats more aesthetically pleasing than an apple based product, i would have never guessed it'd be microsoft. But these new zunes, especially with the art on them, look amazing.
I'd have a real hard time deciding on either this or an ipod. Nah, who am i kidding, ipods are for sheep.
these look nice.
finally, a DAP that i could definitely do.
my ipod's not going to live much longer, and i've been shopping for an alternative. this might just be it.
I'd buy one, but it's not Mac compatible. If given a choice between my 24" iMac and owning a Zune, the iMac will win every time.
I suppose I could get one and use it on the Bootcamp partition of my iMac, but that seems-- Wrong.
Two comments:
1. For all those that say that MS needs to make them Mac compatible... we've gone over it a million times why they don't. Apple makes the iPod Windows compatible because of the huge market share that MS has, since Apple makes money selling the hardware. MS makes more money selling software than it does with hardware, and for that reason keeping people more interested in Windows so they can have a Zune is a better idea. No need giving people one more reason to "switch."
2. One artist I'd love to see for engraving is Banksy, however that'd probably be one of the biggest sellout moves possible, and I think Bansky is either about totally not selling out, or selling out as much as possible. Who knows.
Since I keep mine in a case pretty much 24/7, I've never been able to figure out the point of engraving the iPod. Is the Zune somehow different? Or do you guys just love the idea of art undercover?
god damn, these zunes are nice...
just preordered my Zune 80. =D
See the thing is it takes very little to get pple (consumers) excited and little to switch from the ipod madness. So I guess looks like the ipod honeymoon is getting closer to an end. :-)
Thanks Engadget for giving me my first seizure after looking at those pics . . .
I don't think I'll ever "get" why people think of mp3 players and phones as jewelery and status symbols.
I can see a nano redesign coming along real quick.
As in, "Cupertino, start your copiers"? ;)
I was thinking more of a limited, special edition re-release of the original candy bar shaped nano (that Redmond copied)
As a Mac/iPod user, I'm glad with how Microsoft has one-upped Apple on this. 2 lines of engraving? pah, nothing compared to 4 lines of text and a random picture!
But seriously, at the moment, I'd rather have a zune if it were compatible with my Mac.
nothing shows your unique personality like someone else's art (and signature) on the back of something you own and paid good money for
-=R=-