Zune getting Audible
by Thomas Ricker 
posted Apr 21st 2008 at 8:14AM
No, not audible as in the ability to be heard from beneath the strain of a million screeching iPod fanboys. Rather, the Microsoft Zune is about to be Audible book capable. At least if you believe Paul Thurrott (which we do) and others who have received confirmation from [Via ZuneBoards]
Reader Comments (Page 1 of 2)
jatin_76 @ Apr 21st 2008 8:17AM
and I love it.....
nxtiak @ Apr 21st 2008 8:18AM
I personally don't care about Audible, but glad it's going to be supported by the Zune.
There are tons of people not buying one because it doesn't support Audible.
furquanatique @ Apr 21st 2008 8:24AM
Did I read this right? Did Engadget use the word fanboys? How is this possible? This must be a mistake! In any event, audible sounds good.
Lowest Ranked @ Apr 21st 2008 2:51PM
Whoa, the puns in your last sentence was too much for my brain in Monday morning mode.
roole @ Apr 21st 2008 8:30AM
What's a Zune?
Esat Dedezade @ Apr 21st 2008 9:41AM
I found your comment most useful and intriguing. I would like to subscribe to you newsletter if at all possible.
I await with eager anticipation.
/saturated with sarcasm
Josef @ Apr 21st 2008 9:42AM
What's a roole?
Esat Dedezade @ Apr 21st 2008 9:54AM
Roole (pronounce Roo-el): The chances of this person being an apple fanboy is extremely high. Activites include, but are not limited to bashing a popular mp3 player with better functionality than the apple iPod (not ipod touch, different category), in every respect, purely for the reason that it is made by a corporation (read: MS) that for some reason they dislike.
Warning, opinions are 100% biased and non-sensical, and give no positive input to a discussion other than giving others the pleasure to low rank them.
Just one more definition for you all, but I can't be bothered, I'l paste the link here for you:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pwned
I am done.
Steffen Jobbs @ Apr 21st 2008 11:00AM
This is a Zune. He represents all the other Zune users out there. I can't wait until he gets his name changed. He'll be the largest capacity Zune there is. All power to the Zune.
http://www.engadget.com/2008/04/10/zune-guys-name-change-endeavor-is-back-on/
fanman @ Apr 21st 2008 11:11AM
Perhaps he isn't from north america, the only place were zunes are sold?
I gave him a high rank anyhow.
roole @ Apr 21st 2008 2:55PM
Ooooh...... Zunies sure are iPod touchy.
Esat Dedezade @ Apr 21st 2008 5:32PM
My primary mp3 player is an jailbroken iPod touch.
Fail x2 multiplier Combo.
You're on a role!
MrGutts @ Apr 21st 2008 8:46AM
/whack's roole
It's the thing that can survive when you drop it on the ground, unlike a i-touch that will shatter into a billion pixels..
swingin' dick hero @ Apr 21st 2008 9:10AM
What's an itouch?
Geoffrey Sperl @ Apr 21st 2008 9:29AM
@swingin' dick hero: It's the first two words in the title of a 1990s pop song by the Divinyls, of course!
And remember, MrGutts, if anyone i-touches you in your private place you should tell your parents immediately.
Josef @ Apr 21st 2008 9:44AM
He fingered my click-wheel!
swingin' dick hero @ Apr 21st 2008 9:55AM
Sorry I'm not familiar with the Divinyls, but maybe I should check them out since they seem to have a special place in your heart.
Also I would like to make a small correction on that: "if your Parents i-touches you in your private place you should tell Anyone immediately."
Esat Dedezade @ Apr 21st 2008 9:56AM
He fingered my glov... oh wait....
Zeus.:God @ Apr 21st 2008 10:18AM
The iTouch is what the iPod Touch was originally going to be called- much like the iPhone.
Its also much shorter than typing "iPod Touch".
manfesto @ Apr 21st 2008 10:54AM
"It's the thing that can survive when you drop it on the ground"
Unlike it's owner, at about 0:42 seconds in :)
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=s5QiqbHp5Q8
//As a multimedia person, I totally dig the Zune's current ad campaign and commercials
FWIW, I've dropped my iPhone a few times (yes, I'm a clutz). It's perfectly fine, save a few scratches on the back (the front never scratches - my friend keeps his iPhone in the same pocket as his keys). I'd imagine the iPod touch to have a similar level of durability.
swingin' dick hero @ Apr 21st 2008 11:33AM
Was it really going to be called iTouch? Never heard that Apple considered that.. Though I would like to read any article that confirms this since I always believed it only was the name non-iPod-users called it by.
James @ Apr 21st 2008 8:53AM
I was wondering why zune didn't have this to begin with but I'm glad they're pushing audio books over TV shows and movies. It makes more since for an mp3 player.
Jeff @ Apr 21st 2008 12:55PM
I disagree that it makes "more" sense, but i am glad they're finally getting around to supporting it - the Zune is a total no-go for me without Audible... (i'll still take an iPod over a Zune, but is this is true, i can finally start recommending the Zune to my family members that are more intrenched in the Windows world)
...but then again isn't Paul Thurrot ALWAYS wrong? ...he seems to be a sort of anti-indicator, generally anything he says, the opposite comes true... but Audible support seems so obvious that he might just be right this time.
Bloodjun @ Apr 21st 2008 9:48AM
F YES! I just recently got an audible account to for... RON AN FEZ NOON TO 3 ON XM 202... and this was my only complaint about the Zune. Very happy that I won't have to strip the DRM off every single time now!
Craig @ Apr 21st 2008 10:36AM
You mean there's a PMP other than the iPod? Do tell.
Sam Zebian @ Apr 21st 2008 10:48AM
Yea and this one's been out since 2006! You must have been in a coma for a few years (I hope you got it by someone punching you in the face and knocking you out, thus making you fall from your roof, or something like that...)
Jeff @ Apr 21st 2008 12:57PM
just for the record, Sam is an idiot. (and a violent one at that.)
Eric @ Apr 21st 2008 11:04AM
Welcome Zuunies.
Seriously.
This is great for Zune users. I love Audible. Lots of books way cheaper than at iTunes. I have the two book a month plan and I never run out of great books to listen to as I run my four miles to whip myself back into shape.
And if you don't have a digital player now, Audible has plans to sell players with $50 rebates for signing up.
(I have no affiliation with Audible, and they used to piss me off for not supporting Safari, but overall, I highly recommend them.)
Craig @ Apr 21st 2008 10:52AM
@Sam Zebian: I hear they sell sarcasm-detectors on ebay for the humor-challenged. You might want to look into getting one of those.
Esat Dedezade @ Apr 21st 2008 11:01AM
I'm a repair man for them! Check out the lazer post above!
Sam Zebian @ Apr 21st 2008 11:08AM
Hey, you were the one pointing out the lame ass joke from last year... just saying, get with the times.... Oh, and here on engadget, we reply using the reply button... The @:username thing is from gizmodo, not engadget...
Esat Dedezade @ Apr 21st 2008 11:25AM
Ha ha h... what?
Ed @ Apr 21st 2008 11:08AM
I can check Audible off the list of problems I have with my Zune. For me having a subscription based music service is a must, but why can't MS look at the iPod and say we need to do that:
- Audible support (MS will fix this in the next half year)
- Clock
- Sleep Timer
- Wide range of hardware support options
- Auto Playlists
It should also have easier transfer of video from Media Center HD to the Zune.
Well, I hate to say it (being an MS fanboy) but if there is a subscription based iTunes, I will buy a new iPod (I am already waiting for a 3G iPhone since they will have Exchange email support).
Microsoft needs to wake up here... the Zune is great, but the only things it has over the iPod is a music subscription and a better screen. If it could meet the features of the iPods, I would stick with the Zune.
Che @ Apr 21st 2008 11:25AM
Well, my iPod Touch has a clock, but it's always wrong, so that's not much of a selling point.
If your PC has been in a sleep or hibernate state since the last time you started iTunes, iTunes will helpfully set the iTouch clock wrong every time you sync it. Apparently iTunes is just too clever to rely on the (correct) time that your computer keeps and instead has its own special (like the Olympics) clock that stops every time the computer goes to sleep. I assume this doesn't happen on Macs, but it's been a problem on PCs ever since the iTouch came out. With all of the new software versions Apple puts out in its efforts to block hackers, you'd think they could bother to fix this.
I love Audible and might have bought a Zune if it was Audible compatible 6 months ago.
Esat Dedezade @ Apr 21st 2008 11:26AM
Doesn't it also have fm radio?
lt.milo @ Apr 21st 2008 3:39PM
I own a zune, but I am thinking of selling it if I can't get linux and mac support by the end of the year. I'm suprized people don't care about these issues very much on engadget.
computer.dude.28 @ Apr 21st 2008 8:16PM
I don't see a clock as any sort of selling point to me at all. I can understand that some people would prefer to pull an MP3 player out of their pocket, occasionally having to turn it on, and find the time, but I still think it's much easier to just wear a watch.
jhaks @ Apr 21st 2008 9:57PM
The the features you want are pretty easy to implement. Hopefully they do it in the next update. As for the auto-playlist feature you should check out Microsoft Research Music Steering. It intelligently tags and categorizes your music library programmaticly and then can generate playlists based on what you want to hear, your mood or your situation. It is currently only a research project but hopefully it gets implemented into a product.
http://channel9.msdn.com/Showpost.aspx?postid=388038
justin @ Apr 21st 2008 11:26AM
Engadget loves to mess with the Zune kids' heads by mentioning an iPod somewhere in the article. Well played Engadget. I hope you go to a Microsoft keynote and talk really loudly on your iPhone during a presentation. I WANT to see how that goes over.
I have an idea how it would play out, but it involves SCSI drives and the phrase: "Don't RAID me bro!"
Jubei @ Apr 21st 2008 6:42PM
Audible capability is a great feature to have. It's a shame that it will be implemented on a Zune. I wonder if monetary compensation similar to the labels for every Zune sold is at hand. Why else would it be added to such a product that is sold at a loss.
Forrest @ Apr 21st 2008 12:10PM
Do you own a Zune?
If not then kindly STFU.
Jubei @ Apr 21st 2008 12:20PM
At least with Audible support, MS has no hand in screwing over their PlayForSure partners. It's unfortunate that these partners are still continuing to use the system. It will take a while to migrate out of that fiasco. No thanks to MS.
Zeus.:God @ Apr 21st 2008 4:33PM
No, he doesn't own a Zune. He's never used one, touched one, or even contemplated doing so. He is an idiot and a blind one at that- and there is no hope for him. Just down rank him and move on.
Quikboy @ Apr 21st 2008 6:23PM
@Jubei : Exactly why would "you" care at all about PlayForSure? Based on your comment history, one could identify you as an iPhone/Touch user, and a Zune/MS hater.
If you'd actually use PFS, you would know why MS chose to go the independent route from that. The idea behind PFS was great (many devices able to work easily with many online stores, all done legally, though still with DRM), but had too many shortfalls. Namely the devices supporting it just weren't compelling enough to pull users away from the iPod, and the online stores were sometimes cumbersome to work with and didn't have the large library like the iTunes store.
So MS made the more wise choice and chose to take the Zune route as something independent off of that. Obviously, the Zune's doing pretty well for many people, and most reasonable people can understand MS's choice in abandoning PFS.
Now if they just brought support for WMP 11, let it work with PFS stores to have the PFS title (even though Marketplace is practically the best online store to browse through, even better than the iTunes store), and improve WMP 11 with updates to compensate for these users, we would have more happier people.
WMP 11 is really great, but needs some more improvements.
Anyway, the point Jubei is that if you don't even personally have a connection to PFS, you shouldn't even try using it as flamebait. It's just typical for haters like you to pull out "facts" and twist them in a way to make it sound bad. Really sad.
Jubei @ Apr 21st 2008 6:40PM
Excuse me? Who is twisting the facts here. Everything I have posted is true and factual. You and your cohort Zeus are the only ones twisting the fact here. The two points I have stated are all quite true. Deny it if you wish, twist the fact if you wish, but you cannot use a big enough shovel to pontificate your statements.
Quikboy @ Apr 21st 2008 7:25PM
My points are just as true. You don't use PFS, nor do I bet you even tried the latest Zunes.
Instead you're complaing about something as small and ancient as MS not doing PFS, even though you yourself don't use Zunes or FPS.
It's like hating a person you never met, just because you read that they did something bad once in their lifetime. That's ridiculous.
And if you read Zune news, MS doesn't do the whole Universal gets a $1 thing anymore with the new Zunes. I mean, you haven't heard any tech sites still complaining about this long past ordeal, right?
Jubei @ Apr 21st 2008 7:39PM
*sigh* The difficulties of explaining to individuals such as yourself who seems to be incapable of expanding the who, what, where and why's of point. Such as it is, perhaps its best that the Zune does exist for users such as you and Mr. Omniscience there. The level of the build from that rebranded gigabit player justifies its existence for a certain type of audience, in which you fall heavily in that category.
Zeus.:God @ Apr 21st 2008 9:09PM
Jubei, just give up, you loser. You're not fooling anyone- you are a total fanboy, in all senses of the word. If anyone here is twisting facts, its YOU. I don't know who the Hell this Quik guy is, but whoever he is, at least he has his facts STRAIGHT.
You need to learn when to give up and to know when you're wrong.
Jubei @ Apr 21st 2008 9:47PM
Ahh Zeus, I really though there was some hope in you. You know time isn't completely linear when one is capable of self awareness. It's a shame that you and your cohort is incapable of that thought. That's okay, I suppose today, the now, is probably the simplest of ways that one can converse with you.
Revel in your joy! Audiobooks is coming for the Zune. The rebranded Toshiba Gigabit player, albeit slightly modified with M. Mouse design controls. I can imagine the huge numbers of R&D dollars spent on developing the giga errr Zune player. The many smiling faces as partners we're told that they are being screwed. It's wonderful to see such diehard alliance to device designed to destroy your partners. Yes, mszunefan clearly has his steadfast allies right here at Engadget.
Rob Schoenfeld @ Apr 21st 2008 12:06PM
Dear MSFT,
Thank you for providing Audible support for my Zune hardware. However there are a few things I believe should be a higher priority in the Zune Marketplace. As I do enjoy the Zune hardware very much, I find the Zune market place experience to be laching.
1. I would love tighter integration with Windows Media Center.
2. Please please please let me edit my ID 3 tags right in the Market place.
3. I would also love the ability to play my Zune subscriptoin music in my Win Mob device.
4. Please consider eliminating WMP al together and allow for MP3 support in the Zune Marketplace (Subscription Music excluded of course).
Any that's my to cents.
Good Day