Red Zune 80 on its way to retail

Not unlike the early colorized versions of the original Zune before it, the red Zune 80 looks like it should finally be ready to make its un-tattooed retail sales debut . If you've been considering getting loud and/or proud with your next Zune, call ahead to your local gadget stock keeper and see if they're in.

[X-BLADE @ Apr 26th 2008 8:30AM]

Bring it to europe please?

[Shinigami @ Apr 26th 2008 8:32AM]

Please please!

[Chris @ Apr 26th 2008 8:40AM]

Microsoft fail for this very reason.
There's more to the world than the US... :|
Apple might be a rip off over here, but at least they are over here.

[axemachine @ Apr 26th 2008 9:18AM]

I agree. They need to be more aggressive with their golbal market offer in that division if they want to really compete.

[Homeboy @ Apr 26th 2008 9:27AM]

Not selling it in Europe isn't the problem here. My problem is the Zune Team's laziness and half hearted ambitions.

I have a Zune 80 and I loved, easy to navigate and the sound quality is phenomenal but that's where it all ends. The device has so much untapped potential but yet Microsoft doesn't offer any added features like an RSS reader, games(I know that they are on their way) clock/calender or a txt reader. Not only that but there are few minor things they need to iron out with the firmware and dumbed down software like the editing and absence of smart playlists.

All in all, it feels like MS hasn't gone the extra mile to create something which is more than a consumer expects it to me. They have done a great job with the Xbox 306 though, and need to evolve the Zune as well.

MS are probably working on a touch screen Zune and I certainly hope that it will deliver the true capacity and ambitions of microsoft.

[rouge @ Apr 26th 2008 9:42AM]

You see...I don't really like microsoft, and I'm not an apple fangrl....
But Microsoft makes great colors. Apple has these really lame muted or bright colors. I would get this zune if it wasn't for the creative zen I'm about to buy.

[R @ Apr 26th 2008 11:37AM]

You call Apple lovers fangrls, but you like the pretty colors. Holy denial, batman!

[BuddyBoy @ Apr 26th 2008 10:08AM]

@rouge

While I agree that some of the colors available from Apple blow hard, I find it ironic you would complain about it on an article about a red Zune when Apple has been selling iPods of almost the exact same red for quite some time.

[xccv @ Apr 26th 2008 8:19PM]

@R: I believe that comment was referring to the fact that rouge is a girl, hence calling herself a "fangirl"

[John @ Apr 26th 2008 8:39AM]

zzzzzzzz.....

[beast @ Apr 26th 2008 9:07AM]

how come every time something is posted about zune, it ends up being a flame war?

oh wait. that didnt happen yet, yay!

[Billy Gun @ Apr 26th 2008 10:58AM]

Flame just on Zune? No way, it happens always on Microsoft stull (vista, xp, xbox, zune...)

[adrian @ Apr 26th 2008 12:08PM]

Why not flame up?, Readers reserve that right, whether it's a product made by Apple or Microsoft.

[ijyt @ Apr 26th 2008 9:38AM]

http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B00176AX6W/sr=8-1/qid=1209213337/ref=noref?ie=UTF8&s=electronics&qid=1209213337&sr=8-1


Buy from amazon and ship international. Even taking the $29.99, you still save £55, atleast. One reason I'm going to try out living in America after University.

[ijyt @ Apr 26th 2008 8:43AM]

**The $29.99 2-4 day shipping

[catachip @ Apr 26th 2008 9:26AM]

One reason you're going to try out living in America after University... what? To save on shipping? Good lord. I can think of a million reasons not to move to the U.S., and getting a cheaper Zune is definitely one of them. Your savings will be dashed when you pay for a doctor's visit or prescription drugs.

BTW, I'm writing this from South Carolina... it's not all smiles and sunshine over here.

[ijyt @ Apr 26th 2008 9:38AM]

One reason as in the minor, minor reasons. I have a shit load of friends that I haven't seen in years, and living in the UK right now is just a complete and utter pain. Free health care? If you don't mind waiting 3 years for an operation.

[jarofchris @ Apr 26th 2008 9:40AM]

At least you actually GET a doctor's visit here in America. The downside is you'll actually have to pay for services rendered. Oh wait, that is totally fair.

I encourage you to come live in America! Virtually every foreigner I know loves it here, and there are many more reasons to come than just saving on shipping prices :)

[catachip @ Apr 26th 2008 9:44AM]

Well, I'm actually Canadian studying at a U.S. medical school. I don't know about the quality or timeliness of the universal health care in the UK, but, I'd take the Canadian system over the American any day. For me, it's about new benefit for the population. Individual mileage for those will a lot of money may be better in the U.S., but, the 40 million in the U.S. will no insurance would beg to differ.

[fanman @ Apr 27th 2008 3:57AM]

Why are you shitting on the NHS exactly?

[Josh @ Apr 26th 2008 9:46AM]

I need some zune

[Shinigami @ Apr 26th 2008 10:07AM]

Just don't become the next Zune guy.

[ugg.tryptophan @ Apr 26th 2008 10:29PM]

but if you happen to be a hot lady posing as a man on engadget by all means get a zune tatoo asap

[goodstuff @ Apr 26th 2008 10:12AM]

These Zunes make my iPod look like crap. Wish they were sold in Asia. Sob....

[Empress Penguin @ Apr 26th 2008 10:15AM]

I think whenever discussing countries comparatively like this, we need to keep the tendency to confirmation bias in our minds.

Jarofchris, it may be "fair" that patients pay for "services rendered" but when you consider that this might mean that economically disadvantaged people might die and/or suffer more than they would if they could afford the best treatment, while rich people would be given every chance to live and suffer as little as possible, that doesn't seem very ethical.

[goodstuff @ Apr 26th 2008 10:22AM]

It's also unethical if people doing good work don't get paid. In most European countries high taxes solve that. So the health care isn't exactly free. Unless Americans are willing to pay more in taxes then that's the way it should be

[Empress Penguin @ Apr 26th 2008 10:45AM]

goodstuff, I wasn't suggesting that medical practitioners should be short-changed in any way. I am well aware that health systems which are highly government funded are not "free", I pay taxes in a country which has such a health system after all. I don't see why this argument is always presented as an either or choice between a universal health system and a user pays health system.

[giislander @ Apr 26th 2008 3:32PM]

How does a post about a zune end up a talk about healthcare?? What am I missing?

[quadgun @ Apr 26th 2008 10:32AM]

I sold one to a guy yesterday at a bestbuy.

[Dan @ Apr 26th 2008 10:42AM]

Want a cookie?

[Abuzar @ Apr 26th 2008 12:54PM]

I do.

[j4r3d @ Apr 26th 2008 10:41AM]

I want. but I already have an iPod.... so unless that breaks, I wont be switching.

[Abuzar @ Apr 26th 2008 12:54PM]

It will... soon.

[waded @ Apr 26th 2008 11:09AM]

The people demand Green Zune 80!

[Justin @ Apr 27th 2008 12:14PM]

and orange!

[Trent @ Apr 26th 2008 11:11AM]

I currently have a 3G red Nano. If I was to upgrade to an 80GB for $50 more, I would definitely get this ZUNE over a Classic iPod.

I currently own 30GB of music and growing so I just might...

I dunno why some people complain about a lack of stupid features such as "no games, txt." Big deal, it is an mp3 player first and it does it very well.

[waded @ Apr 26th 2008 11:18AM]

Lest we forget, games will be coming to Zune in holiday 2008, and will be a shared (& developer community-driven) platform with XBox and WIndows.

http://forums.xna.com/ShowThread.aspx?PostID=46553

"No clock" is my pseudo-beef about the Zune. Microsoft is trying to get all of us to use the sun, or watches, or our cell phones, or clocks in our car, or at work, or on our computer, as a clock. Those sons of bitches.

[Sam @ Apr 26th 2008 11:43AM]

I agree

Zune 80 > iPod Classic

[axemt @ Apr 26th 2008 12:37PM]

If the feature is in another player is useless, if they get it, it's a plus as usual ;)

[doudOSX @ Apr 26th 2008 11:15AM]

APPLE FLAME WAR......ohhhh what its Microsoft and there still burning from the last one...oh whell .......MICROSOFT FLAME WAR YAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAA...........

[tojfs7931 @ Apr 26th 2008 1:26PM]

I dont think MS cares about some idiotic flame war on a blog site...

[Sam @ Apr 26th 2008 11:42AM]

I've yet to see any Zune 80 players in stores so im not holding my breath for a red one.

[InspectorDoppler @ Apr 26th 2008 12:01PM]

lol zune

[DG @ Apr 26th 2008 12:24PM]

I have a Zune 30 and love it. However, I played with a friends Zune 8, and fell in love with the "Squircle." It turned the best navigation method for a PMP (up, down, left, right -- go figure) and made it that much easier.

Once the Zune 80's get down to $150 or so, I'm all over it. And hopefully ZAlternator becomes more robust at that point. Every bit as awesome the player is is every bit as terrible the software is. Yikes.

[Karl Viklund @ Apr 26th 2008 12:32PM]

Haha. Only a loser would by a Zune... Soon Zune? Ok.

[Abuzar @ Apr 26th 2008 12:56PM]

Judging from your avatar, you shouldn't be calling others losers.

[Hoov @ Apr 26th 2008 1:47PM]

You've obviously never used the product. Why are you commenting?

[Quikboy @ Apr 26th 2008 12:43PM]

This is nice and all, but I'm still waiting for the next firmware updates. With more about functionality, rather than performance.

Zune is great and all, but like other MS products, it suffers through a very long waiting period for any major good updates. I'm still hanging onto it.

[Sy @ Apr 26th 2008 2:05PM]

A red turd is still a ...turd.

[Steffen Jobbs @ Apr 26th 2008 2:10PM]

So what! Zune users don't need clocks, they're already temporally displaced into the past.