New Zune features leaked alongside 8GB flash player

Look, we know how hard it is to hold in a secret, so we can sympathize entirely with Fry's on this. While new Zunes and / or features are looking more and more likely for September 9th, said e-tailer has already let slip a few new crucial details about the forthcoming (er, already out) 120GB Zune. For instance, we're looking at a Buy from FM option that enables users to tag sweet jams on the radio for easy purchasing when they arrive back at their PC. Furthermore, we're seeing Device to Cloud, Channels and Games options, all of which are further explained in the links below. In related news, a shockingly blue 8GB flash Zune has also emerged on the very same website (as predicted). Which is awesome if you're really into blue.

Read - 8GB blue Zune, via zunerama
Read - New Zune details, part I
Read - New Zune details, part II

[Chris @ Sep 7th 2008 9:46PM]

eh.

[Paul Chapel @ Sep 7th 2008 10:06PM]

I said the same thing. A blue Zune? On second thought, the Crips and Smurfs should be happy.

[Saad Rabia @ Sep 7th 2008 10:08PM]

Crips and Smurfs??! My dear, right now, and after all of this, Gods are happy!

[Saad Rabia @ Sep 7th 2008 10:09PM]

Crips and Smurfs??! My dear, right now, and after all of this, Gods are happy!

[maveric101 @ Sep 7th 2008 10:35PM]

actually, yeah. FM tagging? i could record from FM radio with my old iRiver.

[Apple Rep. @ Sep 7th 2008 11:28PM]

o0o0o0 zune has radio!! iPod is out! Lmao

[Saad Rabia @ Sep 7th 2008 9:47PM]

"Wireless Sharing": Send your favorite songs, albums, playlists, pictures and even audio podcasts freely between any Zune devices!

THANK YOU LORD. :')

[Saad Rabia @ Sep 7th 2008 9:49PM]

"Device to Cloud" - Allows you to use wireless hotspots to update your collection, browse Zune Marketplace, refresh Channels, exchange favorites with friends, or buy songs you’ve tagged from FM radio.

THANK YOU LORD, AGAIN. :'')

[cboy007 @ Sep 7th 2008 10:14PM]

wireless sharing has always been a feature of the zune.

[Saad Rabia @ Sep 7th 2008 10:20PM]

@cboy007: Yeah, it has been, but not "freely"; not for "Albums"; not for "Pictures" and not for "Playlists". :)

[PynkFloydd @ Sep 7th 2008 10:40PM]

On Saturday, I connected my Zune 80gb to my PC to charge it. It was really low on power but, when it charged up a little...I got a "new device update available" message! Well...I connected it back up but, when I checked the options it said "Device is up to date".

It's got to be any day now!

[Ry @ Sep 7th 2008 11:00PM]

Woot. Let's go Zune!

[DeoWulf @ Sep 7th 2008 11:59PM]

Saad- While I agree that the new features are exciting, hasn't Zune also been able to send pictures and full albums forever? I know I have received both on occasion. Also, I have a feeling that "freely" doesn't mean the end of 3-play. That would be too easy.

[Chris @ Sep 8th 2008 4:29AM]

I bought a Zune 80 but I live in the UK...

I'm destined to roam this land alone FOREVER... Forever... forever...

[nizzy1115 @ Sep 7th 2008 9:49PM]

sweet features microsoft!

[collegekid13 @ Sep 7th 2008 9:50PM]

congrats Microsoft.

[Paul Chapel @ Sep 7th 2008 10:13PM]

I would only congratulate Microsoft if they had a competitor for the iPod Touch. Yeah, yeah, I know people are going to jump on me about hard drive space, yada, yada, yada, but admit it, this is just playing catch up with what Apple had years ago. Still, at least they're trying.

You know what I would like to see Microsoft do? Come out with something painfully innovative. Something that makes you think, "Why the hell didn't I think of that? It was so obvious."

You know, it's not to hard to figure out why Apple keeps succeeding. They do the most obvious things. The iPod succeeded because Apple people to own their music. People hate subscribing in order to listen to music. Not only that, but Apple allowed people to listen to their old MP3s downloaded from the recently defunct Napster and to rip their CDs once iTunes came out. I'm sure when the iPhone has the smart phone market a few years from now, everyone will still be saying that it was marketing that got Apple there. They will conveniently forget about the FULL INTERNET BROWSER and the WIDE SCREEN VIDEO IPOD and MULTI-TOUCH.

So, I guess what I'm saying is, Microsoft needs an iPhone moment. When people saw the iPhone, they knew it was going to change things and it did.

[cboy007 @ Sep 7th 2008 10:22PM]

i agree about the ipod touch...although microsoft may have something in the works.

about the "People hate subscribing in order to listen to music" thing - that was one of microsof't GREAT features - if you buy more than 15 songs per month on itunes, then you're better off switching to zune for a subscription. how much you wanna bet that on september 9th at the apple event apple will be like "one more thing, we're now copying microsoft and now u can subscribe for 15 bucks a month and get unlimited music! yes! we innovated that all on our own!"

people love subscribing for things if it saves them LOTS of money every month.

also, the zune software allows people to listen to your old MP3's, and rip CD's.

mark my words, the iphone will NEVER have the smartphone market. windows mobile 7 and android will kick its ass, for the same reason MS's is beating it in the desktop market. apple = simplified, easy-to-use, products. but doing that causes them to lose functionality. you can do lots more on windows than on an apple, even if it may be more complicated. thats why the "iphone smartphone" is an oxymoron.

i agree that the iphone changed the market a lot, but it didnt' do ALL the innovation. sorry if your post meant something less apple-praising than it sounded and this entire rant of mine was for nothing :).

[RWD @ Sep 7th 2008 10:22PM]

i agree that microsoft is playing catch up.
however the wireless and sharing features of the zune are pretty innovative if undevoloped upon until now.

i actually wouldn't want a touch device, zune touch or ipod touch. (i do want a htc touch diamond, yeah hypocrite) i don't see the point of touch on what is princibly a music device and as fun as the internet may be on the touch i wouldn't have any use for it, like i'm sure many others do and don't.

FYI it's not full internet without flash ; ] ahha.

[Paul Chapel @ Sep 7th 2008 10:35PM]

@cboy007

If Apple comes out with a subscription service, it won't be be because they're copying Microsoft, it will be because they're competing with Microsoft. Too many companies have had subscription services to say that it is a Microsoft innovation.

Well, how can I say Apple is innovative, you say? Yes, it's true Apple didn't have the first MP3 player, but they did several things that were revolutionary. The first was, as I said, they allowed people to buy their music. The second thing was the fact that they allowed you to manage your music on the computer instead of in the device itself, which made it a helluva lot more easy to use an iPod.

They also made sure that the iPod could fit in your pocket. If anyone remembers the old MP3 players, a lot of them were fairly huge. I think Steve Jobs knew that he needed to keep it small, if it was going to click with the youth crowd.

[Samuel Wat @ Sep 7th 2008 10:42PM]

What the heck dude? Apple isn't the center of the whole universe you know. I'm glad Microsoft is pushing out these new devices, come to think about it, DOES ANY IPOD EVEN HAVE THESE NEW FEATURES that the Zune now has? In my book, Apple products, are overpriced in today's market and to top it off, skimpy on the features. Sorry Apple fanboy's, but, you have to wake up and smell the joe. Diversify people.

[cboy007 @ Sep 7th 2008 10:43PM]

sorry - i wasn't trying to say that apple isnt innovative, it just sounded like you were saying that apple allowed people to do more with their music than microsoft did, and also that people hate subscribing in order to listen to music - microsoft proved that wrong.

[Samuel Wat @ Sep 7th 2008 10:46PM]

And oh yea, that was towards Paul's first comment.

[nohone @ Sep 7th 2008 10:47PM]

@Paul

"this is just playing catch up with what Apple had years ago"

How is it playing catch up when the Classic does not have wireless sync, remote sync, music/photo/podcast sharing, FM radio, FM radio tagging, FM radio purchase, syncing of music friends listen to. And while the touch/phone has them, the classic/nano does not have wireless marketplace, and SDK for free. Also remember, many of those features that are on the phone/touch have been on Windows CE devices for years. Apple prettied them up, made them look good and, in some cases made them more usable - it convinced me to get an iPhone (although there are many times I regret it with all the problems), but they were there on other devices before.

[Paul Chapel @ Sep 7th 2008 10:55PM]

Wow, guys, I didn't realize so many people would get defensive and upset about a few things I thought were common knowledge. I didn't know Microsoft had real fanboys.

I would like to see Microsoft really compete, but this isn't the way to do it. My whole point is that Microsoft needs to do something that slams the ball out of the park. They need to stop copying and giving up incremental changes and come up with something that's really revolutionary. When Apple came out with the iPhone, no one could really say they were copying anybody. Sure, their were comparisons to other devices, but those other devices had buttons, WAP browsers and pitiful storage.

Nothing was really in the same league as Apple. Microsoft has never really done that on their own. They're always a step or two away from someone who did first better.

[mick @ Sep 7th 2008 10:59PM]

@Paul Chapel. u know the ipod WAS NOT the first mp3 player. mp3 players are 10 years old this year. they also were not the first ones to have a HDD in there mp3 player. not the first phone to have a full internet browser. and also its not tru wide screen.

[Ry @ Sep 7th 2008 11:05PM]

I agree. MS needs an iPod Touch competitor.

However, these new features continue to make the current Zunes even better competitors to the iPod Classic and Nano.

[cboy007 @ Sep 7th 2008 11:11PM]

@paul - microsoft fanboys though, are often open minded and look at facts (the one guy has an iphone). you may see us as getting defensive, but we're really just correcting you.

microsoft's real "wow" thing was the wireless syncing and the wireless song sharing, which has been around for two years. i agree these may not be as big of innovations as the iphone, but microsoft has had its great innovations in the past on windows.

[Paul Chapel @ Sep 7th 2008 11:22PM]

I know a guy (singular) who has a Zune and I've never seen anyone stopping him in the street when we're out and about. I don't have an iPod Touch, but I borrowed my dad's the other day and I had girls stopping me in Starbucks (oh yeah, I was in Starbucks, I know I'm going to get flack for that) to take a look at it. I didn't get any numbers, but it was shocking at how excited people are when they start scrolling through contact lists. Just saying. iPods are sexy. Zunes are not.

But if you guys like the Zune, that's okay. I got no problem with that.

[cboy007 @ Sep 7th 2008 11:30PM]

Microsoft users are generally concerned more with functionality than looks.

[Saad Rabia @ Sep 7th 2008 11:32PM]

@Paul Chapel: Something about you and your stories is really fishy....... You worry me.

[collegekid13 @ Sep 7th 2008 11:50PM]

i give congrats where they are due. Microsoft is innovating by doing something that make the pmp that much better. whether or not it's better than an ipod, thats your personal opinion, however just remember, touch displays, wide screens, and video playback is not an original apple idea. they took what they had and added feautres that were already out there and made it better. Microsofts doing that with there 3rd generation player and in so doing making their product better for their target audience and those who are looking for these features. they have 4 more gens to innovate before we can compare the ipod and the zune

and ps. i will probably congratualte apple when ipods come out on tuesday

[RWD @ Sep 7th 2008 11:52PM]

@ paul 11:22PM

i lolled.
when i first took my zune 30 out a year ago in college common room, everyone was like "what the hecks that, lets have a look" needless to say some were impressed, i think one person called it "a brick" but hey, what you going to do :) - People were interested in it because it's so different to what literally everyone else has.

when i first saw an ipod touch i had a glance, i didn't care much, other then the photo zooming, that impressed me. people soon got bored of both sides.

the funny thing is i paid £100 less for the same amount of attention (that i didn't particually want as it's just an mp3 player) as an egomanic ipod user.

also now we realise how young and well kinda 'lame' you are, come on dude, if your showing off an address book atleast hint something to the girls, like "put your number in there and then try and find your way to it" or "touch me, i'm more sensitive then that touch screen." ;)

[Paul Chapel @ Sep 8th 2008 12:02AM]

@collegekid13

But see, I have a problem with your definition of innovation. My major complaint is that Microsoft copies a device and they add one thing and for some reason, a few hardcore MS users think that's innovation. For example, Microsoft copied Sony's Playstation. They made the Xbox exactly like the Playstation and then added Xbox Live and said, see, we're being innovative. Nintendo, on the other hand, didn't copy Sony or Microsoft. They made a box with less power, but with a totally need control scheme and now they dominate the market. That's innovation.

When you innovate, you do something that so shocking that it takes competitors years to catch up. Neither Sony or Microsoft have caught up with Nintendo. Apple isn't playing catch up with Microsoft either. They already have a better device is called the iPod Touch and just because you guys refuse to acknowledge it, doesn't mean it doesn't exist. Stop tying your self esteem to an electronic product and maybe you'll be able to see a little clearer.

[collegekid13 @ Sep 8th 2008 12:15AM]

@ Paul Chapel

So with your logic that means that apple took the more powerful, Nokia 810, and dummied it down. Or did they copy the archos 605 dummy it down and add itunes support? it is very rare for anything to be truly unique and never out there before.

and by the way im not tied to any one company especially Microsoft. If i was to be tied to any company it'd be HP buts thats a long story

[Paul Chapel @ Sep 8th 2008 12:27AM]

@collegekid13

If Apple was copying somebody else, why is every company scrambling to catch up with Apple? Your comparison doesn't fit. Say what you want, but no one had multi-touch on a phone before Apple. Some phones had touch screens, but not multi-touch. And I don't remember a browser like Safari mobile either. I know of some phones that had browsers, but nothing like Safari Mobile. Even the Instinct's browser sucks pretty bad.

And I might be wrong about this, but did other phones have gigs of storage before the iPhone, enabling you to have large music and video libraries on your phone? And I know about Handango, but did anyone have an App Store on their phone before the iPhone? Taken altogether, Apple has been kicking A and taking names.

That, my friend, is innovation.


Nice talking to you guys. I'm going to bed. Peace.

[Ry @ Sep 8th 2008 12:31AM]

@Paul Chapel

But these current Zunes aren't direct competitors to the iPod Touch.

[collegekid13 @ Sep 8th 2008 12:48AM]

mr. chapel.

you know want me to make fun of everything apples going to do on Tuesday. how this feature is copyed from this person and how they took this from that. and how that happened first. for god sakes if you want ill book you a hotel room for you and your ipod touch. otherwise, just keep an open mind and remember that nothing is original and that Microsoft is always trying to improve what they have whether or not that change is good or bad is in the eye of the beholder

[nohone @ Sep 8th 2008 12:53AM]

@Paul

Look, nothing in the iPod is new. Everything was done before by somebody else. There were HDD media players before the iPod. There were flash based players before the iPod. There were Video media players before the iPod (I have an Samsung YH-999, introduced in July 2004, the iPod video in Oct 2005). iTunes was bought from another company (per wikipedia, it was originally SoundJam MP). Sony ("The Store") and then a Sony/Universal ("pressplay") had music stores at least a year before iTMS.

Apple did market better, made it smaller, bundled some features together (I thought Microsoft only "Innovated" by bundling) and made it prettier than the first versions of different media players, I will concede that. But to say that it Microsoft copies everything (they copied Sony by simply creating a powerfull console, WTF?) and everything from Apple is pure innovation is quite disingenuous.

And this "Common knowledge" you speak of, is only common among Apple fanboys who believe that all creation comes from The Jobs all mighty brain.

[James @ Sep 8th 2008 3:44AM]

@ paul.

Speak up louder about MS copying apple. I dont think Bill Gates can hear you over the wall of money he has made coying apple.

[SKI @ Sep 8th 2008 9:46AM]

HOW DID YOU LET THIS PASS???

"The first was, as I said, they allowed people to buy their music."

He said Apple letting you buy music was "revolutionary." KILL HIM!!

[jonathan @ Sep 7th 2008 9:53PM]

"BUY from FM" sounds pretty cool, but I was hoping for a "torrent from FM" option.

Also, where's my divx support?

[1234321 @ Sep 7th 2008 10:14PM]

it's with every non-ipod/zune player

[Smoke_Dawg_187 @ Sep 7th 2008 11:12PM]

Piracy is not cool.

H.264 is just as good as divx.

[endlessinsanity @ Sep 7th 2008 9:52PM]

This seems promising. Let's hope this all comes to fruition, at least those of us with Zunes...

[RWD @ Sep 7th 2008 9:50PM]

A thank you wouldn't go amiss.

Anyway, the zune is looking incredibly positive, i must admit im a zune fanboy, however international users like me won't be able to use these new features effectivly but still i'll be able to enjoy a new firmware update and software(at least till they finally release the zune in the u.k), if they allow the update to work on the zune 30.

[PynkFloydd @ Sep 7th 2008 11:20PM]

...and a thank you to Engadget too! I think some of us Microsoft users have been feeling a little neglected on here in the past.

It's good to see equal coverage for potential Apple and Microsoft products that even have a similar release schedule.

[dcny @ Sep 7th 2008 9:53PM]

Do we really need 8gb music players;why not start at 16gb and then release a zune 8/ipod nano size music player with 32gb of memory

[cesium @ Sep 7th 2008 9:55PM]

Because a lot of people don't have 8gb of music (or videos [or don't care about videos])? I know quite a few people, including my bro, who only have a few gb of music and don't care for more

[maveric101 @ Sep 7th 2008 10:37PM]

who cares if you have 32 days of music; you'll probably never listen to half of it.