Microsoft: New Zune hardware coming this year

Although none too surprising, it looks like Microsoft's gearing up to release at least one new Zune model this year, according to company man Brian Seitz via his Twitter account. Of course, with Ballmer telling an audience last month they're "sustaining our investment" on the product, we're gonna temper our excitement a bit until Redmond shows off the goods, which hopefully won't be long now that the PMP cat's out of the bag.

[Samus Q. Turdburglar @ Apr 7th 2009 12:24AM]

Sweet, my first gen is getting a little bit old.

[Invisiblemoose @ Apr 7th 2009 12:25AM]

Mine's still going strong!:D

[Game_playa @ Apr 7th 2009 12:40AM]

Sell it to me!

[Samus Q. Turdburglar @ Apr 7th 2009 1:15AM]

Awwww hell no. I had it in high school which is why its not working as well any more, but I'm not getting rid of it.

[ripslymemc @ Apr 7th 2009 2:17AM]

same, got mine in september for 130 brand new, and still doing great. I am in love with the zune software.

please, please, microsoft, don't let us down.

[Richard @ Apr 7th 2009 2:43AM]

I love my aging first-gen as well. The last few comments from Microsoft regarding no new hardware this year had me tempted to pick up an ipod. Glad I saw this!!

My only complaint though is that Microsoft is not doing anything to push for third-party support. Everywhere I look someone is crapping out a new iPod speaker dock, or some new type of car integration is introduced.

What do we get as Zune owners? Jack.

It makes me a sad panda :(

[RoboDan @ Apr 7th 2009 3:12AM]

When thinking about new designs and the new Zune a question comes to mind...

So?

[Tiptup300 @ Apr 7th 2009 5:31AM]

Dear MS, please integrate XNA game deployment into the Zune software so users don't have to jump through hundreds of hoops to play my game.

PS: A community games store would also be awesome (free would be even more awesome)

[Malweran @ Apr 7th 2009 8:08AM]

make zune available in europe?
as far as i'm aware you cannot buy one here 'officially'

[OneLove @ Apr 7th 2009 9:51AM]

Is the world ready for new zune fugly? (am not an apple fanboy)

[iphonerulez @ Apr 7th 2009 10:28AM]

What for? There's no money in it for Microsoft. Only a handful of people are going to buy a Zune with so many other media players around.

[WhisperNyourear @ Apr 7th 2009 6:30PM]

I don't think it'll do MS any good to update Zune hardware, without changing the controlling aspect of activating the hardware. I had a itouch(I know so what) and initially it was great(then the 2g launched shortly after) but I soon realized that I watched fewer and fewer movies on it and listened to less music on it because of the hassle. I had constant problems getting movies on and off it if my content was on a new pc cause I synced it to my old one, so it wants to wipe it, old pc crashed(macbook no less) I couldn't restore my music/movies from the ipod.

So other then a mid it's useless, I set out to get a mp3 ended up with a Zune 120, I was PUMPED, the reviews proved the Zune was superior to the ipods as a pmp. I couldn't use the hardware without using the zune software that everyone said was horrible, so I figured I'd install it to activate then move to something else. But it refuses to install without me installing microsoft update, I'm puzzled at the need of this when I already have system update. I couldn't help but think it's a shady way for ms to get it's hooks further into my system, I couldn't justify the install of it and sadly had to return the zune. Long story short I ended up with a Cowon o2 and a Cowon s9(neither required a software install) for my wife we are pleased, part of me still feels zune is the one that got away. I am convinced this is the reason the zune sells poorly if Ms doesn't make it out of the box ready the new zune won't do so well either. Ms is way too controlling as is apple, if they cut the crap they can set a proper contrast to apple cause zunepass is superior to itunes/store imo. Restriction gains them nothing but inconveniences the none hacking content paying customer apple proved that to me.

[jordan @ Apr 7th 2009 9:16PM]

my first gen is also still kicking ass... ( :

[RioRyan @ Apr 7th 2009 12:26AM]

about god damn time.

[xValentine @ Apr 7th 2009 1:07AM]

A contender for the iPod Touch perhaps ?

[CH3BURASHKA @ Apr 7th 2009 2:12AM]

Too true; a touchscreen is long overdue, but I still want the squircle.

[Garst @ Apr 7th 2009 2:46AM]

I think I'd still wait until the software gets added to WinMo to get a touch screen "MP3 player." Something with a removable battery would be great.

[stephen @ Apr 7th 2009 2:47AM]

nope, from an inside source, the big thing this year will be HD radio implementation, my sources are good so trust me, the first "zune" with a touch screen will be in a software form, on windows mobile 7

[krunal patel @ Apr 8th 2009 5:01AM]

http://www.anythingbutipod.com/archives/images/touch-zune-4.jpg

that is definitely what is being released seen it in person... an inside in manufacturing(shipped over 2000 to MSFT last month)

[mr_mcflugelbutt @ Apr 7th 2009 12:28AM]

I can't wait to see what they put out. I love the zune.

[Sisyphus @ Apr 7th 2009 12:31AM]

I love mine too.

And the Zune software. I still like winamp more interface-wise, but the Zune software has really grown on me.

Plus the subscription plan is a great value. Unlimited music (and I haven't found anything I couldn't download yet... except for the Chili Peppers which is boggling), AND they recently made it so you can download 10 songs a month to keep.

So.. for the cost of 1 or 1.5 CDs, ($14.99/mo), I get unlimited music, plus 10 songs a month to keep.

Anybody still downloading $0.99 songs from iTunes?

[P.A.C Man @ Apr 7th 2009 12:38AM]

One way you can tell that a product truly sucks is if people go out of their way to say it's a great product when no one asked the question.

[sacapuntas @ Apr 7th 2009 12:40AM]

You mean like apple fanboys?

These guys were simply sharing a mutual love of a great piece of tech. Don't let brand blind you. Apple has no patent on coolness.

[P.A.C Man @ Apr 7th 2009 12:46AM]

That's true in a sense, but usually with Apple products, a reviewer on a site like Engadget will give a review saying they like such and such Apple product and then the trolls will quickly descend to give a number of reasons why the Apple product is overpriced, and lacking in features or to say how someone else did it better first.

And then you will get a few Apple fanboys defending. With the Zune, the fanboys are defensive from the very beginning, before anyone has even criticized it.

[Sisyphus @ Apr 7th 2009 12:54AM]

"One way you can tell that a product truly sucks is if people go out of their way to say it's a great product when no one asked the question."

Actually there is a pretty common trend of people who bash the Zune, 90% of which can't possibly have ever used it (or the market share would be way up).

No harm in helping other consumers make decisions -- its not like I get a Steve Ballmer check in the mail every month.

[Sisyphus @ Apr 7th 2009 1:01AM]

Also, for those of us who don't "steal" music, its worth mentioning when a great subscription service comes along.

For some reason most people I know cling to a sense of "ownership" when it comes to music, which is perplexing to me. With all of the DRM out there, its not like anybody actually owns a song. Really, you're just renting it, and if your media ever gets accidentally deleted or your CD breaks, you're pretty much SOL.

If you buy more than 5 songs a month from iTunes (or any other service at roughly $1.00 a song), or if you buy even one CD a month, the value proposition for a subscription service blows the traditional practice of buying your songs out of the water.

I happen to like the Zune subscription service, others may not. It comes down to whether or not you think you can get everything you want out of it. I encourage people to do the math.

[shravan @ Apr 7th 2009 1:06AM]

@P.A.C Man
I do not think the iPod does anything better than the Zune at wats its supposed to do. Mind you I'm talking about the 120 or 80 here.
Storage? check
Interface?check
Sound Quality? check
Subscription service? check
Device stability? check
Device features? check
-- now tell me something the Zune lacks that the iPod has. I see, that stupid scroll wheel ? or the smudgy bling back ?
don't bash the zune cos it was late on the scene. It is true to what it was made to be.
I do not own a Zune nor an iPod. I'm not a fanboy. I'm just an informed customer and not a dolt.

[P.A.C Man @ Apr 7th 2009 1:06AM]

@Sisyphus

You know how many companies, Microsoft included (PlaysforSure), tried subscription services and failed? In essence, you're encouraging people to embrace a business model that has been rejected numerous times already in the market.

[P.A.C Man @ Apr 7th 2009 1:11AM]

@shravan

Let me guess. You're one of those people that refuse to acknowledge that iPod touch exists, right?

[Sisyphus @ Apr 7th 2009 1:12AM]

*continued:

Lets say over the course of 40 years you buy one CD a month at an average of $12.99/CD, with each CD having an average of 12 songs each (http://www.askdavetaylor.com/do_most_music_cds_have_12_tracks.html). I'll assume that everything over the next 40 years is in 2009 dollars, so don't worry about inflation.

Option 1: Buy 1 CD a month:

40 x 12 x $12.99 = $6,235.2
40 x 12 x 12 tracks = 5,760 songs
~ $1.08 / song

Option 2: Buy 12 iTunes songs a month:

40 x 12 x $11.88 = $5,702.4
40 x 12 x 12 tracks = 5,760 songs
$0.99 / song

Option 3: Buy a monthly subscription service:

40 x 12 x $14.99 = $7,195.2
Assume you want between 0.5% and 1% of the overall Zune library: ~10,000 -- 20,000 songs
Between ~$0.71 / song, $0.35 / song.

That's not even counting the fact that in option 1 or 2, the songs that you buy are static. They remain those songs and those albums forever. In a subscription service, you can swap out whatever you want, and add new music as you go at no additional cost to the service. So assuming you download 50-100 new songs every year, that cuts the price per song down even more dramatically. Whats more -- if you buy more than one CD or more than 12 iTunes songs a month, the costs balloon upward in comparison to the subscription service!

Besides, you might not even be listening to that track you downloaded yesterday in 10 years, so what would be the point of "owning" it?

Hope this was helpful to someone!

-Sisyphus

[Sisyphus @ Apr 7th 2009 1:17AM]

@PAC Man

It really doesn't matter if any of the models fail. $14.99 or thereabouts a month for a service that works is valuable for the experience you can get out of it.

If the service conks out eventually, you haven't "lost" anything, because the value of the service is presumably gained while you are subscribed -- the point is not to own the music, because its way cheaper over a long timeline (or even a short timeline).

Plus you can jump into access of hundreds of thousands of songs without having to buy them individually. In those scenarios I listed before, if you're buying 1 CD a month its going to take a while for you to develop a library of music to listen to. Unless you're rich and can buy them all at once, it doesn't make sense for most people financially to buy music in the traditional sense.

Then again, people seem to be perpetually stupid with their money (think of all the people that download $2 ringtones or $5 songs from Verizon), so you may be right -- outrageously priced purchase models may be around for a while.

[P.A.C Man @ Apr 7th 2009 1:17AM]

@Sisyphus

Very nice. Reminds of the Napster advertisements when they finally went legit and tried to sell their subscription service. Didn't the ad say something like:

15,000 songs on iTunes = $15,000
15,000 songs on Napster = $15


Let me repeat:

SUBSCRIPTIONS. FAILED. IN. THE. MARKET.

[Shank @ Apr 7th 2009 1:19AM]

stuck in the 90's.get with the times. try all touchscreen,wifi/accelerometer/appstore,browsers etc.,.

[Levi @ Apr 7th 2009 1:22AM]

Pac man, you're kidding right? A good way to know a product sucks is when people say that it rocks before someone says it's sucks. That is the dumbest thing I've read in my life.

That's like going to a pizza place and having to wait for someone at the table to say the pizza sucks so you can defend it. Wtf dude.

[Sisyphus @ Apr 7th 2009 1:27AM]

@ PAC Man

"SUBSCRIPTIONS. FAILED. IN. THE. MARKET."

I'm not sure where you're getting this. Is this some sort of common knowledge that I'm not aware of?

How come when I load up my Zune software I can still download all I want from a huge library?

I'm confused.

[P.A.C Man @ Apr 7th 2009 1:32AM]

@Sisyphus, who said: "I'm confused."

That's the problem.

[Nathan Moore @ Apr 7th 2009 2:01AM]

YAY for internet debates!
Because NOBODY ever loses on an internet debate.

[holycow @ Apr 7th 2009 2:03AM]

"Option 2: Buy 12 iTunes songs a month:

40 x 12 x $11.88 = $5,702.4
40 x 12 x 12 tracks = 5,760 songs
$0.99 / song"'

Isnt a song on iTunes $1.29 now? So basically much expensive than actually purchasing a CD?

[Dave95 @ Apr 7th 2009 10:24AM]

Yes on iTunes a song for new release I believe is $1.29, but for current songs it is .99 cents. And for older songs is .69 cents. Their new pricing model requested by the record labels, in return for a complete DRM free catalog from them.

Regarding Subscription vs Download, I say to each his/her own money. But it is true that as a business model, subscription has not done well (see all the other failed/close-down stores that were pushing subscription music). Napster at one point had commercials out pushing hard subscription over downloads, even when they themselves were also offering downloads. "Do the Math". What happened to Napster, Yahoo, URGE etc. etc. etc. years later? Just because you may like subscription does not mean it's a viable business model.

As a whole, most prefer to own their own stuff than rent. Even after doing the so called math. Plus I don't have to buy all my music wink wink.

[Why should I have all the fun? @ Apr 7th 2009 10:38PM]

"YAY for internet debates!
Because NOBODY ever loses on an internet debate."

The shades of gray suggests P.A.C. Man loses. And I agree.

What kind of a fool argues for LESS choices?

[mynk @ Apr 8th 2009 12:24AM]

the failure of the subscription model is where the Zune comes in.
keeping 10 songs at the end of the month not only strengths option 3 into its own realm
but also defeats all arguments against the subscription model presented in this thread thus far.

[reem @ Apr 7th 2009 12:29AM]

the Zune's major failing was really the Zune pc software...which it's self made you want to go to Africa and beat up starving orphans...

imo.

[RioRyan @ Apr 7th 2009 12:41AM]

For years, I managed my music with Windows Media Player, until Zune 2.0 came along. I found it to be so much better that I switched completely to the Zune software. Zune 3.0 improved the program a lot and I don't use WMP for anything anymore. Zune has completely replaced it with its nicer, more efficient user interface. If you still think this software is crap, you obviously haven't used it lately.

[Dragod @ Apr 7th 2009 12:41AM]

I really like the Zune software. Give it a try; run it for 1 week, that's all. It opens faster than iTunes, in my experience it is more responsive, and there are some nice visual effects; When you have a song running and you don't touch the mouse, you'll see a very cool artistic visualization pertaining to the band with some cool info on it.

Also, it's nice that you can customize its look and the music waves at the bottom are awesome.


I think the Zune 1.x software left a bad taste in peoples' mouths, even though I liked it, and now they're unwilling to try the new, much better software.


Zune has come a long way, and I'm glad to say I was with it from the beginning.

[insky @ Apr 7th 2009 1:09AM]

Have you even used the software?
I'm guessing not.
If you have, what didn't you like about it?
'Till we get an answer specifically stating what you hated about it you shall be considered a troll.
Pretty much everybody who's tried it, and not an Apple fanboi, has loved it.

[WixosTrix @ Apr 7th 2009 1:29AM]

Like RioRyan, I used and loved Windows Media Player for years. It organized music so much better than iTunes, and I did use I for a long time when someone gave me a first gen iMac. Not much has changed for it today as far as organization and the ability to obtain accurate album information. I got the Zune 80 when it came out and haven't looked back since. And since they integrated the album info feature like in WMP i've never had a reason to go back into WMP when it came to music. The software is amazing in my opinion, i just wish it had integration into Windows Media Center

[jack @ Apr 7th 2009 2:35AM]

I am a zune user and a happy one, but i have my qualms with the desktop zune software. I think a lot of my annoyance comes because my last pmp was an archos and with archos whatever is technically possible is a ok. with the zune however its a bit iffy, ever tried to copy something back across from your zune to your PC, works sometimes not always. ever tried to hook up your zune to a pc thats not yours and access the contents, too bad. What bothers me is that the software is beautiful and that these are not technical limitations but decision made by goons in suits at microsoft. For once Microsoft listen, if I break the law with your software, I am liable, you dont need to take responsibility. All I want to do is watch a podcast i downloaded on a 20 inch screen instead of a 2 inch screen without having to download it again, is that too much to ask?

[Robert @ Apr 7th 2009 12:48PM]

I am looking to ditch my iPod Touch because it lacks some of the Zune features. So hopefully this is a really significant update. As far as the Zune software goes, it completely blows iTunes out of the water. I could not believe that program was made by Microsoft. It really is as fast as others say it is. It opens a lot faster and is more intuitive to use. Very graceful looking software that does not feel like you are using software at all.

Hopefully the next Zune is better than the next iPod Touch.

[Zunavio @ Apr 7th 2009 12:28AM]

hope not a buttonless Zune shuffle.

[Lewislink @ Apr 7th 2009 12:52AM]

That's exactly what it will be. You'll have to use your thoughts to control it.