Before the Rio Carbon arrived to take on Apple's iPod juggernaut in 2004, there was Diamond Multimedia's first stab at the digital music market: the Rio PMP300, a portable music player released in 1998. Since it was one of the first portable MP3 players ever to be sold, Diamond ended up embroiled ...
Microsoft might have just shared a slew of happy Xbox One news, but it also has something sad to announce: the death of Xbox Video support for Zune. To be precise: Zune's PC client, whatever Zune players are left out there and even Windows Phone 7 devices will no longer be able to play Xbox Video ...
Coinciding with the impending abandonment of Microsoft Points, the ability to rent and purchase media from Zune Marketplace will also be hitting retirement come August 22nd. A recently-posted FAQ on the Xbox website details the changes, directing current users to hurry up and use their remaining p...
Is it Fall again already? Must be time for another Xbox 360 Dashboard update. Every year Microsoft Drops the console a little bit of code to match the descending leaves, delivering new features, interface tweaks and additional content to hide behind the Xbox Live Gold paywall. Redmond's latest upd...
It's over, folks. Or at least nearly over. Write it down -- time of death: 12:01AM ET, October 16. That's when the Zune brand is officially no more, and "Xbox Music/Video" and its store replace the Zune Marketplace; the final, quiet end of a brand that's been waning for years. "Yes, the Zune brand...
Following those British-based leaks yesterday, a second mole has now offered us a glimpse at Xbox Music pricing across the Atlantic. It looks like the Zune successor will offer a longer 30-day free trial, alongside $10 per-month and $100 annual subscriptions. Surprise -- looks like Americans are g...
Appearing soon after Zune's end, we've been sent these images of what Microsoft's likely to offer in Xbox Music. Matching those early rumors, it looks like some cloud-linked features will make an appearance in the form of synchronized playlists, while the service will offer a free half-month trial...
It's tough to ignore that the Zune era at Microsoft is quickly winding to a close. That doesn't mean you'll necessarily be out of options for syncing a Windows Phone's contents by the time the Zune desktop app fades away, however. A tip to The Verge has shown a companion app for Windows 8 users th...
Microsoft's oddly named music service put its official resignation in earlier this summer, but the Zune brand isn't in its coffin just yet -- although Redmond is certainly driving in the nails. Zune Pass subscribers, for instance, are now receiving word that the service's Mixview playback and chan...
If you've seen most of Microsoft's design language for nearly three years, there's only one word that sums it up: Metro. In spite of that urban look being the underpinning of Windows Phone, Windows 8 and even the Zune HD, Microsoft now claims to ZDNet and others that it's no longer fond of the Met...
Xbox Music is coming to Windows 8 and Windows Phone 8, that much we know. We also know that the Zune brand is dead. But whether the new service will be a simple rebadge or an entirely new beast remains a mystery. Bloomberg has it on good authority, however, that that Xbox Music will more than just...
Microsoft warned us last month that it would be snipping legacy OS support in Windows Phone Marketplace within a few weeks, and it just made good on that heads-up. As of now, you'll need at least a Windows Phone 7.5 device to shop for, review and update apps, no matter how much you want that fix f...
It took some time after Robbie Bach left Microsoft for the Zune device line to wind to a close, but that hasn't stopped the former music (and gaming) executive from suggesting that it should have been ramped down much, much sooner. While discussing the best way to get a startup company humming at ...
Microsoft's Windows Phone team is making a few changes to how users are able to acquire apps on their devices but luckily, they probably won't affect most of you. Starting today, users can no longer get apps from the Zune desktop software (the app store will remain for the Zune HD, as shown above)...
If you've pored over the specs of Nokia's Lumia 710 and 800 handsets during the last few months, you've likely noticed the duo's lack of mobile hotspot functionally. Of course, the Finnish phone maker didn't completely abandoned the feature in Windows Phone, as the ability to turn your device into...
After learning of Microsoft's plans to stop holding CES keynotes following the 2012 edition, the immediate attention turned to this: would it use its last opportunity on the main stage to make a lasting impact? Evidently, that answer is "no." We've confirmed with the company that Steve Ballmer wi...
Nokia is pretty busy at the moment. Alongside clandestine events with T-Mobile, the first update for the Lumia 800 has now begun to roll out. As is the case with most WinPho upgrades, you'll have to plug the polycarbonate slab into Zune to pull down several new performance enhancements and featur...
Kiss that old "New Xbox Experience" goodbye -- the Xbox Dashboard just went full Metro. Microsoft teased the console's latest overhaul back at E3, promising to "change living room entertainment forever." The following months saw leaks, previews and betas, all leading up to today, the eve of the Xbo...
The great thinkers of the world have long known a secret that we're now happy to disclose: it's not necessity that's the mother invention, but rather laziness. Fortunately, expending a great deal of effort on a project -- simply to perform a task effortlessly -- sometimes brings very cool results...
Yes, we're talking about Australia. Microsoft's Zune Music Pass is now available from coast to coast for 11.99 AUD (about $12.14) per month or 119.90 AUD (about $121.38) for a full year, with 14-day trials available for a cool 0.00 AUD. You'll have access to 11 million tracks from your Windows Ph...