Portable Media, argo, drm, ipod, itunes, microsoft, pixas, playsforsure, subscription, wifi...

Microsoft Zune Update

More Zune news courtesy of various people in various places of product development. This time our tipster says the Zune is only the flagship product of a new line of portable devices. Think the iPod Video in relation to the iPod Nano and the iPod Shuffle. Important, but not the only kid on the block.

Microsoft's concentrating on features the iPod doesn't have, instead of trying to beat Apple at their own game. The tipmeister reiterates that ad-hoc networking feature will be there, as well as a possible buffered internet radio streaming feature. If you're within range of a WiFi signal and you're listening to a station, the device will snatch as much of the feed as it can so when you wander out of WiFi signal, it'll keep playing the stream as if you were in range. This might not make its way into the final product, so don't get your hopes up too high.

More on games, Xbox integration, and possible other devices after the jump.

Image courtesy our hombres at Engadget

The Zune is going to have some gaming, but it's not going to be nearly as powerful as an "Xbox portable" would be. Crecente over at Kotaku ponders the idea of having a device that can actually play all the Xbox Live Arcade games in full detail, and not some dumbed down version. This may be possible in the Xbox portable, but not in the Zune.

There probably is going to be Xbox 360 integration though, as your "music subscription authorization" is held on the device itself. This means if you take your Zune to your friend's place, plug it into his 360, the console will automatically have access to your Zune music. The iPod does this already, but not with iTunes downloaded music.

There's also going to be a next generation PlaysForSure starting with this player, with a better name than "PlaysForSure 2". Oh, and that rumor about being able to import all your iTunes tracks automatically? That's probably not true. The tipster speculates that you may be able to convert your iTunes songs into DRM WMA files, but that opens up a whole new can of worms with Apple and the record labels. We'll wait and see on that one.

Lastly, there's going to be an iPod Nano competitor called, tentatively and possibly, the Pixas. The tipster's only around 20% sure about the name, but 100% sure of the player's existence. Oh, and it will support video.

As always, we'll post more stuff as it comes in. Thanks to all our tipsters! – Jason Chen

7:23 PM on Tue Jul 11 2006
By Jason Chen
13,526 views
20 comments

Comments

Jimmy M at 06:46 PM on 07/11/06
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Can you say "PlaysForSure 360"?
superbad at 06:58 PM on 07/11/06
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"If you're within range of a WiFi signal and you're listening to a station, the device will snatch as much of the feed as it can so when you wander out of WiFi signal, it'll keep playing the stream as if you were in range."

So if I'm listening to a live stream, as I do, it will bend space-time and pre-fetch the future? Fuckin' bitchin'.
Tank at 07:42 PM on 07/11/06
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superbad, I was thinking the same thing. I can't wait until it's patched to stream lottery results!
TheZodiac at 09:06 PM on 07/11/06
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You two are mental retards. :)
someToast at 09:15 PM on 07/11/06
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"This might not make its way into the final product, so don't get your hopes up too high."

Too bad. Streaming internet radio would be the one thing that would make me get one of these.

It wouldn't be surprising if it only worked for stations streaming Windows Media though, so never mind.
dalziel_86 at 10:46 PM on 07/11/06
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I for one welcome this doubtless proprietary format-focussed FailsForSure product.
scingram at 12:26 PM on 07/12/06
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If the thing could play Shoutcast streams, I would be in line for it when it came out.
RiceBandit at 02:52 AM on 07/13/06
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If they want to blow the iPod out of the water, they should integrate Skype.
pithy at 07:55 AM on 09/08/06
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Yeah, thee are tons of wifi capable hotspots right now. I'm in toronto and its about to become a blanket of free wireless across the whole downtown (where I live) I could use this thing as a phone...
pithy at 07:56 AM on 09/08/06
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yeah places like toronto which is now a wireless hotspot, as well as many downtowns and coffee shops would blow this feature up.

Id get one for sure if i could make free long distance calls with it. Damn.
iPodman at 10:19 PM on 09/18/06
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Will it need WMP 11. It's been a pain in the ass updating WMP, I still have WMP 9!!!!!!!!! I like my iPod, but I can't buy any music, leaving me only 2 ways to ge tmusic.
bedbugs at 11:13 AM on 10/06/06
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http://www.wired.com/news/columns/0,71896-0.html?tw=wn_ind...
gunnygun at 03:50 PM on 10/11/06
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its only kinda cool looking though.

the commercial for it will be nice and skanky.
gunnygun at 03:52 PM on 10/11/06
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it actually looks kinda nice. reminds me of a big chocolate.

but the commercial for it . . . pfft.
damian433 at 02:07 PM on 10/17/06
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what i want to know if it has a web broser and enough java support so i can play all my favorite internet games (like runescape at runescape.com) because 100,000 people play and nothing small and portable you can play on a laptop you cant bring to all schools and are to expensive and alot of places dont have the right soft ware to play and dont let you download them
damian433 at 02:09 PM on 10/17/06
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another thing i would like to know is this going to be a portabe game station like the psp or game boy because that would be cool
langda_tyaagi at 03:39 AM on 10/24/06
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"If you're within range of a WiFi signal and you're listening to a station, the device will snatch as much of the feed as it can so when you wander out of WiFi signal, it'll keep playing the stream as if you were in range."

--- If its gonna do this... I am buyer No.1 !!
Else..I guess i will still lay my hands on it.
iPod has kinda lost its supposedly 'cool' image. Everyone has an iPod. Moreoever the Zune with its bigger 3" screen would be a better option for all those considering a Video iPod.
pddougla at 07:05 PM on 10/29/06
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Wow, people are mad retarded. this thing is for music, photos, and videos. that's all. no more talk about this thing connecting to the internet or having the ability to use it as a phone. That's whats wrong with people, they like to take sumthin simple and make it the most fuckin' difficult and worthless peace of crap. This is goin' to be a reliable music/video player, more so than Apple who like to fuck its customers over. Thumbs up for the Zune.
geeronset at 03:08 AM on 11/05/06
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The iPod's 2.5" display is smaller, but the 3" Zune offer the same resolution. The Zune's slightly larger display is still showing the same number of dots; they'll just be more obviously pixelated because each dot is larger. The lower pixel density of the Zune's screen means its display can only be less sharp.

This flaw is exaggerated by Microsoft's Vista-esque choice of using soft alpha transparency throughout the Zune interface. This makes for nice marketing photos, but makes it harder to navigate through screens when focusing on other things: walking, driving, exercising, riding a bike, or other things iPod users do.

While neither the iPod nor the Zune provide a cinematic movie experience, there is no benefit to having a slightly larger screen at the same resolution in a handheld device, apart from possibly lower battery life.

Go to this link for more info:
http://www.roughlydrafted.com/RD/Home/9F60D74A-0E27-4F5F-B...
EKIPNOSAJ at 08:01 PM on 12/26/06
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I WANT TO KNOW HOW TO TAKE THE SONGS OFF A CD AND PUT THEM DIRECTLY ON THE ZUNE?