What you do is set up Orb on a Windows machine to transcode, on the fly, your already downloaded Zune songs. This way you can listen to your music (your entire music library, not just 16GB or 32GB worth) wherever you have an internet connection. It works over 3G as well as Wi-Fi, but EDGE is a little too slow for full-quality music.

Head over to Gear Live for a walkthrough. [Gear Live]

From Adweek:

The Office shift follows a pitch for a new Microsoft mobile offering won by McCann's T.A.G. unit, said sources. JWT, McCann and fellow roster shop Crispin, Porter + Bogusky competed for that assignment, for which the client used the code-name Pink.

It's a nice confirmation of previous rumors that Microsoft was shopping the project around, and that's about the end of the new information. But a quick trip to the McCann T.A.G. site reveals a portfolio that contains three videos for the Zune, including two ads and a trade reel. Zune? Pink? Zunephone! Pinkphone! Pink Zune! Pink Zune phone! And so on.

Now, these ads are nestled among a fair number of Xbox promotional materials, so it's clear that this is one of Microsoft's go-to teams for advertising in general. But hell, since we still haven't seen any kind of confirmation that the Pink phone's alleged specs and Windows Mobile 7 rumors are real, that Pink is a hardware device, or that the project even still exists, we'll take what we can get. [Adweek via Slashgear]

The interview is filled with lots of other interesting rumors, however, including that Microsoft is considering not only 16/32GB models but a 64GB Zune HD as well. (There was no speculation as to the price of such a mega model). If the Zune is your bag, be sure to read the full interview over at Neowin. [Neowin]

We already knew that the HD has Nvidia's Tegra inside, which makes it a high powered, high performance device that can handle HD output and possibly some nice gaming. What we don't know is what the cost of the OLED screen and the cost of Tegra will make the final price. No word on that yet from the tipster.

Of course all this is unconfirmed until it comes straight from Microsoft, but the docs look pretty good, so there's a good chance that it's legit. Too bad of the three shows/bands that they picked for their demo shot, only one of them is any good. [Thanks tipster!]

As we explained in our Giz Explains: Low-Power Chipsets, Nvidia's Tegra proc is designed to handle high-def video and Flash with buttery smoothness in small packages, just like the Zune HD. So while this is as yet still unconfirmed, given that we haven't had confirmation from Microsoft, it makes a lot of sense and would actually be a very smart move—and the sources reporting the rumor seem very certain that it's true. With a Tegra processor, the Zune HD would certainly be able to decode videos with far less necessary power than with any other chipset, which means better battery life combined with better video quality. What else could you want from a next-gen PMP? [PC Perspective]

Let's look at what's new in the iPhone 3GS. Magnetometer for the compass, an improved camera, video recording, voice control, faster processor, faster 3G and and a 32GB storage bump. Obviously, we're not talking about the hardware stuff (processor, camera, etc.), but the software things like voice control and video recording? That could easily have been ported to the 3G.

Apple's official reason was that the iPhone 3G doesn't have enough power to run those two features. Really? They're saying that on-the-fly voice control (albeit one that doesn't just match what you say to a pre-recorded sample on your voice) can't be done on the iPhone 3G? You mean the same feature that's been available for Windows Mobile FIVE phones for about half a decade now? This can't be done with the iPhone 3G's processor?

And there's the question of video recording. Check out the video below.

The image associated with this post is best viewed using a browser.This was taken on the iPhone 3G with the Cycorder Cydia jailbreak app. As in, you can do this right now if you jailbreak your phone and install the app. And this is a jailbreak app that doesn't have as great access to the phone as Apple's own internal team with their first-party video libraries. The 7-15FPS of Cydia isn't as good as the 30FPS of Apple's own recording on the 3GS, but it's not bad either. It's something.

So yeah, we're not asking for the impossible here. We just want for Apple to let actual hardware upgrades be the reason for people to upgrade to the 3GS, not for them to have arbitrary software distinctions to separate their products. [Gizmodo's WWDC Coverage and Roundup]

That means the Xbox 360 will live twice as long as the original Xbox, which essentially had four years before the Xbox 360 arrived and Microsoft unceremoniously dumped it. That's 8 years. The original Xbox does still live in other ways, though—Schappert said that "hundreds of thousands" of people still play Xbox Live on it. Similarly, Live will obviously live on in whatever comes after the Xbox 360 he said. He reiterated again, though, that "there's still an awful lot left we can do with that piece of hardware, so we're going to continue to do that...I don't even think we're halfway through the life of the Xbox 360." He continued, "if we were not able to reinvent the interface, introduce avatars, introduce new services, we might be talking about new hardware right now." When "we need new hardware to deliver new experiences, that's when we'll start talking about new hardware."

One thing we obviously missed at E3, given how broadly Microsoft has expanded the Xbox 360's scope was the "game-changing" Zune integration promised in the Zune HD announcement. Schappert said that "game-changing" was "meant to refer less to games and more to our Zune video launch." Zune audio on the other hand, he had nothing to say about: "We're not announcing anything else right now, but obviously we're gonna continue to partner with our Zune friends. What you see today is a lot different that last year, so you're going to continue to see us innovate, bring new things, bring new experiences."

So that deeper Zune integration, it's coming. Eventually. One day. Hopefully. Maybe. [Giz@E3]

Price Cuts
The financiapocalypse has yielded no price cuts for ailing gamers from Sony, Nintendo or Microsoft. A PS3 still hurts at $400, a real Xbox costs $300 (with downloadable retail games on the way, you need that hard drive), and a Wii still costs $250. Not to mention the true price of owning these consoles—$60 $80 for a complete Wiimote (can't forget MotionPlus, which Miyamoto said yesterday could be required for the next Wii Zelda), $50 a year for Xbox Live—also remains unchanged. This is undoubtedly part and parcel of this generation's extended lifespan, but parts and manufacturing prices have fallen, so they're all presumably recouping more money than ever on their consoles. If they're serious about picking up new gamers, they need to make it affordable.

PS3 Slim
Sony inevitably slenderizes every console, and the PS3 is an effin' monster. The PSP Go shows they're still very much on board on the shrink ray as a way to generate sales. The PS3 costs them less than ever to make—just think how much more they'd save if they didn't have to pay for all of that extra plastic? (OK, maybe they'd have to pay more for the smaller guts.) But we've seen possible branding for it, just maybe. Are they saving it for motion controls?

Zune, Zune, Zune
We really expected more ZuneHD to be a part of Microsoft's E3 keynote, given the barebone announcement that left us parched for more details. ZuneHD wasn't mentioned once.

Also, Microsoft promised "at E3 next week, attendees will see firsthand how Zune integrates into Xbox LIVE to create a game-changing entertainment experience." Um, we must've missed that. Zune Video Marketplace moved onto Xbox Live was all we caught. When we asked Xbox Live's Marc Whitten yesterday where Zune audio was, he pointed at Last.fm. And about what we can expect from deeper Zune integration, we got a more or less canned response that they'll be continuing to grow the service and move toward more integration. Not very satisfying.

Live Anywhere
Nearly three years later, and one year after being assured the project is still alive, Microsoft's Live Anywhere—the service that'll let you tap into Live from anywhere—is still nowhere. Which is absolutely baffling, given everything Microsoft's added to the Live service since the New Xbox Experience and all of the "cloud" work they've been doing. Live Anywhere fits perfectly with all of that. There's really no good explanation for why Live Anywhere is still MIA.

But we asked Whitten where it was, just for good measure. He said they're focusing on the living-room experience here at E3, and since that extends onto other devices, it's for another time and place. Ooooookay. Maybe when we see that deeper Zune integration?

A Bigger, Better Wii Balance Board and More Wii MotionPlus Games
While Nintendo didn't fail to come through with a new piece of potentially gimmicky hardware (notice they didn't even have a game to go with it, and Miyamoto himself was vague on WTF it's for), Wii Fit Plus is the same old Wii Fit from a hardware perspective. We hoped a Wii Fit Plus would come with a Balance Board Plus—a smarter board that's even bigger for people who don't have Japan-sized feet. It's one new hardware peripheral we wouldn't have minded one bit.

A year after announcing the Wii MotionPlus, the game pickins for it still look a bit slim. Nintendo announced a handful of titles yesterday that'll make use of it, like Sega's Virtua Tennis 2009 and the new Tiger Woods Golf from EA (which'll have it bundled) but it's disappointing they didn't have more to show at this stage of the game. During yesterday's Q&A, Miyamoto said that it might be required for the next Zelda on Wii, depending on how widely it's adopted—so whether we see it used in more games may very well be dependent on how well it does with the initial load of titles. So it's odd there isn't well, more of them to start to really get the ball rolling.

So that's what we really missed at E3—well, all that and Hulu. What did you guys really hope to see?

This scroungy little rumor breaks down into two sections: the believable, important half; and the questionable, weird half. From the believable half, in the "Product Description" that has supposedly been supplied by Microsoft, we see this passage:

The device also has a built-in accelerometer, so it senses when it is moving. This lets you play games and use apps that are controlled by moving the device. The touchscreen QWERTY keyboard makes it easy to enter information.

Games? Apps? Where did that come from? This is taken from under the "Surf the Web on Your Zune: " heading, so one (disappointing) possibility is that it refers to accelerometer-enhanced web apps. But in any case, referring to "Games" and "Apps" in a broad sense implies—but obviously doesn't confirm—something beyond preloaded software. And so ends the solid half of this rumor.

Now, for rest: the Date First Available for the Zune HD is September 8, 2008, according to the listing. Some are reading this as confirmation of a September 2009 release date, as per earlier rumors; I see a typo, or a mistake. In that vein, the Technical Details section of the listing refers to "games from Xbox LIVE", implying the availability of native games. Again, this could mean something, but these sections—Technical Details and Product Details—are user-editable, and, in this case, full of typos and obvious mistakes. That a subtle feature mention could have slipped by one of Amazon's listings editors is completely reasonable, so I wouldn't stake any hopes on it.

That first part though? That's interesting, especially in light of Microsoft's download-y new Xbox strategy. [ZuneSpring via Zunerama]

I asked about bringing Hulu into the fold—Xbox Live's Marc Whitten didn't answer very directly: "I think you'll see continue to see growth." He talked a bit about how, "Sky Experience is how I think about this...now I get to live TV directly inside of this experience...and when I start thinking about beyond that. How do we start to share experiences?" He seemed really interested in sharing and coop.

For instant 1080p video streaming you need an 8Mbps downstream connection—that's a pretty fat pipe in most of the country, so it seems kinda limited to competitive cable markets, where competition has pushed up the speed of available internet access. Which I'm sure Big Cable loves. The video format uses Microsoft's own codecs and a lot of the cloud work they've been doing, says Marc.

They're not getting really specific with dates on the Facebook and Twitter thing, just that it'll ramp over time.

Also new stuff for avatars coming up, so Microsoft can make money off of 'em: You'll be able to earn items in games, or buy whole costumes and props like an RC Warthog from Halo. I saw a few things on sale for 80 Xbox Live points in the Halo Storefront. [Giz@E3]

Archive below:

2:30 AM ON JUN 1 2009
matt:
Hey guys, we'll see you right here live from Microsoft's E3 keynote at 10:25am Pacific–that's 1:25pm Eastern. Of course, you'll want to be here a little earlier for the pre-game coverage. See you then!

9:59 AM ON JUN 1 2009
Mark Wilson:
We're live in LA, which really means that we're at USC's Galen Center, shoulder to shoulder with our pals at Kotaku. Microsoft is pumping house music. There are lots of green lights. And the show will start at 10:25. Why 10:25? Microsoft moved the press conference up by five minutes in an emergency email last night.

10:02 AM ON JUN 1 2009
matt:

10:04 AM ON JUN 1 2009
Mark Wilson:
So what can Microsoft do with an extra 5 minutes? The rumor is a Beatles reunion between Paul McCartney and Ringo Starr (probably for the new Beatles Rock Band game). Apparently said fabled reunion, should it ever take place, would last precisely 5 minutes before Yoko Ono showed up and started a fight.

10:05 AM ON JUN 1 2009
matt:

10:13 AM ON Jun 1 2009
Mark Wilson:
BTW, Gizmodo will be liveblogging everything Microsoft announces today. But Kotaku is around, too. Check out their liveblog (in another tab, of course!) here.

10:15 am ON JUN 1 2009
matt:

10:17 AM ON JUN 1 2009
matt:

10:18 AM ON JUN 1 2009
Mark Wilson:
I stand by my prediction. I think hulu will be announced for the Xbox 360 either now or later this week. But what else is going on today (besides Beatlemania)? Full Zune Marketplace integration with the 360 makes sense. Shared videos have already been announced. Music seems like the most logical next announcement. What about Live Anywhere, which would link the Zune and 360 in both gaming and media? Ehhhh, I HOPE it's announced, but we've been awaiting the service since 2006.

10:19 AM ON JUN 1 2009
matt:

10:20 AM ON JUN 1 2009
matt:

10:21 AM ON JUN 1 2009
Mark Wilson:
The music is still blasting, but the crowd is fairly subdued. Just announced: the briefing will begin in five minutes. So much for that last trip to the bathroom. Microsoft has kindle placed water bottles in each of our seats. The water spites my full bladder.

10:22 AM ON JUN 1 2009
matt:
I want some hot Zune action. Zuuuuuuuuuuuune. No Zune signs anywhere though. Just lots of Hulk green.

10:22 AM ON JUN 1 2009
Mark Wilson:
Music just changed from house to a sort of funk rock. Whoa, and some metal, out of nowhere! Microsoft is here. And they're pissed.

10:23 AM ON JUN 1 2009
Mark Wilson:
Everyone who's home or at work right now, we're going to do a little Gizmodo wave. You start.

10:24 AM ON JUN 1 2009
Mark Wilson:
Every light hanging from the ceiling is green. When the aliens invade earth, it won't look so different from a Microsoft presser.

10:25 AM ON JUN 1 2009
matt:

10:25 AM ON JUN 1 2009
Mark Wilson:
Lights are dimming…I'll admit it, I'm actually a bit excited about what could be announced. Are you?

10:26 AM ON JUN 1 2009
matt:

10:27 AM ON JUN 1 2009
Mark Wilson:
Factoid: Microsoft starts all their pressers with the Xbox 360 loading sound.

10:27 AM ON JUN 1 2009
matt:

10:27 AM ON JUN 1 2009
Mark Wilson:
A Rock Band Beatles clip is playing…maybe Paul McCartney and Ringo Starr are about to show up…

10:27 AM ON JUN 1 2009
matt:

10:28 AM ON JUN 1 2009
Mark Wilson:
BTW, the song is Paperback Writer, my favorite Beatles tine.

10:28 AM ON JUN 1 2009
Mark Wilson:
The Beatles Rock Band drums have been spotted onstage. Will the Beatles be playing Rock Band instruments? How sad!

10:29 AM ON JUN 1 2009
matt:

10:30 AM ON JUN 1 2009
Jason Chen:

10:30 AM ON JUN 1 2009
Mark Wilson:
Harmonix is onstage talking about The Beatles, reminding the hipsters that there was music before the era of American Apparel.

10:30 AM ON JUN 1 2009
matt:

10:31 AM ON JUN 1 2009
matt:

10:31 AM ON JUN 1 2009
Mark Wilson:
The Harmonix house band is playing, so NO BEATLES. I repeat, NO BEATLES.

10:31 AM ON JUN 1 2009
matt:

10:32 AM ON JUN 1 2009
matt:

10:32 AM ON JUN 1 2009
Mark Wilson:
The gameplay looks exactly the same as every other Rock Band game, but with The Beatles, of course.

10:33 AM ON JUN 1 2009
Mark Wilson:
I hate that by the time The Beatles come to Rock Band, I've basically grown sick of music games. Am I think only one? (They're still playing, btw.)

10:34 AM ON JUN 1 2009
Mark Wilson:
I'd also like to take this time to note that this game is not an Xbox 360 exclusive. It'll be on PS3 as well.

10:34 AM ON JUN 1 2009
matt:

10:35 AM ON JUN 1 2009
Mark Wilson:
Now they're playing the game's first official trailer…a bit anticlimactic after we've seen it demoed live onstage, but whatev. I'm still pumped!! Hulu, please hulu!!

10:36 AM ON JUN 1 2009
matt:

10:36 AM ON JUN 1 2009
Mark Wilson:
You should just get X1000000 Star Power whenever you play as The Beatles in Rock Band. I mean, seriously. I know they're not Duffy, but they're still pretty good.

10:38 AM ON JUN 1 2009
Mark Wilson:
All You Need Is Love will be exclusively available through Xbox Live. Proceeds will go to charity.

10:38 AM ON JUN 1 2009
matt:

10:38 AM ON JUN 1 2009
Mark Wilson:
YOKO ONO!!!

10:39 AM ON JUN 1 2009
matt:

10:39 AM ON JUN 1 2009
Mark Wilson:
AND OLIVIA HARRISON!!

10:39 AM ON JUN 1 2009
Mark Wilson:
Paul McCartney and Ringo Starr are live onstage!!! OOH!!!

10:40 AM ON JUN 1 2009
matt:

10:40 AM ON JUN 1 2009
Mark Wilson:
"Good morning everybody!" Oh Ringo, you know how to sweep a girl off her feet.

10:40 AM ON JUN 1 2009
Mark Wilson:
"The game is good." Ringo Starr, ladies and gentlemen.

10:41 AM ON JUN 1 2009
matt:

10:41 AM ON JUN 1 2009
Mark Wilson:
And as soon as they're appeared, they are gone.

10:41 AM ON JUN 1 2009
Mark Wilson:
John Schappert, corporate VP of Xbox, is now onstage. Tough act to follow, buddy.

10:42 AM ON JUN 1 2009
Mark Wilson:
He's talking about the economy. "Now, more than ever before, people want to have fun."

10:43 AM ON JUN 1 2009
Mark Wilson:
He's promising "showing, not telling." No charts and graphs. The audience cheered. 10 world premiers of unseen games. And revolutionary new experiences "for everyone." Hmmm….

10:44 AM ON JUN 1 2009
Mark Wilson:
Tony Hawk takes the stage. I wonder what he's going to be talking about… (I'm being sarcastic, it's Tony Hawk: Ride, and he's holding the new skateboard peripheral.)

10:44 AM ON JUN 1 2009
matt:

10:44 AM ON JUN 1 2009
Mark Wilson:
Accelerometers, IR sensors, you can put your foot on the side of it like you are pushing along.

10:44 AM ON JUN 1 2009
matt:

10:45 AM ON JUN 1 2009
Mark Wilson:
"The design is really intuitive…even if you've never stepped foot on a skateboard."

10:45 AM ON JUN 1 2009
matt:

10:45 AM ON JUN 1 2009
Mark Wilson:
And now they're cutting to a WORLD EXCLUSIVE trailer.

10:45 AM ON JUN 1 2009
Mark Wilson:
So, Tony Hawk (live) just teased Tony Hawk (taped, in the WORLD EXCLUSIVE trailer). A bit backwards, no?

10:46 AM ON JUN 1 2009
Mark Wilson
More on Tony Hawk: RIDE at Kotaku

10:46 AM ON JUN 1 2009
matt:

10:47 AM ON JUN 1 2009
Mark Wilson:
We're seeing demos of the skateboard being used for the first time. It's thicker than I thought, which I guess is necessary for durability. It also looks shorter than a normal board.

10:47 AM ON JUN 1 2009
matt:

10:48 AM ON JUN 1 2009
Mark Wilson:
Oh great, the skateboard will be on the show floor. Tony out. Now another trailer…with guns….new Call of Duty!

10:48 AM ON JUN 1 2009
matt:

10:49 AM ON JUN 1 2009
Mark Wilson:
The graphics, if these are in-game, have seen a huge jump. The textures are really impressive on models. The people are moving very fluidly, though not so fluidly that it would imply the footage is prerendered.

10:48 AM ON JUN 1 2009
matt:

10:50 AM ON JUN 1 2009
Mark Wilson:
Yes, it's Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 2. Guys from Infinity Ward are coming on stage.

10:51 AM ON JUN 1 2009
matt:

10:51 AM ON JUN 1 2009
Mark Wilson:
Alright, and they're demoing the game for us. A soldier is in Siberia or something, standing on the ledge of a mountain. Yeah, body textures are really improved. And animations are SO fluid as he icepicks his way up the mountain.

10:51 AM ON JUN 1 2009
Mark Wilson:
The music is vaguely reminiscent of Star Wars, believe it or not. Understated with like a French horn or something chiming in once in a while.

10:52 AM ON JUN 1 2009
Mark Wilson:
Holy crap,the soldier just jumped a chasm while dual wielding ice axes. He ALMOST fell. I hope he lives! OK, I think he lived.

10:53 AM ON JUN 1 2009
matt:

10:53 AM ON JUN 1 2009
Mark Wilson:
Apparently I'm a huge Modern Warfare fan because this just seems fantastic. I swear they dropped the temperature in the Galen center to match the icy tundra of the demo level.

10:53 AM ON JUN 1 2009
matt:

10:54 AM ON JUN 1 2009
Mark Wilson:
Would it be great if a Metal Gear showed up out of the fog? Man, that'd be great.

10:54 AM ON JUN 1 2009
matt:

10:55 AM ON JUN 1 2009
matt:

10:55 AM ON JUN 1 2009
Mark Wilson:
Lots of people are shooting and dying now. Wait…you SHOOT PEOPLE IN THIS GAME? What happened to the nice mountain climbing sequences?

10:55 AM ON JUN 1 2009
matt:

10:56 AM ON JUN 1 2009
Mark Wilson:
Another suggestion for Infinity Ward: Give these guys sleds. HOLY CRAP, snowmobiles. They read my mind. And the soldier just hopped on. This changes everything.

10:56 AM ON JUN 1 2009
matt:

10:56 AM ON JUN 1 2009
matt:

10:57 AM ON JUN 1 2009
Mark Wilson:
You can shoot people while driving the snowmobile. This looks good enough to be its own deadly racing game. OK, clip over.

10:57 AM ON JUN 1 2009
matt:

10:57 AM ON JUN 1 2009
Mark Wilson:
Infinity Ward and Activision are releasing two map packs first to Xbox Live. OK, now Square Enix coming out.

10:58 AM ON JUN 1 2009
matt:

10:58 AM ON JUN 1 2009
matt:

10:59 AM ON JUN 1 2009
Mark Wilson:
They're basically saying how Final Fantasy is the best series ever before showing us some of Final Fantasy XIII, the first Xbox Final Fantasy (announced at the last E3).

11:00 AM ON JUN 1 2009
matt:

11:00 AM ON JUN 1 2009
Mark Wilson:
Now we're seeing a live demo. Two of the characters are fighting a huge scorpion plane mega boss.

11:00 AM ON JUN 1 2009
matt:

11:00 AM ON JUN 1 2009
matt:

11:01 AM ON JUN 1 2009
Mark Wilson:
The combat now includes four active time gauges, allowing you to consecutively attack with wider tactics. I think that means allowing big spells to charge with more strategy.

11:01 AM ON JUN 1 2009
matt:

11:01 AM ON JUN 1 2009
Mark Wilson:
I mean, not to piss anyone off, but it looks just like a Square RPG. And the demo is over.

11:02 AM ON JUN 1 2009
Mark Wilson:
Spring 2010 release. Wow, it'll be a while.

11:02 AM ON JUN 1 2009
matt:

11:02 AM ON JUN 1 2009
Mark Wilson:
Schappert is back onstage. He's talking about the diversity and quality of exclusives. He's promising everything from here on out of the presser is Xbox 360 exclusive. Cool…but what's an exclusive really mean today?

11:03 AM ON JUN 1 2009
Mark Wilson:
Epic takes the stage, makers of Gears of War.

11:03 AM ON JUN 1 2009
matt:

11:03 AM ON JUN 1 2009
Mark Wilson:
They are introducing a new Live Arcade game, the first of its kind from Epic. Predictably, it's powered by their Unreal engine.

11:04 AM ON JUN 1 2009
matt:

11:04 AM ON JUN 1 2009
matt:

11:04 AM ON JUN 1 2009
Mark Wilson:
It's a military sidescroller, similar to Castlevania, with some nice 3D depth. You play a soldier with hookshots, guns, etc.

11:05 AM ON JUN 1 2009
matt:

11:05 AM ON JUN 1 2009
Mark Wilson:
It looks very nice for a Live Arcade title. Gameplay is a bit choppy, but it looks fun with neat glowing bullets and lots of explosions. Its called Shadow Complex.

11:05 AM ON JUN 1 2009
matt:

11:06 AM ON JUN 1 2009
Mark Wilson:
Oh, and Cliffy B is sporting a shirt that Giz readers should know!

11:06 AM ON JUN 1 2009
matt:

11:06 AM ON JUN 1 2009
matt:

11:06 AM ON JUN 1 2009
Mark Wilson:
Now we're looking at a zany racing game that uses Live avatars. It's called Joy Ride. More on these games over at Kotaku.

11:07 AM ON JUN 1 2009
matt:

11:07 AM ON JUN 1 2009
Mark Wilson:
Joy Ride is free to download and play! But new cars and levels are $$$ DLC. It's coming this winter.

11:07 AM ON JUN 1 2009
Mark Wilson:
I just heard an MGS alert sound…but I think it was from back in the audience, someone's phone or something.

11:08AM ON JUN 1 2009
matt:

11:08 AM ON JUN 1 2009
Mark Wilson:
But for the record, Matt Buchanan and I both looked around for an exclamation point.
11:08 AM ON JUN 1 2009
matt:

11:08 AM ON JUN 1 2009
Mark Wilson:
Ooh, CRACKDOWN 2! That's huge.

11:09 AM ON JUN 1 2009
matt:

11:09 AM ON JUN 1 2009
Mark Wilson:
Crackdown's teaser was all of 20 seconds. Sorry, we have no more on the game.

11:09 AM ON JUN 1 2009
matt:

11:09 AM ON JUN 1 2009
Mark Wilson:
Now we're watching zombies being blown to Hell. This is clearly prerendered, so don't get too excited.

11:10 AM ON JUN 1 2009
Mark Wilson:
Left 4 Dead 2!

11:10 AM ON JUN 1 2009
matt:

11:10 AM ON JUN 1 2009
Mark Wilson:
Wow, I'll hand it to them, Microsoft is pumping out huge announcements with these short clips.

11:10 AM ON JUN 1 2009
matt:

11:11 AM ON JUN 1 2009
Mark Wilson:
Now we're watching another preredered trailer that looks like Splinter Cell.

11:11 AM ON JUN 1 2009
matt:

11:11 AM ON JUN 1 2009
Mark Wilson:
I know it's Splinter Cell because they called the guy Sam Fisher. I'm not that good. Splinter Cell Conviction is the name of the game.

11:11 AM ON JUN 1 2009
matt:

11:12 AM ON JUN 1 2009
Mark Wilson:
Ubisoft, makers of Splinter Cell Conviction, are onstage to give a realtime demo. More on these games over at Kotaku.

11:12 AM ON JUN 1 2009
matt:

11:13 AM ON JUN 1 2009
matt:

11:14 AM ON JUN 1 2009
Mark Wilson:
Wow, nice lighting, more smoother animation. But not much in terms of textures. The game almost looks cartoony. This is so barely a realtime demo there are so many cuts to CGI. Now we're in a larger environment. Frame rates have dropped quite a bit.

11:14 AM ON JUN 1 2009
matt:

11:14 AM ON JUN 1 2009
Mark Wilson:
Did I just see bullet time? I think so! Suck on that, Neo.

11:15 AM ON JUN 1 2009
matt:

11:15 AM ON JUN 1 2009
matt:

11:16 AM ON JUN 1 2009
Mark Wilson:
Yeah, the game looks fun with varied environments like streets and museums. They still need to polish the edges, which are often distractingly pixelated. But Sam Fisher is kicking ass, Bourne-style. And like I said, the noir lighting is really fantastic.

11:16 AM ON JUN 1 2009
matt:

11:17 AM ON JUN 1 2009
matt:

11:17 AM ON JUN 1 2009
Mark Wilson:
It's very Bourne Identity. The demo is over. It'll be released this fall.

11:17 AM ON JUN 1 2009
matt:

11:18 AM ON JUN 1 2009
Mark Wilson:
Schappert back, doing his thing. I will say, he's way more comfortable in front of an audience than he was when Peter Moore first left. And he just introduced Forza 3.

11:18 AM ON JUN 1 2009
matt:

11:19 AM ON JUN 1 2009
Mark Wilson:
Microsoft stage reveals a REAL CAR! This is just like Price is Right! Forza's director is out now.

11:19 AM ON JUN 1 2009
matt:

11:19 AM ON JUN 1 2009
Mark Wilson:
BTW, that car is an Audi V8 R10.

11:20 AM ON JUN 1 2009
matt:

11:20 AM ON JUN 1 2009
matt:

11:20 AM ON JUN 1 2009
matt:

11:21 AM ON JUN 1 2009
Mark Wilson:
It's been called the definitive racing game of this generation twice now during this conference. How's it look? I'm not sure the gameplay we just watched was real, frankly. But it looked…good? We saw so little, it's tough to tell. Now we're watching mechanics talk about how great the game will be in a teaser trailer.

11:22 AM ON JUN 1 2009
matt:

11:23 AM ON JUN 1 2009
Mark Wilson:
More on Forza over at Kotaku, btw. And now for another prerendered trailer!

11:23 AM ON JUN 1 2009
matt:

11:24 AM ON JUN 1 2009
Mark Wilson:
More Forza pimping. If you need to use the facilities, do so now. Ships October.

11:25 AM ON JUN 1 2009
Mark Wilson:
Halo 3 ODST, World Premier. Bungie onstage!

11:26 AM ON JUN 1 2009
Mark Wilson:
Alright, we're watching what looks like filmed in-game footage. Spartans are dropping from the sky in pods. Lots of inaudible shouting. EXPLOSION. "We're going in hard!!"

11:27 AM ON JUN 1 2009
Mark Wilson:
Now we're waking up on the ground. You're a rookie without his team. And the biggest change is the HUD. You see lines in the helmet.

11:27 AM ON JUN 1 2009
Mark Wilson:
Now you get a lowlight vision mode, and the bad guys are outlined in red. It's SO different, SO much more HUDdy with this new visor. But I like the look.

11:28 AM ON JUN 1 2009
matt:

11:28 AM ON JUN 1 2009
Mark Wilson:
The terrain is outlined as well. Outlines outlines outlines. I wonder if it makes designing the depth of a level and lighting easier.

11:28 AM ON JUN 1 2009
matt:

11:30 AM ON JUN 1 2009
Mark Wilson:
But even without Master Chief and the new HUD, this feels like Halo…but maybe with a little influence from Call of Duty, with lots of your squad shouting at you all the time. And that's a wrap for ODST.

11:30 AM ON JUN 1 2009
Mark Wilson:
Oh, but that's not all. A TOP SECRET PROJECT TOO!!

11:31 AM ON JUN 1 2009
Mark Wilson:
"From the beginning"…this is gonna be epic. Someone is floating outside of Earth. Epic soundtrack. This feels more like Halo 3, the scale of it all. The world is being bombed. HALO Reach.

11:32 AM ON JUN 1 2009
matt:

11:32 AM ON JUN 1 2009
Mark Wilson:
Is it a space sim? We dunno. "Falls 2010″

11:32 AM ON JUN 1 2009
Mark Wilson:
When you buy ODST, you get an invite to Halo Reach's multiplayer beta. Interesting. We don't know if it's an FPS or not. Moving on…

11:34 AM ON JUN 1 2009
Mark Wilson:
Now we're seeing a clip teasing Alan Wake. It's one of those interactive movie titles. And we've just been promised some realtime demoing of the title. More on these games over at Kotaku.

11:34 AM ON JUN 1 2009
matt:

11:35 AM ON JUN 1 2009
Mark Wilson:
Now for the realtime gameplay of Alan Wake. It's an over the shoulder, Unreal Engine looking title. There is an annoying voiceover that's like a cheesy novel. Alan has a flashlight, a shotgun and his balls. Someone is knocking over trees and lifting cars in the background. It's very sci fi spooky.

11:37 AM ON JUN 1 2009
Mark Wilson:
Interesting, there is a lot of combat. It looks like the flashlight burns attackers who spark under its influence. This game feels way more like an action shooter than something like Quantic Dream's Heavy Rain or Indigo Prophecy.

11:39 AM ON JUN 1 2009
Mark Wilson:
Holy shit. Alan Wake just busted out a flare in slow motion. OK, this demo is going on too long. There's a bulldozer attacking Mr Wake. I'm hoping it kills him so this demo is over. The sequence ends with To Be Continued. Look for Alan Wake spring 2010.

11:39 AM ON JUN 1 2009
Mark Wilson:
Schappert is back out. Music coming to Xbox Live!

11:39 AM ON JUN 1 2009
Mark Wilson:
last.fm

11:40 AM ON JUN 1 2009
matt:

11:40 AM ON JUN 1 2009
Mark Wilson:
The interface looks slick. It'll be available to Gold members later this year for free.

11:40 AM ON JUN 1 2009
matt:

11:41 AM ON JUN 1 2009
matt:

11:41 AM ON JUN 1 2009
Mark Wilson:
Now on to Netflix. They are allowing you to add movies to your queue from the Xbox – no PC required.

11:41 AM ON JUN 1 2009
Mark Wilson:
They're talking about sky TV coming to the 360, but that was announced earlier this week (and it's UK only).

11:41 AM ON JUN 1 2009
matt:

11:42 AM ON JUN 1 2009
Mark Wilson:
Not they're talking about the Xbox's video store. It's been "challenged to do more." Today, they answered this challenge with Zune video. HD video library goes 1080P. And there's more…

11:43 AM ON JUN 1 2009
matt:

11:43 AM ON JUN 1 2009
Mark Wilson:
All movies and TV shows will stream instantly. And the video store is coming to 18 countries

11:43 AM ON JUN 1 2009
Mark Wilson:
It's called Instant On 1080P HD.

11:43 AM ON JUN 1 2009
matt:

11:44 AM ON JUN 1 2009
matt:

11:44 AM ON JUN 1 2009
matt:

11:44 AM ON JUN 1 2009
Mark Wilson:
Movies, TV and music are coming to Live Party. A group of avatars can sit together on a couch, heavy pet, and watch content together. It was greeted with an unenthusiastic applause from the audience.

11:44 AM ON JUN 1 2009
matt:

11:44 AM ON JUN 1 2009
Mark Wilson:
Whoa. Xbox Live is partnering with Facebook.

11:45 AM ON JUN 1 2009
matt:

11:45 AM ON JUN 1 2009
Mark Wilson:
Felicia Day is onstage. She's from The Guild on Xbox Live. And she's here to tell us why social networking on Xbox 360 is very important.

11:45 AM ON JUN 1 2009
matt:

11:45 AM ON JUN 1 2009
matt:

11:46 AM ON JUN 1 2009
matt:

11:46 AM ON JUN 1 2009
Mark Wilson:
It shares the same interface as the New Xbox Experience sidescrolling windows. It actually looks a bit clunky. I mean, it's a lot of windows to tab through to find a friend or Facebook stalk an ex.

11:46 AM ON JUN 1 2009
matt:

11:47 AM ON JUN 1 2009
matt:

11:47 AM ON JUN 1 2009
Mark Wilson:
Status updates are quarantined to these individual windows as well. There's no one big feed like you see on Facebook (or Twitter). Ugh.

11:47 AM ON JUN 1 2009
matt:

11:47 AM ON JUN 1 2009
Mark Wilson:
He;s bringing Metal Gear Solid franchise to the Xbox 360.

11:47 AM ON JUN 1 2009
Mark Wilson:
Facebook Connect allows you to post screenshots from games, Tiger Woods shown here, to your Facebook account. Interesting.

11:47 AM ON JUN 1 2009
Mark Wilson:
In addition to Facebook, Xbox Live gets Twitter!

11:48 AM ON JUN 1 2009
matt:

11:48 AM ON JUN 1 2009
Mark Wilson:
This looks totally different. Twitter is not cut up into various New Xbox Experience windows. Instead, you see one big feed. The background is every so subtly animated. And that's all they're showing us.

11:49 AM ON JUN 1 2009
matt:

11:49 AM ON JUN 1 2009
matt:

11:49 AM ON JUN 1 2009
Mark Wilson:
Schappert is back out. And he's "not done yet." He introduces Senior VP Don Mattrick to take over from here.

11:50 AM ON JUN 1 2009
Mark Wilson:
"It seems we're missing one crucial piece of the puzzle." METAL GEAR!

11:50 AM ON JUN 1 2009
matt:

11:50 AM ON JUN 1 2009
matt:

11:50 AM ON JUN 1 2009
Mark Wilson:
Hideo Kojima is onstage. Maybe we didn't imagine that alert earlier!

11:50 AM ON JUN 1 2009
matt:

11:51 AM ON JUN 1 2009
Mark Wilson:
The next major release will be called Metal Gear Solid Rising.

11:51 AM ON JUN 1 2009
Mark Wilson:
Don is all like, we welcome you and Snake. And Kojima is all like…wait, I didn't say anything about Solid Snake.

11:52 AM ON JUN 1 2009
matt:

11:52 AM ON JUN 1 2009
Mark Wilson:
Yeah, if you've played the franchise, it's actually Raiden that you'll be playing. More on these games over at Kotaku.

11:52 AM ON JUN 1 2009
matt:

11:53 AM ON JUN 1 2009
Mark Wilson:
Kojima leaves the stage. Microsoft takes a cold shower. And the Don keeps chatting about Xbox Live, what it's done, where it's going, yada yada.

11:53 AM ON JUN 1 2009
Mark Wilson:
People ask me, can you add a motion controller? "Of course we can." But here's the problem, the controller "is a barrier."

11:54 AM ON JUN 1 2009
matt:

11:54 AM ON JUN 1 2009
Mark Wilson:
"We asked ourselves a new set of questions. Can we go beyond a controller? … Can we make YOU the controller? We can."

11:54 AM ON JUN 1 2009
matt:

11:54 AM ON JUN 1 2009
Mark Wilson:
No controller required. Yes, this looks like the body controller that leaked a few weeks back.

11:55 AM ON JUN 1 2009
matt:

11:55 AM ON JUN 1 2009
Mark Wilson:
A kid dodges in front of the TV, a girl turns a wheel she's not holding. A guy lifts a wheel onto a car in a pit stop.

11:55 AM ON JUN 1 2009
matt:

11:56 AM ON JUN 1 2009
Mark Wilson:
A little boy stomps around the living room, controlling a giant lizard. A girl kicks a soccer ball. The clips look great.

11:56 AM ON JUN 1 2009
matt:

11:56 AM ON JUN 1 2009
Mark Wilson:
A kid holds his skateboard in the air. He says "scan." Then he says "play." Then he skateboards on that board.

11:56 AM ON JUN 1 2009
matt:

11:56 AM ON JUN 1 2009
Mark Wilson:
Facial recognition. Face to face chatting. You can pull up items, like dresses, to share with your cross dressing friends.

11:57 AM ON JUN 1 2009
matt:

11:57 AM ON JUN 1 2009
Mark Wilson:
Guys, seriously, these demos are pretty hot. I'm very impressed. We'll see how much is Hollywood magic.

11:57 AM ON JUN 1 2009
matt:

11:57 AM ON JUN 1 2009
matt:

11:58 AM ON JUN 1 2009
Mark Wilson:
Apparently we missed the voice recognition as well, because a lady just said "play movie" and "goodnight." The clip is over.

11:58 AM ON JUN 1 2009
Mark Wilson:
It's called Project Natal.

11:58 AM ON JUN 1 2009
matt:

11:58 AM ON JUN 1 2009
matt:

11:59 AM ON JUN 1 2009
Mark Wilson:
The sensor tracks 3D movements and recognizes voices (faces too). It's controller-free gaming. It's compatible with every Xbox 360 launched thus far.

11:59 AM ON JUN 1 2009
Mark Wilson:
Steven Spielberg takes the stage.

11:59 AM ON JUN 1 2009
matt:

12:00 PM ON JUN 1 2009
Mark Wilson:
"How can interactive entertainment become as approachable as other entertainment?" the father of ET asks.

12:01 PM ON JUN 1 2009
matt:

12:01 PM ON JUN 1 2009
Mark Wilson:
OK, Spielberg is telling us pretty much nothing. He saw Natal for the first time 2 months ago, a "historic moment" presumably when Microsoft dropped a truckload of Benjamins right on his lap.

12:02 PM ON JUN 1 2009
Mark Wilson:
"It's not about reinventing the wheel. It's about no wheel at all." Haha.

12:02 PM ON JUN 1 2009
Mark Wilson:
Spielberg leaves the stage. The Don asks, "how much of this stuff is real?" He introduced Kudo Tsunoda, creative director of Natal.

12:03 PM ON JUN 1 2009
Mark Wilson:
He's showing us off some early prototype demos. The first demo is the Xbox's dashboard. It signs you in automatically through facial recognition.

12:03 PM ON JUN 1 2009
matt:

12:04 PM ON JUN 1 2009
Mark Wilson:
He moves onstage, his onscreen avatar follows his movements…with a few odd chops, but pretty well.

12:04 PM ON JUN 1 2009
Mark Wilson:
You can swipe through the menus with your hands. navigating everything sans-controller.

12:04 PM ON JUN 1 2009
matt:

12:05 PM ON JUN 1 2009
matt:

12:05 PM ON JUN 1 2009
Mark Wilson:
He's dmeoing Ricochet, a sporty tech demo. You see a transparent version of yourself in gamplay like 3D Breakout. You can use your arms…or your head. It looks very good. Very accurate.

12:05 PM ON JUN 1 2009
matt:

12:05 PM ON JUN 1 2009
Mark Wilson:
The limb tracking is unlike anything I've seen.

12:06 PM ON JUN 1 2009
matt:

12:06 PM ON JUN 1 2009
Mark Wilson:
"You're not using preset waggle commands." Ouchhhhh. Did Microsoft just kill the Wii?

12:07 PM ON JUN 1 2009
matt:

12:08 PM ON JUN 1 2009
matt:

12:08 PM ON JUN 1 2009
Mark Wilson:
The next demo is Paint Party. They're walking us through this demo at a slower pace. They start with a blank canvas, then splash paint on the screen like they're shoveling water. It's…not compelling, but OK. I mean, a dude is throwing paint at a wall. It's tough to judge the accuracy and/or fun level of this demo.

12:08 PM ON JUN 1 2009
matt:

12:09 PM ON JUN 1 2009
matt:

12:09 PM ON JUN 1 2009
Mark Wilson:
I do like that the demo/painter/artist is talking to the audience, then he slips in "brown" or "green" and the paint color changes.

12:10 PM ON JUN 1 2009
matt:

12:11 PM ON JUN 1 2009
Mark Wilson:
Now he's bending over creating a body-sized shadow puppet of an elephant. The game took a snapshot. He's painting the elephant grey, tossing paint at the canvas wildly. He says "reveal" and the wasted grey paint rips off the canvas, leaving only one grey elephant.

12:11 PM ON JUN 1 2009
matt:

12:11 PM ON JUN 1 2009
matt:

12:11 PM ON JUN 1 2009
Mark Wilson:
Project Natal development kits are arriving at Microsoft partners today.

12:11 PM ON JUN 1 2009
Mark Wilson:
Project Natal development kits are arriving at Microsoft partners today.

12:13 PM ON JUN 1 2009
matt:

12:13 PM ON JUN 1 2009
matt:

12:14 PM ON JUN 1 2009
Mark Wilson:
One of his (real) developers is talking to a boy (in the game). It's like they're having a conversation, though clearly the boy hears keywords like "homework" and responds appropriately.

12:14 PM ON JUN 1 2009
Mark Wilson:
Now Claire is drawing a picture on a piece of paper. She holds it up to the screen. Natal scans the paper. The boy onscreen recognizes the image. Wow. Coooooooooolll.

12:15 PM ON JUN 1 2009
matt:

12:15 PM ON JUN 1 2009
Mark Wilson:
The boy shows Clare how to put on a pair of goggles. Claire reaches down to put on a pair of goggles. Molyneux explains that such is the natural reaction of a human interacting with a piece of software in full motion with audio recognition.

12:16 PM ON JUN 1 2009
matt:
Natal in a word: Holyballs.

12:16 PM ON JUN 1 2009
matt:

12:17 PM ON JUN 1 2009
Mark Wilson:
Molyneux's response to haters: "Here's the fact, we're showing this behind closed doors at E3." Needless to say, we'll be squeezing our way into said demo.

12:18 PM ON JUN 1 2009
matt:

12:20 PM ON JUN 1 2009
Mark Wilson:
Now Microsoft is wrapping things up, reminding us how awesome they are. Matt Buchanan, snapping shots to my right, keeps uttering how Nintendo is dead and Microsoft R&D just pwnd the world. I guess we'll see where things go from here. Bye everyone, thanks for reading the liveblog. Check out Gizmodo and Kotaku's coverage if E3 all week, and Sony and Nintendo's response to Microsoft's "bringing it" tomorrow morning.

The device is tighter and more physically beautiful than the iPod Touch and it's got a better UI, the main menu's scrolling so natural through the swipe gestures. There's a little note on the side, under the volume toggle—"Hello from Seattle." The power button is up top. The home button is nice and prominent, a bar rather than a round button on the Touch. It's smaller. And the accelerometer is more swift in responding to repositioning; images rotate very fast.

Of course, this thing won't have hundreds of apps ready for download when it comes out, as the Touch does.

But I would take this in a heartbeat, provided they get around to making a Mac client.

There simply isn't a better mobile browser than WebKit right now. It powers the internet in the iPhone, Android, Symbian S60 and Palm Pre, and destroyed all comers in our Battlemodo. It's fast, it's competent and most importantly from a development perspective, it's open source. Meaning Microsoft could adopt it for its mobile devices with (relatively) little shame (okay, maybe a lot of shame) and it's ready to go right now, meaning there's no wasting time building a new engine just to attempt to play catchup to a browser that handily delivers the best mobile internet experience right now across multiple platforms.

Mozilla's Fennec could become a contender to the throne, true, but it's still far from final. Opera and Skyfire are interesting and good, but they're both proprietary, meaning there's no chance in hell they'd ever be adopted by Microsoft or RIM, much less the entire industry, as the basis for their mobile browsers. Update: BTW, Ballmer himself mentioned they might look at WebKit.

You could rail against the idea of WebKit becoming a "monopoly," but you'd be foolish to do so: Web standards are important, and WebKit, which is again, open source, is dedicated to standards compliance and performance. A performance and compliance standard that web developers could count on in every single mobile device wouldn't be a bad thing—far from it. It would mean even more amazing web apps, since developers would know they'd run on any mobile device, no matter what "OS" they were running underneath—the web would be the real OS.

That day is coming. I just hoped I'd see it a little sooner.

Besides FlashLite, Cashmere would bring a better browser, integrated Live Messenger, new connection manager and other core components. It could be the heart of Windows Mobile 7 and Pink, or maybe not. It'd be a stopgap on the way to Chelan, due in late 2010, which comes with IE7 rendering (oh my), Silverlight, Flash, Vista networking stack stuff, a DLNA 1.5 compliant stack and more.

Alchemy will let developers and designers make apps that actually look good since they'll have access to eXtensible Application Markup Language and be able to use Microsoft's Expression Blend for any Embedded Compact/Windows Mobile device with Alchemy.

Intriguingly, Mary Jo's also seen a "new category" on Microsoft slide decks that'd be using Alchemy called "connected media devices" which are distinct from everything that'd drop into your brain like navigators, portable media players and other standard stuff. What are they? She's not quite sure: Anything from a magic all-in-one tablet to portable Surface to ZuneBook. Hmmmmm. [ZDNet, ZDNet]

The flash-based Zune HD features a new industrial look compared to the line's earlier understated matte style, and is the first to feature a touchscreen: In this case, it's a 3.3" 16:9 widescreen capacitive OLED with multitouch, packing a resolution of 480x272. The "HD" badging comes from the inclusion of HD radio and HD (720p) video-out, though the latter is available only with an optional docking station. The Zune HD will thus be the world's first portable media player to include HD radio, which offers song and artist info and far better sound quality than traditional radio. It'll also include an accelerometer, which is pretty much standard at this point.

Wi-Fi has always been a part of the Zune brand (however half-assedly implemented), and the Zune HD might be the first Zune that actually encourages its owners to keep that battery-sucking Wi-Fi turned on. Yes, the Zune HD will feature multitouch browsing, using a portable browser based on Internet Explorer. We'll do our best to reserve judgment on that last part.

The other big news is a refocus on Zune integration with the Xbox environment, as the Zune's video (though not music, yet) marketplace will replace the current Xbox Live version. Microsoft reps were pretty tight-lipped on the subject, but come E3, they'll enlighten us with the details of the redesign.

Other tidbits: The Zune Marketplace is set to cross oceans, coming to several western European countries and, finally, Canada. The Microsoft rep I talked to hinted that the Zune environment may not stay exclusive to Zune hardware: "Obviously," he said, "mobile is a key and critical investment for the company." So don't count out that Zune phone quite yet. I got just about the same response when inquiring about a possible version of the App Store: Possible, but no confirmation. So keep your eyes peeled for new developments on that front.

We're still mostly in the dark about the big, important facts: Release date is only specified as "early fall," and both pricing and storage capacity are still under wraps. This is still pretty bare-bones; we haven't seen the redesigned touchscreen GUI or even held the thing in our hands. I'm a proud Zune owner myself (somebody had to take over as Angry Windows guy after Adam's defection, right?), and while I think Zunes are great, I'm not thrilled with what I've learned so far. It'll be a polished and great-sounding player, I'm sure, but I really want to see something that pushes boundaries, and to me, that doesn't mean HD radio. We'll update with the full press release and hopefully some more info as soon as possible. Update: Here's that release.

For Immediate Release

May 26, 2009

Microsoft Announces the Expansion of the Zune Entertainment Service to New Platform and Markets; Confirms New Zune HD Portable Media Player

Premium Zune digital entertainment service to be available internationally on Xbox LIVE.

REDMOND, Wash. - May 26, 2009 - Microsoft Corp. today announced the evolution of Zune, the company's end-to-end music and entertainment service, to a new platform and new markets. Zune will extend its video service to Xbox LIVE internationally this fall. This marks an important development in the Zune strategy and brings the Zune brand to more than 17 million international Xbox LIVE subscribers. In addition, Microsoft confirmed the next generation of the Zune portable media player, Zune HD. Available in the U.S. this fall, Zune HD is the first portable media player that combines a built-in HD Radio receiver, high-definition (HD) video output capabilities, organic light-emitting diode (OLED) touch screen, Wi-Fi and an Internet browser.

"The Zune music player is an integral part of the overall Zune experience, and we're proud to be growing and extending our offering beyond the device," said Enrique Rodriguez, corporate vice president of the Microsoft TV, Video and Music Business Group. "Delivering on Microsoft's connected entertainment vision, this news marks a turning point for Zune as it brings cross-platform experiences and premium video content to living rooms around the world."

Zune Service Expands to New Platform

Zune will be a premium partner in the Xbox LIVE Video Marketplace, bringing an exciting catalog of TV and film to the platform. Zune will occupy the first slot within the Xbox user interface in the Xbox LIVE Video Marketplace, exposing the Zune brand experience to millions of new consumers for the first time. At the Electronic Entertainment Expo (E3) next week, attendees will see firsthand how Zune integrates into Xbox LIVE to create a game-changing entertainment experience.

Introducing Zune HD

Zune HD is the next iteration of the Zune device family and brings a new level of listening and viewing experiences to the portable media player category.

· Zune HD comes with a built-in HD Radio receiver so users can listen to higher-quality sound than traditional radio on the go. Users also will have access to the additional song and artist data broadcast by HD Radio stations as well as additional channels from their favorite stations multicasting in HD. If you don't like the song playing on your station's HD channel, switch to its HD2 or HD3 channels for additional programming.

· The bright OLED touch screen interface allows users to flip through music, movies and other content with ease, and the 16:9 widescreen format display (480x272 resolution) offers a premium viewing experience on the go.

· The HD-compatible output lets Zune HD customers playback supported HD video files from the device through a premium high-definition multimedia interface (HDMI) audiovisual docking station (sold separately) direct to an HD TV in 720p.*

· Zune HD will include a full-screen Internet browser optimized for multitouch functionality.

· Zune HD is Wi-Fi enabled, allowing for instant streaming to the device from the more than 5 million-track Zune music store.

More information on Zune and related images is available at http://www.zune.net/press and http://www.zune.net/ZuneHD.

About Zune

Zune is Microsoft's music and entertainment brand that provides an integrated digital entertainment experience. The Zune platform includes a line of portable digital media players, elegant software, the Zune Marketplace online store, Zune Pass music subscription service, and the Zune Social online music community, created to help people discover more music. Zune is part of Microsoft's Entertainment and Devices Division and supports the company's software-based services vision to help drive innovation in the digital entertainment space. More information can be found online at http://www.zune.net/en-us/press.

About Xbox LIVE

Xbox LIVE connects more than 17 million members across 26 countries to each other and the entertainment they love. Home of more content from one remote than can be found from any device connected to the television, Xbox LIVE is also a unified online social network bringing friends together, no matter where they are - in the living room or across the world. More information and Xbox LIVE membership can be found online at http://www.xbox.com/en-us/live.

About Microsoft

Founded in 1975, Microsoft (Nasdaq "MSFT") is the worldwide leader in software, services and solutions that help people and businesses realize their full potential.

* Supported 720p HD video files play on the device, downscaled to fit the screen at 480 x 272 - not HD resolution. Zune HD and AV Dock, and an HDTV (all sold separately) are required to view video at HD resolution.

HD Radio™ and the HD Radio logo are proprietary trademarks of iBiquity Digital Corp.

Mimbee.tv's got a grainy shot from a conference that may or may not be real, a shot of a guy holding a ZuneX in his hand that looks more photoshopped than not, and a list of specs:

• 4-inch display at 640x363 resolution
• Custom Intel LV Atom DualCore 733MHz processor
• Custom Nvidia BLowFish chipset
• 128MB RAM
• 40 hour music, 14 hours of video, 9 hours of gaming and 6 hours of gaming with the wireless on
• 4 analog buttons, 2 shoulder buttons, an analog stick attachment
• 32GB flash storage
• Support for Bluetooth headphones
• SIM Card tray (it's a phone! Maybe!)
• Xbox Live Arcade Games
• ZuneX Originals
• OnLive Ready game streaming (now we're just getting a little ridiculous)
• WMV, H.264, MPEG-4 and DivX support

It's still solidly in rumor territory and will probably stay that way until at least E3. If we had to judge from the specs, it's slightly too good to be true. As if someone NOT working at Microsoft wrote up their dream specs for a handheld. [Mimbee via Lusogamer via TeamXbox]

Update: BenM sends in this image that says it's a fake.

From the application:

The [wand's] architecture can utilize one or more sensor from a collection of sensors to determine an orientation or gesture in connection with the wand, and can further issue an instruction to update a state of an environmental component based upon the orientation.

So it's a motion sensing controller, much like Nintendo's, except in the form of a wand. Also mentioned are possible "biometrics" features, but it's not totally clear what that is supposed to mean.

That Microsoft is working on a motion-sensing controller isn't a surprise—it's that they're interested in this particular kind. Recent rumors point persuasively to the possibility that Microsoft will debut a motion accessory at E3 in June, but they've emphasized Microsoft's acquisition of ZCam, makers of a camera-based controller system that operates in a different manner to that described in this patent.

Crucially, though, this patent was filed in 2007—probably before Microsoft had a coherent plan for a motion-sensing controller, and months before they purchased ZCam. Heading into E3 and assuming that Microsoft is working on a motion controller at all, then, we now have a few healthy possibilities. [Techflash]

They are kinda right, but they're not taking into account the 10 free songs you get a month under the pass.

Even if you take out the argument that you may already (legally) own all your iPod music in CDs, and even if you take out the argument that most people fill their iPods with pirated music, at the end, no matter what you do, you are paying for a temporary service. Once you stop paying, most of your music will be gone forever (the songs you didn't get for free every month that you get to keep). [Penny Arcade]

Whether or not this device is the fabled "Pink" Zune Phone is unclear, but Team Xbox is pretty sure that the device they've heard about lacks a phone.

Codenamed the "xYz" during discussions, the device will feature a WVGA touchscreen and a series of new hardware features not currently seen on the market (these features are unclear, and could include WiMax or graphics processing chipsets). It will implement Live Anywhere in a way that unites Microsoft's digital storefronts, allowing music and movies to play on the xYz and Xbox.

The xYz is meant to compete with Apple, Sony, Nintendo, but also Google through implementation of Live Search—maps, news, etc.

All in all, the device described by Team Xbox sounds a lot like a PSP with smarter connectivity. And while such a product would certainly be interesting, especially from the company that's (imho) the leading console developer in the world, it really needs the phone angle pointed out in the Mary-Jo Foley device to compete for our precious pocket space.

So are the Zune Phone and xYz separate, or similar, devices? Maybe the Zune Phone just the iPhone to the xYz's iPod touch?

Oh right, and we should remember, this is all just rumor for now. [Team Xbox and T3 Thanks Joel!]

Even if we put aside the fact that he looks and talks and gestures like a douche, he has plenty of douchey bullet points to put him very high on the douche point scale.

• He's a financial planner. (+5 DP)
• He's read the WSJ since he was 11 (+10 DP)
• He grew up near old money (+3 DP)
• He's written two financial planning books (+2 DP)
• He hosts a local talk radio show (+11 DP)
• Runs his own website for financial planning, with his headshot—taken a few years ago, it seems—squarely on the front (+5 DP)
• He was on season two of the Apprentice (+30 DP)
• He was fired from season two of the Apprentice (+5 DP)
• His name is Wes Moss (+1 DP)

That's a 72 on the douche point scale. In comparison, Shia LeBouf only scores a 32, and this guy on the left with the collars only hits a 14.

Thanks, Fortune, for digging up all the reasons why this guy's a horrible, horrible person. Of course, all these points are unnecessary if you'd just watch the video. [Fortune]

Jesus talked with our friend Dennis Liu—the guy behind Pretending to Work and Office the Movie. He confirmed that the Twitter account officethemovie is not connected with him or Microsoft:

"Officethemovie" was a rogue twitter. "Office2010movie" is the right Twitter page.

First, the tweets:

June 2009 will be an important month for Zune lovers.

Naturally, this got some other Twitterers a little excited. The followup:

New product launch, that's all I'm allowed to say. Hold off from buying an iPhone/Pre. :)

Well, that's a pretty clear statement: Don't buy any of these popular phones, because we're releasing a product soon. Wow?

Granting that this is a Microsoft-run Twitter and that the announcement is well-informed, here's what it would mean: Microsoft could be offering up a combination of a Zune phone reference design and combination Windows Mobile/Zune software to device manufacturers, come June. But until these errant Tweets are addressed by someone who we know can speak authoritatively for MS (not some low-level marketing minion), this is about as convincing as any of the other countless Zunephone/Pink "reports" we've heard to date—that is to say, mildly.

Mainly, it's the source of these rumors that bothers me. The info comes from a Twitter account that claims to be connected to Office 2010 The Movie, a Microsoft advertising page promoting the next version of MS Office. Thing is, I can't find a link to this Twitter page anywhere on office2010themovie.com, nor can I find mentions of @officethemovie by any other notable Microsoft Twitter accounts. It is linked! Hmm.

There's plenty more to be suspicious of. The Twitter account is brand-new, and their limited tweets regarding Office have been strange:

Office 2010 will include Twitter, Facebook, and other social networks integrated right into Word. That's just a hint of what's to come!

Social networking in Word? Not to mention that half of these Tweets were posted through Tweetie, a Mac client.

Beyond these superficial oddities, there's a conceptual problem. Why would MS allow a Zune phone announcement to leak through a low-profile, unconnected Twitter account, especially when such an announcement runs directly counter to the company line?

UPDATE: This Twitter account is link to from the OfficetheMovie website, but at best that makes the Twitter account the official mouthpiece of a part of the marketing team for a Microsoft product with little-to-no relation to the Zune project, not an infallible voice of the Zune division, much less the company as a whole. It'll be interesting to see how this is dealt with when Redmond wakes up. Oh here.

UPDATE: Dennis Liu, the Office Movie guy, writes to us to clarify:

Officethemovie" was a rogue twitter. "Office2010movie" is the right twitter page.

[Neowin]

Why? Because it ultimately cheapens what it's promoting as a consequence. Zune 3.0 is fantastic in its own right—better than iTunes in many ways for music lovers—and Zunepass's 10 free songs a month is a legitimately brilliant stroke. This throws away everything that's great about Zune for some stupid price argument that's going to sway precisely nobody, since everybody downloads music illegally anyway.

How about just telling people what's great about Zune? That's what Apple does, and it seems to be working pretty well. (To clarify, I'm talking about the iPhone commercials.) [YouTube via Ars via Engadget]

Naturally, details are scarce—although the word is that the device will be a multimedia touchscreen that will push both Windows Mobile and the Windows Marketplace. It is also rumored that a third party may handle the manufacturing of the device. Could this be the Zune software "Pink" project we have heard so much about? [WSJ]

Who's on the panel?
· Magda Apanowicz (Lacy Rand, "Caprica")
· David Eick (Executive Producer)
· Jane Espenson (Executive Producer)
· Tricia Helfer (Number Six, "Battlestar Galactica")
· Paula Malcomson (Amanda Greystone, "Caprica")
· Ronald D. Moore (Executive Producer),
· Esai Morales (Joseph Adama, "Caprica"),
· Grace Park (Sharon/Athena/Boomer, "Battlestar Galactica")
· Eric Stoltz (Daniel Greystone, "Caprica")
· Alessandra Torressani (Zoe Greystone, "Caprica")

Did you like it? I didn't have a chance to watch it yet, so I've no idea if it's as good as Battlestar Galactica. Then again, I thought the miniseries was slow and dull, but really got into it starting from the first episode of the series proper.

Presuming the "Zune HD" is real, that leaves two spots left in the probably concise new Zune product line: An HDD-based player evolving from the Zune 80/120, and a smaller flash player to replace the Zune 4/8/16. It's unclear where this would fit; all we can see is that it retains the "squircle" and it's packing a large widescreen.

On the other hand, if we take the Zune HD as real, we've got some problems as well. This image doesn't jibe with the HD either in style (the HD is aluminum, not black) or in advertising tone (this one has the old-school paint images instead of the newer geometric shapes). Plus, we don't like how low on the player's body that squircle sits— it looks like it'd be awkward to hold and use.

We'll keep you updated if and when more info trickles in. [Thanks, onionpiggy!]

UPDATE: Jared Marino of Zunited, being convincing:

I can say beyond a shadows of a doubt that this image is fake and fan made. For numerous reasons. First off, Microsoft considers the HD the fourth generation device, not third, the gradients and bevels have been analyzed and are clearly made in Photoshop. The background is a Photoshop brush pack, the squircle image is ripped pixel for pixel from the Zune 80 Press image from Zune.net. I happen to be in close connection with Ryan Rea and Sources at Microsoft and I can tell you this is fake.

Not to mention this side-by-side image, complete with an obvious distorted logo, from Joel Dominie: So, fake.

Artists in the collection include:

•APAK – this Portland-based husband and wife duo create colorful paintings that explore the beauty, mystery and magic of life through adventures of curious creatures living in utopian environments. Their tree-like design is featured on the pink device below; their celebration of nature, creativity, music, love and the gift of time.
•Carolina Melis – an Italian-born illustrator whose artwork explores concepts of life cycles and relationships, with a subtle hint of romance. Carolina created the tapestry-like design featuring birds on the green device below.
•Linn Olofsdotter – an illustrator whose art is described as emotional and surreal created the colorful Queen Bee matriarch by digitally combining hand-drawn images with other elements and textures.

All three designs are available now. [Zune via Electronista]

The shots surfaced on WM Power User with no real certificate of authenticity. And the accompanying specs carry the scent of fandom—with built-in HDMI, HD radio and integration with Xbox Live Arcade games in "3D". Still, despite some funky overlapping graphics on the screen and some pixelation here and there, whoever made these did a good job interpreting the concept art we saw from a different angle. [WM Power User]

AdWeek says the three ad firms, McCann Erickson, Crispin Porter + Bogusky and JWT, are vying for the ad run. The first firm has worked with Microsoft before and the second is in charge of the I'm a PC and laptop hunter ads.

There's no target for when the ads will hit, but Microsoft will choose a winner by the end of May. [AdWeek via CNET]

We've been told that these design concepts were indeed produced for Microsoft, so the artwork is real, not some fanboy's 'shop. Which means that the Zune HD itself is hopefully just as real and yummy.

Update 2: Technologizer's sources "close to the Zune team" confirm Zune HD is the fourth-gen Zune. He says it's a little smaller than an iPod touch with "competitive" capabilities. [Engadget]

Piper Jaffray's biannual Teen Survey, in its eighth year, shows a serious drop off in interest for the Zune and Sansa. From last year's not-great 15% figure to this year's unfathomable 0%, it's just ugly.

But are these numbers accurate? For one, SanDisk had some decent numbers around 2007, but this survey says they peaked at 4%. It's certainly possible that SanDisk sold all of its products to adults and not teens, which would explain the discrepancy, but it still seems a bit fishy.

But in any case, Apple has just got to love seeing numbers like this. The age of iPod's total dominance over the PMP scene won't last forever, but with numbers like this it isn't ending anytime soon either. [Apple Insider via Crave]