Gizmodo: The Social

Zune 2.5 Update Brings TV Shows, More Social Networking, Improved Software Features

Jason Chen — Mon, 05 May 2008 23:28:02 EDT

The Zune 2.5 Spring update launches tomorrow, and with it comes purchasable TV shows and even more social networking functions. The big part is more tightly-integrated social stuff—like being able to see your friends' Zune cards inside of the Zune software instead of heading to your browser—the upside of which is automatically getting the full tracks that your friends have recently listened to if you're a Zune Pass subscriber. This takes up about 100 megs per friend card. There's also improvement in the player itself, like the return of auto playlists and the introduction of gapless playback. Wee!

Other cool social stuff:

• Xbox Live-ish icons on your Zune Card that are like achievements, awarding people who listen to an artist the most or passing a total number of song plays.
• Dynamic friends' list that shows what everyone's listening to. Find out about the band Tokyo Police Club from your buddies.
• Windows Live Messenger "now playing" integration
• Album reviews! Tell everyone what you think about so-and-so's latest album, because the world needs to know.

But the big thing is the video store, which comes now with 4,800 music videos and downloadable TV episodes for $2. Their current partners are NBC, Nickelodeon, Comedy Central and Cartoon Network. There's going to be future Zune Social integration for video, but nothing yet. Microsoft's also leaving the door open for original content and programming as well, but there's no video sharing/squirting as of yet on the hardware devices.

Other changes to the player include:
• Auto Playlists (smart playlists) are back! They're not as powerful as they were before—or as iTunes is—but they're automatically updating playlists that you can have based on your criteria.
• Gapless playback. Finally.
• Easy drag-and-drop song metadata editing.

The update should go live somewhere between 10PM PDT and 4AM PDT tomorrow.

Apple iPods and iPhones to Start Sharing, Selling Music

kevinhall2 — Thu, 12 Jul 2007 11:45:00 EDT

In a rather Zunesque move, Apple may be planning its own version of "the social" for the iPod and iPhone. An Apple patent, recently made public, details a system where Wi-Fi-enabled devices such as cellphones and MP3 players can find each other automatically, perform device-to-device transfers, share contact info, and access iTunes to buy new and shared music. iTunes on the go?

We hope so. The interaction that Apple has planned offers users far more choices than what the Zune allows for, as it looks like authorized iDevices will constantly trade between libraries if the user sets it up that way, creating a random shuffle of similar music you didn't have previously. And, of course, it enables you to toss down some coin if you like what you hear. It's a fantastic way to get people discovering and purchasing new music, not to mention keeping large-capacity iPods marketable, as they have more room to pull in foreign tunes. [Electronista]

Proporta Cases Make Zune Safe for Socializing

Gizloco — Fri, 05 Jan 2007 15:32:42 EST

You know, it isn't just the iPod that gets tricked out accessories and protective cases every fourteen seconds. Proporta just announced a bunch of cases for the Microsoft Zune, which is good news for all those Zune users out there. Three cases—aluminum, leather and silicone—all serve to protect your precious Zune from the bumps and bruises of being involved in The Social. The silicone case comes in at $20, while the other two, far fancier cases clock in at $35. Expect more case and accessory madness next week. We know how much you adore such things. (Apparently, these cases are so hot off the presses that all Proporta has is these incredibly zoomed in pictures. Very convenient.) – Nicholas Deleon

Microsoft Zune Cases [Proporta]