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Microsoft Confirms Multi-Touch Zune HD to Compete Against iPod Touch

SkippyThorson said:
THEY COPIED IT RIGHT DOWN TO THE BLACK AND SILVER BACK!!!!! :mad:

There was absolutely no reason they couldn't create their own color scheme. That is simply a blatant rip off. I know they can't think of anything original, but right down to the colors of the first iPhone? Jayzus.
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You are aware that silver and gold are generally regarded as distinct colors, yes?

I think it looks nice. Modern, but without pandering to the ultra-smooth Apple aesthetic. It sticks with the blockier, more rugged look of its forebears, and I'd say that works fine for it. Certainly a step up from the first Zune.
 
InTheUnion said:
You've got to feel that, with the Zune, Microsoft are just trying to keep up with the competition. They really should be thinking ahead, way ahead and putting a product that's far more advanced than anything else onto the market - just like Apple did with the iPhone and its OS that was "at least 5 years ahead of the competition"
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Palm Pre is out next month...so tech. 2 years?


:p
 
mariokarter said:
Is there such a thing as a fanboy free apple fan site? I mean are people really adding anything of value when they comment that its the worst device ever?

Anyways - back to objective thinking. I think this line of devices by MS has a lot of potential. As some have already pointed out the HD radio and OLED screen is a step in the right direction. The 16:9 aspect ratio is also good too. Overall though I have to say I'm a bit dissapointed as the device's specs fall short of the rumoured speculated specs. The screen resolution...in this day and age is just crappy - everyone was expecting 480 * 800 like some of the newer handhelds out these days (ie SE X1 and the new HTCs). The 720p output was also rumoured to be available straight off the device via a mini/micro HDMI cable - but now it uses a dock. We still don't know the detailed specs of this device, but I think its likely that the 720p output indicates that it does use the Nvidia's tegra chip, which is awsome (but then also such a waste on rendering low resolution on device videos). Overall I do think the device is hawt even though you can see the screws (which you can on the touch also). The most important feature to me MP3 player wise is storage capacity, so I think I'll likely pass this up just like I did with the iPod touch and stick with my Zune 80. Whats for sure though is that this competition is going to be good for the consumer, Apple will surely upgrade its screen's to OLED also now.
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You can go to Engadget and praise this device all you want.
 
gloss said:
You are aware that silver and gold are generally regarded as distinct colors, yes?

I think it looks nice. Modern, but without pandering to the ultra-smooth Apple aesthetic. It sticks with the blockier, more rugged look of its forebears, and I'd say that works fine for it. Certainly a step up from the first Zune.
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Doesn't look all that bad to me. Kind of looks like the MP3 player the Terminator would use.
 
If I were running Microsoft...

....I would have killed late-comer projects that just burn cash reserves.

I would rather acquire companies like SCO (now $0.10/share OTC) which has various UNIX rights, and develop an alternate desktop OS that will compete with Mac OS. It will be tightly integrated with Windows Server Family, and incorporate Windows desktop OS features overtime to become the best of both worlds.

Apple needs tougher competition. The company is doing well, but becoming more greedy and stubborn. It even has a gut to just kill previous generation connectors/plugs. You buy all new Apple labels or lose yourself with old. A lot of users sometimes feel abandoned by Apple, but stay with it for just its design and Mac OS.

In that sense, I wish Microsoft the best, to work harder and turn eyes to graphics/music/video market seriously as well. iLife vs. stupid Windows video maker/picture viewer/ etc... It's a joke for $200-300 Vista/Win7 OS.

Zune ???? How about pro-audio/video interface and scale down to consumer products?

- one envious Windows user
 
InTheUnion said:
You've got to feel that, with the Zune, Microsoft are just trying to keep up with the competition. They really should be thinking ahead, way ahead and putting a product onto the market that's far more advanced than anything else - just like Apple did with the iPhone and its OS that was "at least 5 years ahead of the competition"
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They beat everyone to the punch with the xbox 360. They were late to the portable media device party all together.

They might have a little more success with this and the 360 integration, they have a huge user base there.
 
Now for some reality from a Handheld Engineer

Public ignorance of embedded handheld systems is to be expected, but wow, many of the comments in this thread are really incorrect.

I worked with Windows CE from 2000-2006. In its current form, it's fairly powerful and stable (far more than its WinMo nephew). It's not fantastic by any means, but it works well, and is of course designed for limited devices unlike some newer handheld OS's.

Re: App dev. Visual Studio is a very mature, nice and easy development environment, especially with C# and the Compact Framework (and third party variations). And with far more system access than Apple ever gives, you can write more integrated apps.

Re: IE. No it's not your usual weak WM IE. Nine years ago, WinCE had a full Internet Explorer 4.0. A few years ago (pre-iPhone), I used IE 6.0 on WinCE for field force apps. Nowadays there's supposed to be a nice IE 7/8 derivation. WinCE's IE is powerful and full featured, and even the latest WM IE has touch features etc.

Re: The Look. Isn't the picture at the head of this thread just some Zune fanboy's fantasy? Why is everyone talking about it as if it's the design?

Disclaimer: Use my iPod touch constantly. Never owned a Zune, but am interested in this new one.
 
InTheUnion said:
I haven't read up much about the Pre. What does it do better than the iPhone?
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Well not the proper forum but the biggest thing is true multi-tasking.


Take a look, it'll probably give Apple some ideas for their true next iPhone upgrade (as I think this summer will just but some increased specs).
 
Goona said:
Why are they announcing it so early?
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Peace said:
Got me. Ask Microsoft.
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Um, E3 maybe? You know, there happens to be this big thing going on next week in LA, and Microsoft just happens to be doing the opening keynote. Come on, people know that is coming, right? They didn't just announce this new Zune randomly like 6 months ahead of time. Let me see if I can connect some dots for all the people with blinders on here...

1 - They announced that the "Zune Marketplace" will replace the current Video Marketplace on the Xbox 360. The current marketplace will be supplanted by this, with Music and Zune Pass coming along I would assume.

2 - They have recently started doing more marketing about the "Zune Pass" and all that. Not much, mostly just that "iPod $30,000" stuff, but they are getting the word out.

3 - And, there has also been rumors going around the gaming scene for a while that MS was looking at a new level of Xbox Live subscription. Some have said it would be "Xbox Live Platinum", so slot in above Gold and Silver.

If I were a betting man, my guess is that next week at E3 they announce the full extent of the changes coming to Xbox Live, and unveil the new "Xbox Live Platinum" subscription plan, with Zune Pass included, with this new Zune being the device that showcases all of it together. Instead of $50 a month for Live Gold, you charge $150 a year for all the gaming and Zune Pass. Just a guess at a #, but it would make for nice deal.

You can still use a computer if you wish, or if you don't have an Xbox. But now, if you have a 360, that is all you need to sync with the new Marketplace. Then when the new Zune comes out, you'll be able to sync your own music, buy music, subscribe to Zune Pass, get TV shows and movies, all that.

Really, is it that hard to see? I'm actually kind of excited about this. I would really like to have a device with a subscription service. I could then leave my iPhone to do what it does well, which is be a phone and run apps. Then I could use this for music and movies, so I don't drain the battery on my phone. I already have a 360, so it would work great.

Hopefully my predictions are correct... ;)
 
You know those ads where the cable guy follows the Verizon Fios guy around and is standing in the window and asks "Have you been following me all day??" Anyway, it seems that Microsoft just follows Apple around and a year or two later does what Apple did. By the way, do I think that ugly kinda bad Star Wars thing will die? Well, yeah..
 
iPhoneNYC said:
You know those ads where the cable guy follows the Verizon Fios guy around and is standing in the window and asks "Have you been following me all day??" Anyway, it seems that Microsoft just follows Apple around and a year or two later does what Apple did. By the way, do I think that ugly kinda bad Star Wars thing will die? Well, yeah..
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I'm very confused why so many people are saying they copied Apple...


Yet so many people are saying its ugly.


:confused:
 
Sehnsucht said:
Ugh, don't get me started on mobile IE. Absolutely awful. I used to have a Motorola Q running WinMo...talking about horrendous battery life 10 times worse than the iPhone. That f**ker also took nearly 5 minutes to "boot up"....:eek:
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right becuase they are using a 5 year old version of IE Mobile

the new one is pretty much the same as Deepfish and accepts corkscrew zooming (like the ghost touch on the HTC Touch pro)

also using a tmobile rom or an ATT rom is your own fault. ive seen some pretty screwed up roms from Tmobile especially. tmobile actaully disabled the JOGGR on the dash with their rom. thats like disabling the camera on your phone even though the HW is still there.
 
DougB541 said:
I'm very confused why so many people are saying they copied Apple...


Yet so many people are saying its ugly.


:confused:
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this is an apple site, the Hypocrisy is off the charts, if its not apple they dont like it, they will find any excuse to make the other competitors product look bad.

so far ive gotten the standard generic responses

its ugly, horrid, fugly, bad color, etc
its microsoft, microcrap, microshaft, megacrap, etc

i dont think a single person here has ACTAULLY used a zune or even know whats underneath. MS doesnt even make the zune, its a toshiba gigabeat with some pretty powerful HW underneath.

a plastic shell does not equate to the performance or functionality of a product

InTheUnion said:
You've got to feel that, with the Zune, Microsoft are just trying to keep up with the competition. They really should be thinking ahead, way ahead and putting a product onto the market that's far more advanced than anything else - just like Apple did with the iPhone and its OS that was "at least 5 years ahead of the competition"
Click to expand...

the competition? MS has no competition from apple in the corporate market which is where all the money is.

the iphone is 5 years ahead of the competition? no it was more like 3 years behind everyone else. at the iphone's time of release there was already phones with...

touch screen
3G (HSDPA 1.8mBIT)
3G Video calling (Front facing VGA Camera)
5, 7, 10MP Cameras (more specifically Anycall camera phones and the famous N95)
VGA Screens
Stereo speakers
Bluetooth A2DP and OBEX (the iphone still doesnt have this)
REAL GPS (not some junk that needs a constant cell phone signal)

dont kid yourself, apple is never cutting edge. the current iphone 3g STILL does not have 3G video calling, what a total JOKE. you realize 3G came out in 2001? HSDPA came out in 2004. when did the EDGE iphone come out? 2007? LOL

Sehnsucht said:
Apple would never make anything that ugly. :eek: It wouldn't have visible screws, it wouldn't be diarrhea-colored and it would be Mac/iTunes compatible.

Try again, my good sir/madam. ;)
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first_generation_mini_i.jpg


looks pretty gross to me
 
I heard from a friend who works at the Microsoft store that they're working on a computer that has a screen and keyboard all in one package that you can carry around. The screen folds out on a hinge, totally revolutionary stuff.

It's targeted for a Christmas '11 release.

Let's keep this on the down-low though...
 
DougB541 said:
Well not the proper forum but the biggest thing is true multi-tasking.


Take a look, it'll probably give Apple some ideas for their true next iPhone upgrade (as I think this summer will just but some increased specs).
Click to expand...

iphone os does support multitasking (it's mac os x remember?)
Apple just deliberately disabled it for iPhone applications developers (at least for now). Apple itself sure uses it in iphone os
 
Honestly, I love Apple as much as the next guy, but do some of you guys have ANY idea how ridiculous you sound with the "zomg Microsoft IS SO LATE!!! LOL!!!" jokes, considering Apple isn't exactly known for up-to-date features either??? Come on...
 
dmarkman said:
iphone os does support multitasking (it's mac os x remember?)
Apple just deliberately disabled it for iPhone applications developers (at least for now). Apple itself sure uses it in iphone os
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Eh i doubt that with the current specs on the iPhone they want to unlock multitasking....if anything it would be a limiited to like 2 programs or something.

Esp. with their excuse of it uses too much battery life. I am still expecting a completely revamped iPhone next year.....Version 3.0 is what is coming this year with maybe more memory and more RAM or faster processor.
 
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