Archive for the ‘Zune’ Category

Microsoft dreams of conquering the phone business, but it knows that ‘pink’ is just one hue in a very broad palette.

The leaked photos that emerged on Gizmodo on Wednesday, while genuine, paint just one part of the picture of how Microsoft hopes to get back into the phone game.

According to sources familiar with the company’s plans, the designs shown on Gizmodo are are more the evolution of the Sidekick than they are an effort to take on the mass market or even Apple’s iPhone. The devices themselves won’t be built by Microsoft itself and are unlikely to arrive before next year, the sources said. A Microsoft representative declined to comment on the Gizmodo report.

Microsoft has been working for years now on plans to revitalize its phone business after ceding ground to Apple, Research In Motion, and others. The software maker has been working on a major overhaul of its operating system–Windows Mobile 7, which was supposed to be in phone makers’ hands by early this year but has suffered a number of delays.

The new devices draw heavily on the company’s 2008 acquisition of Danger, the maker of the T-Mobile Sidekick. Although they use Windows Mobile at their core, they are geared at the same kind of consumer who bought a Sidekick–one who is heavily into social networks, instant messaging, and other online services.

Microsoft is counting on Danger for more than just its cachet with teens and young adults, though. Danger also specialized in delivering much of its technology via services. Indeed, the Sidekick evolved as a device where nearly all of the data lived in the cloud as opposed to being managed by the phone itself.

That will be an important component of Microsoft’s phone push, even beyond the range of these devices.

In outlining the future of its phone strategy, Microsoft is trying to keep the breadth of its existing Windows Mobile ecosystem, while at the same time developing a few, closer partnerships that could yield more worthy rivals to the most popular handsets.

Microsoft has signed deals with a few phone makers, such as LG, that are expected to offer Windows Phones designed more closely with Microsoft.

However, this project appears to be in addition to that effort, expanding on the legacy of the Sidekick. Sources wouldn’t provide any exact timing, but I’d think about a year or so, given what I have heard. That also appears to be the current timing for Windows Mobile 7.

For this year, Microsoft is focused on a more modest evolution of Windows Mobile–Windows Mobile 6.5–as well as efforts to re-brand products using its operating system as Windows Phones.

Microsoft also continues to shift executives and other resources to strengthen its phone efforts.

Former server executive Andy Lees now runs the phone business, while former Mac Business unit chief Roz Ho heads a "premium mobile experiences" team responsible for some of the Pink work. The software maker has also tapped folks from its Tellme unit to help bring improved voice recognition capability into Windows Mobile.

In a July interview with CNET News, Entertainment and Devices unit president Robbie Bach acknowledged that Microsoft also just needs to pick up the pace.

"If your point is we haven’t advanced Windows Mobile as fast as we like, I think the answer is that’s true," Bach said. "You are going to see that change."

Microsoft’s ‘Pink’ emerges from Danger’s shadow | Beyond Binary – CNET News

Here we have the Zune HD’s mobile Web browser, which we’re told was engineered by Microsoft’s Internet Explorer team. The browser displays Web pages in a similar fashion as Apple’s iPhone and iPod Touch, using pinching and flipping gestures to zoom and scroll through content. Pages also reorient themselves based on the position of the device, flipping from landscape to portrait view depending on the tilt of the screen.

More CNET Photo’s 1  2 3 4

image – Hands-on look at the Zune HD Web browser–photos – CNET News

According to a Twitter tipster, this right here is the official Zune HD packaging. It’s pretty much the same as previous Zune boxes, but with color, because the Zune HD is the rainbow of the Zune family.

Zune HD Box Spotted in the Wild – zune hd box – Gizmodo

Here’s a quick peek at the purported final build of Windows Mobile 6.5 (we call it "Windows Phone," he says) running on an HTC Touch Diamond 2.

Aside from the subtle name/branding change, there’s some meat here in the form of the UI (Zune-ish), Marketplace for Windows 6.5 Phone, the My Phone sync service (free) and Microsoft Tag. Browsing was a bit slow, and if you’re not a fan of WinMo before you view the video, that will probably still be the case when it’s done. Updated: Removed auto-playing video – J.L

Windows Mobile 6.5 Final Build Demos Zune-like UI, Marketplace, Synching – Windows Mobile 6.5 – Gizmodo

All Things Digital wrapped up Thursday, I got a quick chance to play around with the Zune HD that Microsoft plans to ship this fall.

The software maker announced plans for the product on Tuesday and released a photo, but this is a product I was curious to see firsthand.

The most striking feature from my brief look was the device’s striking organic light-emitting diode (OLED) display.

I got a chance to see most of the features, but not the one I am most curious to see–the Internet browser. I’m told it’s based on Internet Explorer 6, as is the Windows Mobile browser, but the real question is whether Microsoft has made the interface better than that on its phones.

I’m also curious what Apple does with the iPod Touch in time for this fall. If they add a camera and a bunch of new goodies, it could give the Zune’s HD Radio and other features a run for their money.

Video: Hands-on look at the Zune HD | Beyond Binary – CNET News

A new Zune released later this year: the Zune HD. Besides the “HD” component, which will deliver HD Radio and HD video, the new Zune will also feature an OLED screen with multitouch capabilities.

If you’re unfamiliar with HD Radio, it’s basically terrestrial radio but broadcast in digital instead of analog. A lot of traditional radio stations broadcast simultaneously in HD Radio along with their analog signals. You can see which ones do so in your area at hdradio.com.

The other major HD feature in the new Zune is support for playing back HD video from the Zune to an HDTV. The Zune will connect through an HDMI docking station to hook up to your TV.

Speaking of the big screen, Zune content will also be available on your TV through another platform: the Xbox Live Marketplace. The new Zune-branded service will soon occupy the first slot in the Xbox user interface, taking over the existing video marketplace. However, details on how this integration will work won’t be revealed until the Electronic Entertainment Expo (E3) next week.

The Zune HD’s OLED screen will be great for watching video with its 16:9 widescreen display (480×272 resolution), especially since OLED delivers richer colors and blacker blacks than an LCD screen.  Even better, the screen will offer multitouch capabilities which can also be used in the new full-screen web browser.

Zune HD Coming this Fall | Sarah In Tampa | Channel 10

Windows only: BitTorrent super-host The Pirate Bay claims its ViO MobileConverter tool reduces nearly any video’s size by 20 percent and converts it for mobile devices faster than anything else. Let’s see about that.

Why the speed and quality test? Simply because ViO, with all the nuance of the typical Pirate Bay communication, claims this on its home page:

Converts virtually any web video format file into a file that’s 100% compatible with your portable media device, compressing it up to 20% of its original size without any reduction in image quality. ViO converts your media faster than any tool on the market today.

I decided to try out ViO on converting a DiVx-formatted episode of Mad Men ("The Benefactor" from season two, in case you’re a fan) for my iPod touch. I’d previously been using the free version of Freez iPod Converter, which, while somewhat wonky and rough, got the job done faster and at acceptable quality faster than anything else I’d tried. I used Robin Keir’s timer to clock the conversion speed.

So! Here’s the results of plugging in a 350MB, 45-minute AVI file into Freez and letting fly with the default settings (which converts to MP4):

Freez iPod Converter

Conversion time: 7 minutes, 10 seconds
Finished size: 251 MB
Quality: Good, easily watch-able, only the same quirks as were present in the original.
Screenshot:

I then ran ViO through the same process, plugging in the AVI file and asking it to convert to an MP4 for the iPhone (same video screen as iPod touch):

ViO

Conversion time: 7 minutes, 7 seconds
Finished size: 54.7 MB
Quality: Lots of pixel "ghosting" (blocky pieces left behind when scene jumps), general muddiness to multi-color scenes. Like a YouTube video that nobody selected "High Quality" or "HD" for.
Screenshot:

I then realized that ViO’s "Advanced Options," tucked away by default, let you change pretty much anything and everything about the finished product, including a target file size.

So I set ViO to re-encode that video to a 251MB MP4 file, and it instantly upped the video bitrate and other features. Here’s the results of that second pass:

ViO (Take Two)

Conversion time: 7 minutes 10 seconds
Finished size: 181MB
Quality: Noticeably better than the first run, with no detectable ghosting. A small bit of jerky-ness when characters are moving quickly or scenes jump-cut (especially in well-lit situations), but watch-able.
Screenshot:

So there you have it. ViO did—despite my wishes, even—make a smaller video file than Freez in the same amount of time, reducing its final size by about 30 percent with only a small amount of detectable difference. Given its more polished, somewhat easier-to-grasp interface and the huge range of devices it can convert for—HTC, Samsung, LG, Nokia, Apple, and many more devices are covered—it’s definitely worth checking out.

ViO Video MobileConverter is a free download for Windows systems only. Make sure to watch for the toolbar option if you don’t want a browser add-on; it’s checked for installation by default.

Featured Windows Download: Video MobileConverter Formats Flicks for Small Screen

In the new version of Internet Explorer, IE8 (still in beta), there’s a new feature called “accelerators.” With accelerators, you can get easy access to online services like email, search, maps, eBay, Encarta, facebook, Digg, StumbleUpon, and so much more all from the web page you’re on – no need to open another tab or window and navigate elsewhere. Now, in addition to the accelerators currently available from the IE8 accelerator gallery, other developers are creating their own accelerators and posting them to their blogs.

One new accelerator that I recently came across is the Zune accelerator created by Sean Alexander. This particular accelerator lets you look up music-related info like Artist or Song info in the Zune Marketplace, all from the right-click menu. He mentions there are other accelerators that do similar things, but they are broken out to look up Artist separately from Song; this one combines both into one. Nice! To install Sean’s Zune accelerator click here.

IE8 Web Accelerator for Zune | Sarah In Tampa | Channel 10

Microsoft has indicated for some time that it sees a Zune future in the cell phone arena, but the company has been hard to pin down on just what its plans there are.

There would seem to be two main scenarios–the rumored ZunePhone, or just making Zune software for Windows Mobile or other phone operating systems. A magazine interview with CEO Steve Ballmer suggests that Microsoft at least plans the latter approach.

Asked why the Zune is important to Microsoft, Ballmer told the magazine that it was about more than just the device itself.

"Now, we built the Zune hardware with the Zune software–and what you’ll see more and more over time is that the Zune software will also be ported to and be more important not just with the hardware but on the PC, on Windows Mobile devices, etc.," Ballmer said.

Asked for clarification, a Microsoft representative provided the following statement.

"We’ve always said that software and services is a key focal point for Zune and it does make sense to extend the Zune experience to other devices," the representative said. "In terms of specific timing we have nothing to announce at the moment."

Ballmer: Zune coming to Windows Mobile | Latest Microsoft News – CNET News – CNET News

We can’t verify the claim, but we have no reason to doubt the authenticity of this picture taken of Microsoft’s new 16GB flash-based Zune 16 and FCC approved, 120GB Zune 120. It’s not the backstory we find so solid, it’s more the thought that some lonely soul is busy Photoshopping Zune rumor images on a Friday night — an ennui so black we could not possibly fathom. Oh and the French? Zune’s in Canada remember, blown-up international and the source country of this photo.

Zune 16GB and 120GB boxed in the wild? – Engadget

A little known feature to those that don’t use a Microsoft Zune is the fact that Zunes have the ability to “reverse sync” back to a computer. What this means is that you can connect any Zune to any PC running Zune software and copy over music, videos, or pictures back to the PC. Matt recently blogged about this over on ZuneInsider when he surprised a friend by showing him how to he could copy an album from his friend’s Zune back to his own PC. He notes that he already owned the album in this example, but the secret here is that un-DRM’d content – like much of the content sold in the Zune Marketplace as well as on sites like Amazon’s MP3 store – makes this possible. With less restrictions on how the content can be moved around, accessed, and played, you aren’t as locked down as when you purchase DRM’d content like the majority of the music still sold today on iTunes. Not only is this helpful for letting friends share music with each other, it’s also a great feature for anyone with a multiple-PC household and more than one Zune or for taking your tunes to your office PC. For step-by-step instructions on how this is done, check out Matt’s post.

Reverse Sync Your Zune | Sarah In Tampa | Channel 10

Living in a non-iPod world isn’t easy. Sure, there’s a lot to love about Microsoft’s line of Zune MP3 players, but when it comes to shopping for accessories, you start feeling like the only vegetarian at the steakhouse. Don’t fret, brave Zune-ster, there are plenty of worthy accessories made for the Zune. In fact, the quality-to-crap ratio for Zune accessories is unusually high, since most off-brand manufacturers would rather chase the iPod.

The hottest-selling MP3 player accessories are traditionally in-car FM transmitters and small speaker docks. The Home audiovisual kit Microsoft made for the Zune is a great buy, considering that it offers a charging dock with both component and composite video outputs, a remote control, and a portable USB wall-charger. Charging docks (including speaker docks) are also a great accessory if you like using the Zune’s wireless sync feature, since docking your Zune will automatically trigger the sync. The latest addition to this list is the iHome ZN9 Zune alarm clock, which can hold its own against the best offerings for iPod.

If money is no object and you’re shopping for the ultimate Zune accessory, the 2008 Ford Focus SES and its Sync 2.0 media system allows voice-activated browsing of your Zune while you drive. Now that’s cool.

Zune accessories, reviews, news, mp3 players – CNET Reviews

I have tried about a dozen different converters for Zune, some free, some hack, and some commercial products. Free Zune Video Converter is simple and it works.  You end up with a perfectly formatted little video for the Zune, with the minimum number of steps. Some of the Codec geeks out there may like to futz with the settings, but I left mine at a 16×9 WMV, and did not look back. Try it out. – David

Free Zune Video Converter 1.0 – AVI to WMV, AVI to WMA, FLV to WMV – Jacek Pazera

Today, Robbie Bach, Microsoft’s president for entertainment and devices, renewed the news that Microsoft will not be making a ZunePhone.  "“We don’t make phones ourselves. We don’t have any plans to make phones ourselves.” He said.  This really isn’t something we haven’t heard before.

Further, Bach continued the discussion and confirmed rumors that Zune will be expanded.  He made it clear that Zune is not simply a media outlet, but is a platform that we will see integrated into other Microsoft products.  Again, nothing we didn’t already know and have mentioned in the past.  The Windows Mobile Team has even asked how Zune could work better with Windows Mobile.

But one tidbit worth noting is on what Robbie Bach said about the future of the Zune device itself.

     “Take the device independent for a second and just assume that over time where there’s a screen, touch will be part of it. It’s not going to matter what the product line is. You’re going to see it be a cornerstone of the work we do.”

That’s as clear as clear can be.  Zune will have a touch screen interface in the future.  As always, keep it locked on ZuneBoards for any more news on this topic!

Zune Boards – Bach: Zune+Phone=Nope [But ZuneTouch=Yes!]

Zune fansite ZuneBoards has recently launched a YouTube-like site for converting and sharing Zune clips with the community. The site is called ZuneTV. Here, users can upload videos, which are automatically converted into the Zune-compatible .wmv format. Those clips are then made available for download by any member. Like any social video sharing site, there are ways to rate, favorite, and comment on videos and the videos can be embedded anywhere on the net thanks to a handy copy-and-paste embed code. In order to participate on ZuneTV, you have to first get a ZuneBoards account, then you just head here: www.zunetv.net.

 

ZuneTV