- September 25, 2009 6:13 am
Yes I’ll admit it. I harp on Microsoft a lot. Though every once in a while they do something worthwhile and sincere that deserves some praise.
After the Zune HD got biopsied by the FCC, many who looked at the pictures questioned the placement of a few words inside the unit which read: “For Our Princess”. At the time seemed rather odd and I even saw some blogs speculating that it was a left field attempt to be “cool” and emulate Apple’s “Made In California” on their gear or even earlier Zunes’ “Hello From Seattle”. However, the dust has cleared and the true reason has come out. Sadly, a Zune HD team member passed during the development of the Zune HD and the entire team felt it was only right to honor her with a little note on one of millions of Zune HD’s to go out in to the world. A touching farewell and gesture on Microsoft’s part isn’t it?
CrunchGear
- September 21, 2009 7:39 am
Well that was fast. If you recently picked up a Zune HD, you have a new game to look forward to. Wordmonger, a word puzzle game by Foundation 42 has successfully been ported to the Zune HD from it’s iPhone counterpart. The nifty factoid: it was completed from start to finish in 12 hours! Talk about getting a leg up on the situation. Because Microsoft is currently keeping the Zune app market (or lack thereof) under tight control, interested hopefuls will have to download the developers kit in order to get this new found goodness on their unit. Hopefully M will take the locks off the app market and allow more end user options for publishing and downloading Zune HD apps. Once they do, expect Wordmonger to be among the first.
Check out a vid of the app in action just inside…
- September 18, 2009 8:21 am
Ads are a bittersweet tool. For most end users they’re a pain, taking up valuable seconds and pixels in your life. For advertisers they are a bet that they can reach just one more person than they did yesterday. It’s all about getting your name and product out there right? However, for some of the Zune free Zune games that were just released, the ads are full screen videos that can last as long as 30 seconds when launching certain games. Should we be surprised? No. In an age were ad revenue is going through some drastic changes, the ad market and how they’re delivered is sure to get shaken up.
However you have to remember that it costs money to develop apps, if you can recoup a small portion of that development by selling some ad space more power to ya. It’s when ads get out of control and inhibit enjoyment of the task at hand. Moving back to the Zune, the apps aren’t all 30 seconds in length or full screen. Some are your traditional smaller ads placed strategically throughout the app during live game play while some are the full screen ads that display while a game is loading. It’s also worth mentioning that not all the free apps have ads. The weather app for instance is ad free.
So the question comes up of which is better and for who? Would you rather have a small ad(s) placed throughout your screen during game play or have one large, longer add during game loading? Heck, those seconds lost during loading are useless anyway aren’t they? My vote is during loading time. I’d much rather have my gaming sessions make use of as many pixels as possible. Feel the same?
Source: Slashdot, Ars Technica
- September 14, 2009 7:05 am
Love it or hate it, mock it or praise it, the Microsoft Zune is here for at least a little longer with the upcoming release of the Zune HD. While the older 4GB, 8GB, 16GB, 80GB, and 120GB models will be getting a digital dirt nap, Microsoft is pushing onward with their little player that still hasn’t bringing to market a more formidable challenger to the PMP market. But, is it too little too late? While I am actually quite impressed with the Zune HD and wouldn’t mind purchasing one, save for the Nvidia Tegra graphics inside, it is basically the same technology that was on iPod Touches two years ago. I’ll forget the fact that Microsoft took so long to bring a legitimate touchscreen, jack of all trades device to market, but why did they stop there? Why didn’t they bring some new technology or feature that would truly push those fence sitters over the edge or even better, win back a few iPod users in the process? What exactly is Microsoft’s strategy with the Zune?
Zune fans and Microsoft junkies, today is your day to brag and boast. The Zune HD which has been “leaked” and talked about constantly across the web is a rumor no more. The latest offering in the Zune line brings “HD” tag to the name – it probably has something to do with that amazing OLED 480×272 capacitive touchscreen display that is begging to get all oily with your finger prints. Further sweetening the deal is the inclusion of an “IE-based” web browser to get all geeky while on the go. Let’s hope to god it’s better than their desktop offerings. Gamers will also find this latest PMP a worthy upgrade as Xbox live integration is about to get a swift kick into “hellz yeah” as Big M has announced plans to integrate services and products across the Zune and Xbox lines meaning a tighter, more uniform experience. The truly geeky yet important information such as storage capacity, CPU speed, as well as a boat load of other specs are currently MIA meaning you’ll have to check back later for the latest. I am definitely intrigued by Microsoft’s latest attempt in this PMP market. While feature wise it is a bit late to the game, I’m just glad they finally made it. Excited? Word lovers contain yourselves – press release inside.
While the Zune has enjoyed so far a reign of mediocrity, Microsoft is looking to change things up a bit and bring the superbly average device up to 2007 specs. While I have some pretty thick criticism flying forward from the start, I am pretty excited to see the Zune HD or whatever Microsoft decides to name this thing. So far the funning list of more or less “known” facts according to Neowin looks like this:
- 3.6″ (give or take a few tenths) OLED touchscreen
- Nvidia Tegra inside
- Flash versions in 4GB, 8GB, 16GB, 32GB/Hard drive model coming in 120GB
- mini-HDMI connection
- web browser
- WiFi w/ access to the Marketplace
- early fall release date
While these specs are definitely pretty exciting, I can’t help but feel underwhelmed (though oddly still intrigued). These are all (save for the OLED) things that have been around for almost 2 years now on several other players. Hey Microsoft, heres an idea. Instead of going the cheap/large storage idea, incorporate a 120GB flash storage model instead of the older style hard drive model. While it would be pretty pricey, you would finally be the first to market with something in this area. Ok twice to be first if the OLED pans out as well. I would gladly save up an extra few weeks and donate an organ for a 120GB flash player. Think about it M! And for good measure and speculation is the image above which is supposedly what the new Zune is going to resemble pretty closely. So whataya think? Will it make you open up your wallet?
Source: Electronista, Neowin, WM Power User *post pic*
