Zune rumors are flying around again. It looks like we’ll finally see some new Zune hardware from Microsoft this year. It’s been a slow start to the year 2009 as far as Zune news goes and we’re just happy to see some development considering the current financial crisis gripping the entire world.

I was a bit worried that Zune was about to be shelved and to be honest if this new round of hardware doesn’t sell it’s probably the end for Zune. How much of this kind of success can Microsoft afford?

if the new Zune devices do not offer a web browser I doubt they’ll sell well at all. Lets hope we can finally break out onto the web with the new firmware for Zune 4.0 hardware.

Is this the Zune HD?

Based on discussions with sources, it’s looking very likely that the device in these images is — in fact — a new Zune on its way to market.

Discuss this in the Zune Message Boards.

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So we all know there have been some huge changes coming Zune and to be honest it’s been a great big question mark as to what Microsoft would do to shake things up. I’ve been sitting back and watching this with little to say on the matter since Microsoft released those horrible holiday sales stats which show Zune losing over 100 million of their hard earned dollars

I did not say much when they posted stories about huge layoffs at Xbox and Zune and even though it hurt to see him go, I didn’t have much to say about the departure of our longtime friend Cesar from the Zune team. It got to be a drag trying to keep up so I set back and waited for signs of a direction and now it appears we have one.

The Zune team will be split into two divisions based on hardware and software. The software team will focus on putting Zune on every other device on the market while the hardware team will continue to develop and manufacture Microsoft devices. The Zune lives on and maybe we’ll begin to see all the wonderful features we wanted in the beginning with the new and improved Zune family.

We’re hoping for great big things from the software division and the upcoming release of Windows Mobile 6.5 is the first big step. Screenshots from the latest update to the Microsoft mobile operating system show new links to the Microsoft Marketplace. And today we find out that Microsoft will be opening up retail stores a la Apple and actually retailing their products in their own stores for the first time in company history.

Is the new Microsoft really just the old Apple in disguise? Will the juggernaut of technology be able to become the juggernaut of consumer electronics in America? Will a Microsoft store with Windows, Zune and Xbox for sale make it in a recession or should they have considered a staffed boutique inside Best Buy or even Walmart?

Microsoft readies Zune service for non-Zune devices, Marketplace appears in WinMo 6.5 screenshot - Engadget

We’re just days away from Mobile World Congress where Microsoft is expected to make a few notable annoucements. Until then, we have to settle for all the hints and innuendo we can gather as Redmond attempts to win back the hearts, minds, and pocketbooks of consumers infatuated with Android, WebOS, and whatever Apple’s got cookin’. Like these supposed 6.5 screenshots above, this time showing what looks like a Marketplace store a la the Zune.

Discuss this in the Zune Message Boards.

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The Official Site of Benjamin J Heckendorn

My latest project is the Xbox 360 Portable. Figured that was a more appropriate name than laptop, because seriously, who’d put this in their lap? It weighs almost as much as my sister’s cat.

Discuss this in the Zune Message Boards.

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Zune artist to display work in Seattle

Zune artist to display work in Seattle

Barcelona-based artist Catalina Estrada, who designed a set of Zodiac-style engravings that Zune buyers can choose to put on the back of their music players, is displaying her Zune art in Seattle starting Thursday.

In a statement, Microsoft said that Estrada’s work had “proven to be among the most popular of those available at the Zune Originals online design studio.”

Estrada’s work will be on display at the Gibson Showroom at 159 South Jackson Street, as part of Seattle’s Art Walk in Pioneer Square. The gallery opening is from 6 to 8 p.m.

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CNET Review has a Zune giveaway online. You can enter to win a free Gears of War Zune 120 and be  one of the cool kids at the Zune Social. The new Zune 3.0 software and cool features like wireless sync and the ability to buy songs you hear on the FM make it a great mp3 player. Already have a Zune? If you win this contest you can give it away to someone and then share songs with your new Zune friend.

MP3 Insider 125: New Zune news | MP3 Insider - CNET Reviews

Plus, we’re giving away a 120GB Zune MP3 player from Microsoft (see contest details below). Not just any Zune, in fact, but the thoroughly badass Gears of War 2 Edition, which features an etched logo and comes loaded with Gears of War videos, photos and music.

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The Fake Steve Ballmer is back and he has much to say. Check him out now!

The Secret Diary of Steve Ballmer!: Gaggle RELENTS! - First Post of a New Era!

Early this morning, without notice, Google took the lock off of the Fake Steve Ballmer Blog!
There are only a few dozen of my inner personal double secret staff at Microsoft who know about it, but the all came to the “Free Steve Ballmer” office to celebrate! … and celebrate we did!

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Black Friday Giveaways (part 6): Zune 120 and premium earbuds - Engadget

Don’t be crazy alright? Just get your comment in below, because if you win this one, you’re walking away with a totally boss Zune 120 plus a sweet pair of those premium earbuds. You’d have to be crazy, stupid, or some lethal combination of both not to jump at this one. Now here’s how it’s done.

We’ll put up a gadget on the site, and you can only enter it until the next gadget lands (usually within a couple of hours). If you miss your shot, sorry, we’re moving on to the next gadget. Good luck! Oh, and don’t forget the rules. (Yeah, there are always rules.)

* Leave a comment below. That’s it! Who loves you, baby.
* You may only enter this specific giveaway once. If you enter this giveaway more than once you’ll be automatically disqualified, etc. (Yes, we have robots that thoroughly check to ensure fairness.) You can enter different giveaways in today’s Black Friday giveaways, but you can only enter this one once.
* If you enter more than once, only activate one comment. This is pretty self explanatory. Just be careful and you’ll be fine.
* Contest is open to anyone in the 50 States, 18 or older! Sorry, we don’t make this rule (we hate excluding anyone), so be mad at our lawyers or US contest laws if you have to be mad.
* Winners will be chosen randomly.
* Entries can be submitted until the next contest goes up. After that we’re all done. Good luck!

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I updated my Xbox 360 with the new Xbox Experience about 4 days ago and in those few days I have had to endure two full days of power outages and no internet. It’s been rather horrible and I am most upset that I have not been able to play with my new Xbox (it feels like a completely new system). I have had the chance to set it up and configure my avatar as well as preview some of the videos and NetFlix options but I have not had much time to do a full run through. I have some video I shot of the interface but I have not been able to upload anything more than the Xbox Intro video from two days back.

I’ll post more pics and videos and more reviews of the various features of the New Xbox Experience over the next few days.

Microsoft’s New Xbox Experience - BusinessWeek

All in all, Microsoft’s NXE adds a useful set of new features wrapped in a sleek new interface. So rich are these options that the free update would have been worth the $50 or so that a new game costs. In fact, the NXE turns the Xbox into one of the most compelling set-top boxes available for gamers and non-gamers alike.

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Way back when Zune was first introduced I saw that what they had planned had a lot to do with user generated content and the Zune was a musicians friend. The Zune DRM would allow an artist to copyright their material and offer it for sale on the Zune network. Yes, Apple offers something similar and has been a great tool for independant artists but what Zune offers is protection of an artists content and more.

At other times I said what Zune needed was a popular artist to recognize how cool a Zune was and for that artist to genuinely endorse the product, not just a commercial or two but a serious promotional campaign. Now it seems two years into Zune they are finally getting ahead in this area. Hip hop star Common has added the Zune to his latest video and Microsoft claims they did not pay him to do it. Apparently Common is a big fan of the Zune software and the music experience the Zune players offer. His recent ad for Zune highlights features like MixView and wireless sharing.

Will Common become mascot for the Zune Social?

‘Common’ touch could make Zune cool, finally | CourierPostOnline.com | Courier-Post

A video for the title track on hip-hop veteran Common’s forthcoming album, “Universal Mind Control,” begins with a digital music player pulsing to the beat. The viewer is pulled through the screen into the gadget’s guts, where the cool, collected rapper lets loose an easy stream of lyrics.
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It takes hitting rewind a few times to notice that the music player isn’t one of Apple’s slim new iPods. It’s a Zune, and it’s made by Microsoft Corp.

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I’m an original Zune fan. I forgot that MAX turned 2 last week but thats no shock when you realize I rarely know todays date. I purchased my first Zune on the original release date of November 15th 2006 and I signed up for the Zune Pass at the very same time.

In the two years I have had MAX we have been a few places. I don’t have a lot of pics of me and MAX but he’s been right there with me for lots of cool stuff from beaches to mountain peaks and lots inbetween. I’ve read a few stories about broken Zunes and I have also heard all the complaints Zune owners and haters have. I may have a few gripes about Zune but most of my disappointment is with Microsoft and the botched launch of the Zune line that ticks me off the most. I think the stumbles they made in the first year are going to cost them billions to overcome in name alone and the Social has been lonely to say the least. It was stupid to rush to market ill prepared with a crippled device but I like my Zune and it’s been a great player that keeps on improving.

That’s what most cool about my Zune, it keeps getting better and more interesting. My original Zune 30 now comes with some cool wireless multiplayer Games for Zune as well as podcast support, gapless playback, and all the stuff people cried was missing in the first firmware like a clock and wireless sync. How many other portable media players get better with age?

When Microsoft announced a subscription music service to go along with Zune a lot of folks laughed at the idea or thought it was dumb to rent music as some said but for me it was a great way to get new music pushed in my face every time I logged into the Zune MarketPlace and it helped kept me deep into the Zune universe. I have maintained my Zune Pass subscription the entire time an it’s been a good deal for me. I have listened to 100’s of new artists and at least 1000 new songs I may never have heard without my Zune Pass and now it gets even better.

I still pay $15 per month for unlimited Zune downloads but now I get to keep 10 songs each month as part of my permanent collection. How cool is that? When you consider the going rate for 10 songs is $10 its like paying $5 extra for the subscription service. That makes Zune Pass the best deal of all the pay for content models. It’s better than buying a CD each month, its better than buying individual songs from iTunes and its the best subscription service of them all. The only way to get music any cheaper is to steal it!!

Got Zune? Get Zune Pass!!

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