Microsoft is taking over E3 2K10 with a number of new release products including a slim Xbox 360 and the much anticipated Project Natal which has been released under the new name of Microsoft Kinect and it looks like once again the gaming division of the embattled corporation is taking charge and making waves in their respective industry.

Microsoft Kinect is an incredible new game control system utilizing high powered cameras to capture live motion from the game player so in effect you become the game controller in a whole new world of console and online games. Kinect is uber cool even if not perfect it does an amazing job of capturing motion and transmitting this to responsive feel which is far more sensitive than current motion sensors in Wii remotes.

It’s a given that younger children are going to love seeing their body and motions on a big screen tv and the ability to move around and control the game play should make kids addicted to their game console even more than ever. I know on more than one morening my kids have woken up and turned on the Xbox for some Crash and Burn before breakfast. In the future they may do their morning exercise in front of the Xbox as they follow along with the Taebo guy or maybe an MMA workout.

How cool the Kinect is remains to be seen but if they can make it so I’m running around a combat field playing Modern Warfare 2 you can bet your butt I’ll have one hooked up in my house

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Looks like Zune is dragging down the Microsoft Entertainment Division with poor sales of the portable media players putting a dent in the sales of Xbox and Windows Mobile Devices. The Zune hardware lineup is rather weak at the moment and it’s understandable that sales are flat when you have basically one player on the market.

The push towards Zune mobile services is going to take some time to play out in sales of Zune Pass or Zune video services and this may be the case for another year or more. The Zune mobile devices slated for release soon are not going to boost Zune sales unless Microsoft is able to turn these into subscriptions for their Premium Content Services.

How long this takes or whether or not it actually happens remains to be seen but I expect sales at Zune will remain weak until Holidays 2010.

Microsoft Mobile sales flat

The Entertainment and Devices division – which houses Windows Mobile as well as Xbox/ games, Zune and hardware accessories – saw flat revenue. This was bad for mobile – Xbox 360 and its games enjoyed increased sales, which meant the rest of the products were down. The Microsoft statement said: “Non-gaming revenue decreased $98m or 14%”, though it insisted that the worst performers were not Windows Mobile – whose share of the smartphone market fell from 12% to under 10% in the second calendar quarter – but PC hardware products like mice, Zune and embedded device platforms.

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Welcome to the Zune video Preview!

Zune video on Xbox LIVE powers your video entertainment experience on the Xbox 360. Get the selection of a video store, in the highest possible clarity, with the convenience of cable. Easily watch and enjoy the content you want, when you want it, with instant-on HD in full 1080p video and 5.1 surround sound.

Features:

* Instant On HD in full 1080p – Transform your TV into a virtual theater. With Zune on Xbox LIVE you can enjoy all your favorite films and TV shows in vivid-color with 1080p picture quality.
* Smooth Streaming – Immediately access select movies and TV shows you want to watch with smooth streaming technology.
* Party – With Video Party you can catch the latest movies and share the experience with up to 7 of your friends — even if you’re miles apart.
* Simple Search – With new enhanced search functions, get easy access to your favorite movies and TV shows with the touch of a button
* Buy Once Play on Multiple Screens (US Only) – Entertainment is now connected. With your LIVE ID, you can now purchase content and watch it from your Zune HD device, PC or on your Xbox 360 Console

Movie Night:

Welcome to the first Zune movie night. Throughout the program we will ask you to join us for a movie night. These nights will usually take place on Saturday and Sunday night. We would like to ask you to watch the streamed HD version of the movie. If you encounter problems, complete this survey to tell us about your experience.

Scenarios to Try

* Stream movies and TV using Zune video
o Rent or purchase your favorite movies and TV shows and choose Stream to watch instantly in 1080p High Definition
* Use Party to watch videos with your friends while your avatars hang out in a virtual theater
* Buy once, play anywhere! Content purchased on Zune PC Client can be also be accessed through Xbox LIVE
* Browse through content or Search to find exactly what you’re looking for
* Download videos instead of streaming

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Leah Gabriel Nurik over at ChannelInsider.com writes about whether there is a relationship between the delays in Windows Mobile 7 and the newly released photos of what is being called the Zune phone or new smartphone from Microsoft.

We’ll never know the truth but there must be a connection there that explains the frustrations I’ve had with Zune all together. I’ve been waiting to see a Zune phone for a long time and my expectation was that it should be a super device that trumped all the existing devices. It seems it has taken them a long time to get to this and the delays in WinMo 7 are the integration of their Premium Entertainment services including Zune music and Xbox gaming.

Microsoft has to come large in the smartphone market if they plan to take back anything from Apple and the dominant iPhone. The apps store alone has just passed it’s two billionth download and the phone is hugely popular with mainstream America. For Microsoft to build the dream device with music, movies and portable Xbox games must be a huge task that is taking a long time to finish but seems well worth the wait if they can deliver the ultimate mobile device.

Does Windows Mobile 7 Delay Portend Zune Phone? – Microsoft

An online leak of phone prototypes has the industry buzzing about whether Windows Mobile 7 is being held up to accommodate development of new type of device.

The repeated delay of Windows Mobile 7 is throwing the rumor mill into overdrive following the recent online leak of photos thought to represent phone prototypes from a development project at Microsoft called Project Pink.

Grow your own gnome

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Cnet has put together a great iPod Touch versus Zune HD specifications table which lists in great details the reasons you should buy a Zune mp3 player over the Apple touchscreen device. The Zune is hands down winner with better hardware features which make the Zune a superious game player. Sadly Microsoft is really lacking in the apps store where basically they have nothing and iPod has an entire of iPhone programmers ready to launch apps for iPod Touch. The Zune HD app store is sure to offer some basic games and applications but it may take awhile for Zune and the Microsoft platoform to catch on.

Spec to spec: Zune HD versus iPod Touch | MP3 Insider – CNET Reviews

If the MP3 player market was a fault line, we’d have a boatload of busy seismographs on our hands. Certainly, two of the most exciting releases of the past couple weeks are the new iPod Touch and the Zune HD.

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The full Zune HD review from Cnet is up and they have listed all the pros and cons to the device with a pretty sweet video as well. The Zune HD is a touch screen mp3 player from Microsoft that was released on September 15th and has been getting rave reviews from most major gadget sites online.

Check out the Zune HD review video for more details on the new mp3 player with internet access and web browser.

Zune HD (32GB – platinum) MP3 player reviews – CNET Reviews

The good: The Zune HD’s brilliant OLED display, HD Radio tuner, long battery life, movie rentals, and subscription music integration finally give iPod expatriates something to shout about.

The bad: You still can’t use the Zune with a Mac, Marketplace purchases require “Microsoft Points,” video format support is limited, audio quality lacks advanced controls, you’ll need to purchase a dock accessory for HD video output, application and game selection stinks, and the recommended music subscription plan puts the real-world cost higher than the iPod.

Technorati Tags: zune, zuyne hd, zune hd review

The ZuneHD is near and this video preview from Cnet speaks of all the features on the new Zune player and what the experts think of it.

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Fearless

Taylor
Swift

234,118

plays

Dark
Horse

Nickelback

224,927

plays

The
Fame

Lady
Gaga

211,299

plays

Meteora
(Bonus Tracks)

Linkin
Park

205,612

plays

Minutes
To Midnight

Linkin
Park

200,760

plays

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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.

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