Three new hardware devices or stock keeping units (SKU) is certainly interesting. Hopefully what we’ll find are three new Zune Mobile Phones running Windows Mobile 7 and Zune software. We have written previously about the possibiliyt of having a business and personal edition of the new Microsoft phone but the 3rd option is intriguiging. What could the 3rd Zunephone be?

Updated Zune software drivers hints at Zune “Phone” – istartedsomething

New to this version of the driver which was actually generated on October 20, 2009 are several lines which pretty much speak for themselves.

[Microsoft.NTx86]
%Zune.DeviceDesc% = ZuneMTPZUSB, USB\MS_COMP_MTPZ
%Zune.DeviceDesc% = ZuneMTPZUSB, USB\VID_045E&PID_0710
%Zune.DeviceDesc% = ZuneMTPZUSB, USB\VID_045E&PID_063E
%Phone.DeviceDesc% = ZuneMTPZUSB, USB\VID_045E&PID_0640
%Phone.DeviceDesc% = ZuneMTPZUSB, USB\VID_045E&PID_0641
%Phone.DeviceDesc% = ZuneMTPZUSB, USB\VID_045E&PID_0642
%ZuneIp.DeviceDesc% = ZuneMTPZIP, umb\urn:microsoft-com:device:mtpz:1

; Localizable strings
Msft = “Microsoft”
Zune.DeviceDesc = “Zune”
…
Phone.DeviceDesc = “Phone”

I like the idea of offering two different models for business and personal use. It makes sense for business users to focus on business features but lets hope the Zune software can be installed if say for instance your business involves music or you want to enjoy your phone after work ours. Maybe you can login to a Business mode with scaled down features and even lock the phone into these settings based on the time of day. Of course that might make to much sense for some business owners or even Microsot. I suppose they just have to have two phones with one login each instead of one phone with two different modes.

The phone will be a partnership and not manufactured by Microsoft, according to the new rumors, and it will not be made in the existing Zune factory. Microsoft will probably do what Google has done and brand a phone by HTC or some other phone hardware maker. Why did we wait two years for this? Why din’t they just port the Zune software over to existing phones a long time ago even if they were working on some super new mobile opertatoing system? By branding the Zune early on as mobile music subscription service it may have had a real chance against Apple and the iPod/iPhone/Mac powerhouse combination it appears they have had the vision to mimic. instead it’s been laughed at as half assed and a joke by everyone who never owned a Zune player.

Check out the article below and other Zune rumors on Bing or Google for more ideas on that they have been working on for so long.

Technorati Tags: zune, zune phone, zunephone, microsoft

Zune Phone Could Fulfill Microsoft’s ‘3 Screens’ Wish – PC World

Zune Phone Could Fulfill Microsoft’s ‘3 Screens’ Wish
Microsoft’s mobile play is still a mystery, but reports about WinMo 7 and a Zune-like Microsoft phone provide new clues.

Everyone loves a good game but the rise of online games and casino sites has proven just how much fun we love to have while surfing the web for house. Free online casino games are all the rage on the web and finding a website with the top casino games reviewed seems simple enough until you realize so many of these online casino sites are scams tied to illicit markets and what not.

Online casino information may be readily available but finding it from a trusted source can be the trick. OnlineCasinoPlanet.org offers the latest casino game reviews with tips and guides for playing the top casino games such as poker, roulette and of course blackjack.

The amount of information they offer is astounding really and the depth of their articles and reviews shows they really understand the online casino business. Don’t get taken for a ride online and do the research before you commit to placing bets on the web by checking out the great information about online casinos at OnlineCasinoPlanet.org for more details.

Tech years are longer than dog years and these past two years may as well have been 20 as far as Microsoft is concerned as a competitor in the mobile marketplace. Windows Mobile 7 looks like vaporware and if it ever is released it wont be anything more than a new shine on old code.

Microsoft screwed Zune and their entire mobile market play by waiting what amounts to an eternity to release a look what we copied from someone else device. Does anyone but us Zune fans care about the Zunephone.

Microsoft To Unveil Zune Phone? — InformationWeek

Microsoft is planning to introduce a Windows Mobile-based phone in the coming weeks in order to keep up with rivals Apple and Google, according to a financial analyst.

Jefferies stock picker Katherine Egbert said the company would likely unveil the device next month at the Mobile World Congress in San Francisco.

That’s right you can now get Direct Tv for around $1 per day and that’s a pretty good deal for anyone looking for the very best in high quality television programming. DirectTv is the leading digital television service with affordable packages on HD TV programming and an excellent choice for anyone searching for new options to cable television.

DirecTv is available in any area and you can be watching your favorite television programs in no time at all with their easy to setup tv services. DirectTv offers some of the best television packages in the industry including sports tv and movie channels for any type of television viewer your home may have.

If you are trying save over the cost of expensive cable tv packages then you should definitely look into the DirectTv packages, some of which offer television service for around $1 per day. That’s 24 hours of non stop television action for around $1 each day. Who can beat a deal like that?

Discuss this in the Zune Message Boards.

I’ll be honest I don’t know anything about World of Warcraft except that it is huge and the fan base of 12 million plus users is dedicated to the worlds most popular massively multiplayer online role-playing game (MMORPG) to the level of extreme in some cases. When I found that you can sell WoW account for as much as $1,500 for players like the Level 80 Male Tauren Druid I was blown away. I don’t know what it takes to get to that level but it playing this game is half as fun as many of the other online games I have played then it’s got to be worth the cash if you can sell a WoW account for that kind of cash.

Anyone have an idea how long it takes to get to that level? Is it something you can do in 3 months time? That’s an extra $6,000 per year in earngings from your play time. I guess you would need to know the total number of hours it takes to get to that level but the idea it sells is still awesome as I see it. Anyone here ever sell a WoW account?

Discuss this in the Zune Message Boards.

Zune may not be the huge success that Microsoft hoped for but if anything can be said it is that they can be dedicated to a project and they will pour huge amounts of money into making it into some form of success. I think the best thing they ever made is the Xbox and the Xbox Live ecosystem which is by far the best gaming platform and light years beyond anything else out there. It is not as perfect system and it could benefit greatly from some improvements but it does allow for some powerful gaming experiences and can be downright addicting for certain. I’m currently hooked posting Modern Warfare 2 tips but I have had a problem with the Halo series in the past as well.

I do not think I would have ever called the Xbox revolutionary and although the Live experience is wicked cool it is not the first online game with cutting edge technology. I remember the kid next door introducing me to Quake way back in 1998 when DSL was in its infancy and broadband coverage was spotty at best. It was an awesome game and very similar to in it’s time to what you get from Xbox now. Things may soon change and the next generation gaming experience may just be a revolution in video gaming. Microsoft has leaked details of Project Natal for a long time but details are more clear on what exactly we can expect from the motion sensitive camera which is the heart of the new game controller based on your body dimensions and motions captured by the camera and interpreted by the software as actions in the GUI and games for the closet thing to virtual reality gaming to hit the consumer marketplace ever.

If the gloss on the Microsoft promotional material is not to thick and the experience is anything like what it should be this could be the biggest thing to games since Pong. Project Natal for Xbox 360, lets hope they have a better name for the actual product, allows you to control your character, your games and your entertainment experiences through movements with your body and looks to take interactive gaming to level well beyond what Nintendo and Wii have been able to capture in families. We bought a Wii for the family this holiday season and it has been the coolest thing in the house since my first PC back in 1999. We play it just about every day since we opened the box and the entire family has taken to it quite easily. Project Natal is based on the 3D camera which captures your motion so in a sense you become the controller for a truly hands free experience.

Much remains to be seen and very little is know about Natal other than what you can catch in these YouTube videos but if it’s half as cool as the videos it will be bad ass for sure.

Discuss this in the Zune Message Boards.

Ok, I finally made the move to Prestige Mode after hanging out as Level 70 Commander in Modern Warfare 2 for a few weeks. I realized I was losing out on a lot of points so I decided to abandon my dreams of 100% completion for all assault weapons and made the move over recently. It was funny because I was Level 70 for weeks and then when I finally did Prestige I was back at Level 35 in less than 2 days.

I have noticed the game play got easier so it shows me that they match players by their current level and they dont seem to place much importance on the Prestige Mode. I assume they understand we all have roughly the same weapons and Perks so they match you with the same play level and let the better players PWN the unworthy.

In this video I make the move to Prestige Mode and complete the first mission for my The Prestige Badge and Emblem. It is not my best match but It’s what you get at like 3 am after a long day playing Xbox.

Here was my stats on Call of Duty 4: Modern Warfare 2. I was Level 70 Commander for a long time because I enjoyed having all the guns and perks but I decided it was time to Prestige so i took this look at the account before I did it. You can see my achievements, perks and what not along with the total play time on the baddest f-ing game ever made.

I got to this Level 70 using the ACR and SCAR Assault Rifles most of the time but i did get a lot of killstreaks with the P90 and SPAS shotgun. I’m no camper and I have less than 20 kills on sniper rifles. I can’t handle the small view window in a game with so much going on. I guess the Thermal scopes serve some purpose on certain maps but in general I can’t move around with them well enough to bother with them. I’ll have a new video with my first Prestige coming up later.

Discuss this in the Zune Message Boards.

Modern Warfare 2 is the most pirated game of 2009 according to TorrentFreak. They have over 4 million downloads for the PC version alone. They have a pirated version of MW2 for Xbox 360? Why did I pay $60 for this game? Oh that right because it is the best game I have ever played thats why. At $60 it may seem a pricey game but for real gamers who understand how advanced the game play is it’s a deal.

Modern Warfare 2 Most Pirated Game of 2009 | TorrentFreak

“In just five days of sell through Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 2 has become the largest entertainment launch in history and a pop culture phenomenon,” Activision CEO Bobby Kotick said commenting on the game’s success. This is, of course, reflected in the number of pirated copies being traded on BitTorrent.

With 4.1 million unauthorized downloads of the PC version alone, the game more than doubles the achievement of last year’s ‘winner‘ Spore. Modern Warfare 2 leads both the PC and Xbox 360 lists, by a landslide.

Microsoft to integrate Windows Mobile, Xbox Live | Electronista

Microsoft has committed itself to developing Windows Mobile as a more substantial gaming platform, according to a pair of freshly discovered job listings. A post for a Principal Program Manager is the most significant and would task the recruit with bringing “Xbox Live enabled games” to Windows Mobile phones. The move wouldn’t result in Xbox-quality games but instead linking them to the social aspects of the service, including avatars, social elements and “multi-screen experiences.”

Simultaneously, a Software Test Engineer position is less specific about Xbox Live integration but does seek help creating the mobile gaming experience at Microsoft and puts a focus on a phone’s “always connected Internet” as a cornerstone of the platform.

The moves would not just address a common complaint of Microsoft’s various platforms being isolated from each other but a significant deficit in gaming for Windows Mobile. Despite having full 3D support and even getting help from companies like NVIDIA in receiving gaming-friendly hardware, the mobile OS has trailed platforms like iPhone and Android not just in the number of games available but also relative quality, as most commercial-level games aren’t developed for Windows Mobile. Microsoft’s strongest commitment to mobile gaming has been the launch of Zune HD games that themselves are only carefully hand-picked titles.

Windows

The Googlephone, or Nexus One as it has been officially named, may not be so sweet a deal for most phone users. Details have emerged which make us to believed that owning the hot new phone from GOOG is going to cost you either $530 upfront for the unlocked version or $180 for the subsidized version which will cost you a commitment for 2 years to pay $80 per month for a rather weak T-Mobile plan which includes 500 talk minutes and unlimited text and web access.

$80 per month for anything but unlimited usage is steep regardless of how cool the phone is and I don’t think hordes of GOOG fans are going to rush into paying that much for the new geek device. It’s just a phone and for $50 I can get the same services locally using another provider.

Leaked Nexus One Documents: $530 Unlocked, $180 With T-Mobile – Nexus one – Gizmodo

• Yeah, it’s $530 unsubsidized. Google’s not going to be selling the phone at cost, like so many people considered. They’re not going to save us from the “making money off of hardware” culture we’ve got right now, so this is basically just another Android handset, albeit a really good one
• If you want it subsidized, you’ll have to sign up for a 2 year mandatory contract and pay $180 for the phone
• There’s only one rate plan: $39.99 Even More + Text + Web for $79.99 total
• Existing customers cannot keep their plan if they want a subsidized phone; they have to change to the one plan, and this only applies to accounts with one single line
• If that doesn’t fly with you, you have to buy the $530 unlocked version—this actually might save you money over two years if you already have a cheap plan
• Family plans, Flexpay, SmartAccess and KidConnect subscribers must buy the phone unlocked and unsubsidized for $530
• You can only buy five Nexus One phones per Google account
• There is language in the agreement of shipping outside the US
• Google will sell it at google.com/phone, which explains what they were doing with that page a few weeks ago
• Google will still call it the Nexus One apparently, and not the Google Phone

And here is a big one:
• If you cancel your plan before 120 days, you have to pay the subsidy difference between what you paid and the unsubsidized price, so $350 in this case. Or you can return the phone to Google. You also authorize them to charge this directly to your credit card.

Anyway if I was to get any other phone besides a Zune phone it would be a Googlephone because I’m a huge fan of the largest search engine. I really use a lot of Google products and services and the new phone from Google is a sure bet to be a cool device to own. The Google phone is said to be an unlocked iPhone wannabe with features we all will want and use. I’m hoping it turns out to be a sweet phone. Check back more for new on the new Google Phone and my reviews of Googlephone when I buy one.

Google Phone’s Existence Confirmed; It’s Unlocked, Thinner Than iPhone | Gadget Lab | Wired.com

Although Google did not specify details on the phone or its plans to sell it, numerous sources have fleshed out the picture. The handset is designed by Google, made by hardware partner HTC, is running Android 2.1, and is called the Nexus One, according to multiple sources including the Wall Street Journal, TechCrunch, Daring Fireball, and leaked photos. The phone will be sold online by Google itself, the AllThingsD reports.

The Nexus One will, crucially, be sold unlocked, according to TechCrunch, giving Google complete control over the hardware and software with no pesky carrier interference. Even the iPhone, which has had almost unprecedented autonomy in its functionality is still constrained by carriers: AT&T’s anti-tethering paranoia is a good example.

Too bad I can’t call you on my Zunephone and update my tweets on the same device.

Techtree.com India > News > Software > Get Twitter App for Zune Tomorrow

Microsoft’s Zune team announced that it will bring a Twitter App for Zune tomorrow through Zune’s official Twitter account. The Twitter App will enable the Zune HD owners to stay connected with their Twitter followers. Microsoft had recently brought 3D Games for Zune HD.

Earlier today, Zune’s official Twitter account updated the following message:

Zune Nation! The Twitter App for Zune is coming tomorrow – more details in the morning!

RT

I gave up on timelines with Zune a long time ago. They seem to have no idea what the heck they are doing with the devices and they have been weak on the games and additional applications. This is the problem with a closed system like Microsoft offers. the Apple Touch device has loads of apps and a few app developers have made a pretty penny selling apps for iPhone but things are so dead on the Zune side that no one is jumpong up to create much more than the existing games and apps available.

Patiently Waiting for Zune Apps, In the meantime…

In the Zune HD forums there are some frustrated Zune HD users patiently waiting for more Zune applications. I do sympathize with them since it is a little bit disparaging having such a powerful Nvidia Tegra device being limited by application releases. In the thread, Microsoft’s DaveMac-MS cannot yet offer a time table for app releases but does offer this: “I’ll be able to tell you more about the Twitter and Facebook apps once they’re out – in the meantime, there are a number of cogs in this wheel and we’d rather stick to a quality-driven release schedule, than a date-driven one.”

Now I find out that this is actually a glitch in Modern Warfare 2 and kids are abusing this to their advantage by racking up huge kills. This video is here for informational purposes only and if I catch any of my friends using this I’ll get hyped and drop you.

Discuss this in the Zune Message Boards.

Microsoft has jumped on the Black Friday bandwagon, and is offering savings on Office Home & Student, free subscriptions to Xbox Live, and free netbooks.

Shoppers who buy a Lenovo T400 ($1,549) or X301 ($1,599) notebook or an A600 ($999) all-in-one desktop PC at a Microsoft retail store or online will receive a free Lenovo S10 netbook, a $350 value.

The first 50 customers who purchase a Sony VGN-NW250F/S ($780) or VGN-FW520F/B ($999) laptop will get a free 16GB Zune HD.

I imagine it will get more use in the future when they add new features and better integration but for now a 10% adoption seems strong.

News: 2 million used Xbox Live Facebook – ComputerAndVideoGames.com

At least 2 million Xbox Live users have logged into their Facebook accounts through Xbox 360 since it launched last week, Microsoft claims. That’s 10% of all Xbox Live users.

The impressive statistics, given to Cnet by Microsoft spokesman David Dennis, show that while Facebook has had the biggest adoption out of Xbox Live’s new social network features, in its first 24 hours more than half a million accounts were created for Last.FM.

Xbox Live users have streamed 120 million minutes of music through the service, says Microsoft, while a massive 1.7 million Xbox live users have watched a video on Zune Marketplace.

Discuss this in the Zune Message Boards.

new zune hd games

Reviews for Zune HD games are coming in from multiple sources and as expected everyone is quite impressed. I agree with Geek.com that the graphics are impressive as expected. The Zune HD screen and hardware are dying for something to flex their muscles on and 3D games are the best test to date for the latest Zune player. The Tegra processor handles the graphics with no pixelation and the controls are responsive.

Project Gotham Racing: Ferrari Edition features 12 cars and 33 events on London, Tokyo, and New York race courses. PGR takes advantage of the wireless features and supports up to four player races. It also offers time trials against your friends best race finally making the Zune the social device it was meant to be at launch. It’s only two years late to market or right on time as far as Microsoft is concerned it seems.

Audiosurf Tilt is one of the most interesting of the new game apps for Zune. Load up your favorite MP3 and it’s kinda like a screen saver you can control with the tilt of your Zune. The software has an incredible ability to follow along with the music and really shows off the power of the hardware.

Vans Sk8: Pool Service has 10 skateboarding events to shred with hot skaters Bucky Lasek and Omar Hassan with some hidden extras like unlockable board designs and bonuses.

The other games are basic and straight forward of what to expect from Checkers or Bowling. I was hoping for something more exciting but this is decent enough for 6 free games for Zune. I have great hope the future of gaming on Zune includes bigger and better ports of top Xbox games. I think we need good first person shooter like Halo or Call of Duty on Zune portable game players but we’ll need a game specific device for that.

Discuss this in the Zune Message Boards.