Yes there is a new Zune in the works. There are many rumors that it will be a Microsoft Zune HD Model. Those rumors are unconfirmed at this moment though. The new Zune is rumored to combine features of the Zune and Xbox. Cool, ain’t it. Well yeah. The new Zune device has been confirmed for arrival by Microsoft.
What the device is is still a matter of speculation. On whether this phone is Microsoft’s answer to the iPhone, all you get is a denial from Microsoft. Some people think that it will be a touch enabled media player with gaming abilities. So that seems more likely…a fusion of the Xbox and Zune. Something that blurs the boundaries between a media player and a gaming device.
It seems the Zune has made one 15 year old rich and happy. Hansup Yoon recently sold ZuneBoards which is an internet forum devoted to the MS Zune. It made him $62,000 richer. Yoon form Fullerton, Calif created the site before the Zune was released in 2006. He said that he was one of the first to create a site on the MS Zune.
In other Zune news, Microsoft gave Zune players to students who gave them research data. Microsoft has a vision of expanding it’s products to schools across the nation. 100 Fort Sumner High School students as well as 25 South Valley Junior High students were given the Zunes. They are to listen to podcasts and watch videos that are recommended to them by teachers and fellow students in the hope that their educational experience will be enhanced.
Since the announcement of Samsung’s 12- GB 1.8 inch hard drive in April 2007 there has been a buzz among Zune fans anticipating a new higher capacity Zune. The wait is now almost over. The 120 GB Zune looks like the 80 GB one. The firmware used is version 2.5.
My 80 GB Zune has a lot of empty space and is likely to stay that way, but there are so many music lovers who would love a 120 GB Zune. The iPod Classic comes in 80GB and 160 GB varieties and the gap in between those two is likely to be filled by the Zune.
In its quest for exclusivity, Zune has sought studios to provide content that would be exclusive to the Zune Media Player. The Hollywood Reporter says that Microsoft officials have met up with talent agencies and studios to create deals which would create exclusive video content for the Microsoft Zune.
When the Zune incepted, it was lauded as the Microsoft answer to the iPod. However it has not met with great success, selling only 2 million units since it’s launch in 2006. The iTunes stores is widely regarded as the reason for the iPod’s dominance. iTunes allows for easy music and video download onto the iPod.
Microsoft Zune on the way to Success!
It is a know fact that Apple’s iPod rules 70 percent of the MP3 player market. With a strong fan base, it was thought next to impossible that someone else would be able to give Apple any competition. However, Microsoft made a brave attempt and has shown itself worthy of competing with the Apple giant’s.
A Microsoft spokesman described Zune as something that celebrates ‘choice’. The Zune allows you to customize the back of your player using laser etchings; you can put the image of your choice as the background image on your player; you do not require an add on to listen to the radio and you can have access to millions of tracks for the price of one CD a month. That’s a great deal! Zune users can also share the music they listen to with their friends through Zune Social online music community, Facebook and MySpace.