Overview
The name Zune is quite familiar with music lovers and those that are interested in the new musical gadgets. The Zune line of products by Microsoft has given a new dimension to the digital music devices and has enriched their music experiences. Although the Zune line of products was recently launched by Microsoft it still managed to create a big customer base of its own in a few years time. For the music freaks, the Zune allows them to not only listen to their favorite music but also can share and synchronize their music. The popularity of the Zune devices competed with that of the iPods when it was first launched in the United States and was called Zune30 or simply Zune. The Zune line of digital music devices of Microsoft included not only the digital audio players but also client software as well as the Zune marketplace. The Zune Marketplace for the Zune devices is an online music store from where users can have their songs downloaded and the sheer variety of them is unparalleled.
The Zune devices not only support listening to music but also can display videos and pictures for the ultimate entertainment of the users. Multi-functionality is the only word that comes to the mind when one uses the devices.
Development and Features
When Microsoft was working in cooperation with the Japanese company Toshiba the first generation of the Zune devices were developed. In the development of the first generation of the Zune, the design of the Gigabeat S was the base and the Zune was developed on the lines of this device. The initial Zune products were named as Toshiba 1089 and the Argo project of J Allard, which was also for the development of Xbox. The Alexandria project was finally released as the Zune marketplace for the Zune line of products of Microsoft, both the Zune and the Zune Marketplace were introduced in the US market under one single brand name of Zune. In the October of 2007, Microsoft released the second generation of Zune models like 4GB, 8GB, and 80GB. All the three Zune devices were capable of playing music, videos, pictures, show images and also supported the reception of FM Radio. File sharing among the Zune devices was enabled in a wireless format and users can as well share files from the Xbox using an USB. The files could as well be synchronized with the Windows PC wirelessly, which allowed the users to have their favorite music on their PCs as well.
The new Zune line of products, announced in the month of October 2007 has features that include:
• Wireless synchronization
• An input system featuring touch pad style
• File support for files such as H.264 and MPEG-4
• Podcast support
• Enhanced song-sharing license
• Software support for the DRM free music in the Zune Marketplace.
The Zune 4, 8 and the Zune 80 models comprises of all these features and the users can as well have earphones, USB data cable and an attractive and handy bag for carrying the devices.
Popularity: 11% [?]
January 7th, 2008 at 8:49 am
So the second incarnation of Microsoft’s Zune may be the one to beging to hurt Apple. Are those clever boffins at Microsoft about to take a big bite out of Apple’s market.