Zune 3.0 and new Zunes officially revealed.

[BajiRav]

Zune Takes Music Discovery to the Next Level With New Ways to Find and Access Digital Music<h2 class="subtitle">Software update will enable Zune users to tag songs and buy music directly from FM radio and download and stream music on the go beginning Sept. 16.</h2><h5 class="sidebar">Related Links</h5>

Microsoft Resources:

?Zune Spotlight

?Zune Web site[/urlExternal Resources:

?Overdrive Digital Media Locator[/REDMOND, Wash. ? Sept. 8, 2008 ?08 ? Zune, Microsoft Corp.?s end-to-end music and entertainment service, again revolutionizes how customers discover and connect to the music they love, where and how they want it. Starting next week, every Zune portable media player will let consumers wirelessly download or stream millions of songs on the go from thousands of wireless hot spots around the country. Free, powerful software and firmware updates will give Zune owners the ability to discover, tag and purchase songs directly from the built-in FM radio, wirelessly access the Zune Marketplace store on the go, and tap into interactive, personalized music recommendations that add even more value to the Zune Pass subscription. Zune is also expanding its device lineup with new 16GB and 120GB capacities as well as shiny new blue-on-silver and sleek all-black color schemes. The new features will begin rolling out on Sept. 16, 2008.

[On Sept. 16, 2008, the Microsoft Zune portable media player will give users the ability to buy music directly from the FM radio built into each device.ch device. Click for hi-res version

?Digital music services really come alive when they help people find not only the music they know they like, but the music they didn?t know they would love,? said Chris Stephenson, general manager of Global Marketing for Zune at Microsoft. ?With the combination of subscription, wireless access to millions of tracks, and powerful discovery features like personal recommendations and the ability to buy music from FM radio, Zune is taking the digital music experienceWireless ConnectionsWireless Connections

More than 61 percent of people say they discover new music by listening to the radio. (1) With that in mind, Zune is taking advantage of the wireless connection and the built-in FM tuner to deliver a new feature called Buy from FM, which lets customers tag and purchase songs they hear on FM radio stations (2) directly from the Zune device. When the customer is in a Wi-Fi hot spot, the song can be immediately downloaded to the Zune device. If Wi-Fi is not available, the device will have a queue of songs ready to download when connected to a home computer or in a hot spot. Buy from FM uses Radio Data System and RT+ data feeds within the FM broadcast frequencies that identify song and artist data and enable the Zune service to identify and deliver the track to the customer.

In addition, users can now access the Zune Marketplace music store directly from their device when they are in a recognized Wi-Fi hot spot, or through a home wireless network. To make it easy to discover music on the go, customers can browse lists of featured new releases and top songs and albums sorted by genre, or use the on-screen keypad to type in the song of their choice. Once they have picked a track or album, they can either download it or stream it directly to the Zune device.

Zune customers have a choice in how they acquire music: They can pay per track or choose a Zune Pass subscription. Zune Pass subscribers can download or stream music to the device or their computer interchangeably, all for a flat rate of $14.99 per month. So whether a device has 4 GB or 120 GB of storage, Zune Pass customers can access and stream millions of songs direMore Ways to Discover Music: Channels and Picks hannels and Picks

The new Zune software update taps expert sources, recommendations from the Zune service and online music community, and the user?s own play data to create a dynamic, digital music experience where discovering music iChannels.ess.

?Channels. Channels are an exciting new tool for music discovery. Customers can explore channels programmed by experts from the music industry such as the Billboard Top 100, The FADER magazine and KEXP radio, in addition to workout-themed channels tailored for high, medium and low impact, and top chart channels from all genres and subgenres. The powerful Zune software will even create custom channels for each user, based on favorite artists and genres. Channels are included with a monthly Zune Pass subscription and can be synced to the device for playback on the go. For non-Zune Pass subscribers, the Channels are available foPersonal Picks.

?Personal Picks. Now the Zune software learns what kind of music users like and makes personal recommendations. When users log onto Zune Marketplace, they?ll find a new area called Picks where the Zune recommendation algorithm will suggest artists, albums and tracks based on the music they have been listening to, as well as channels they might like and listeners likThe Zune Social online music community. ial online music community. Customers can connect with millions of like-minded fans and share music via the Zune Card, a real-time playlist of each user?s favorite and recently played tracks that can be accessed on the Web or within the Zune software, or synced to the Zune device. Zune Pass subscribers can play full tracks from Zune Cards synced to their device while on the go, and now the playlists will even automatically update with the most recently played tracks when Zune connects to a wireless hot spot. It?s like subscribing to a free feed of music from the sources pePowerful Softwarer friends.

Powerful Software

The Zune PC software is a free download at http://www.zune.net that provides rich discovery and media management capabilities to help consumers make the most of their existing music collections, in addition to providing access to the Zune Social and Zune MarkMixview. can add to it.

?Mixview. Customers can select an artist, album or Zune Card to activate a dynamic, visual mosaic of related music and listeners. With each click users can take the view in a new direction, creating a fun, graphical way to discover new music. Mixview works with users? current collection of music, in addition to tracks and albumNow Playing.une Marketplace.

?Now Playing. The improved Now Playing view is more interactive and cinematic. Users can sit back and enjoy the combination of great artist imagery, colorful effects, bio information and data from the Zune online music community, all combined in a full-screen view. They can also click to dive deeper into the music behind the picture, providing another great way to interact with their collection.

A new firmware update will also improve the experience on the Zune device. In addition to the new wireless functionality, Zune will bring new feaGames on the go. n asking for:

?Games on the go. Two free games, ?Hexic? and ?Texas Hold Audiobooks. users entertained on the go.

?Audiobooks. All Zune devices will feature support for audiobooks this fall from industry leaders inAudible. tribution of audiobook content.

?Audible. Customers can visit audible.com to download and sync favorite books from the 50,000 titles availablOverDrive.ublishers and content providers.

?OverDrive. They can download content from sites powered by overdrive.com, including 7,500 libraries? Web sites worldwide. (Device Pricing Information Effective Sept. 16[/b]])

Device Pricing Information Effective Sept. 16

120 GB: $249.99

80 GB: $229.99 (3)

16 GB: $199.00

8 GB: $149.99

4 GB: $129.99 (3)

More information on Zune and related images is available at http://www.zune.net/press.

source

[The Teej]

And still not one word on a UK/Europe release. Bloody hell, Microsoft. Release this thing over here already.

[digitalsoft]

Do we know why MS dont release them here? I'd love to even just see one of these in a shop...more than likely buy one.

[PyX]

Wow, they still work on that! I haven't seen a single out since the beginning of it :p And it's not because I don't look at other people's MP3 players in the subway lol

We'll see how well the whole new iPod line competes against it, but so far, I expect the prices to be the same on Apple's side. And there should also be more features on Apple's side... most of Zune's new stuff is already on a couple of iPods

[majortom1981]

I am glad about the new audio book support iam a network tech and i am asked about a good mp3 player with audio book support by patrons. Now i can recommend the zune.

[Andrew Lyle Global Moderator]

That sure is really cheap for 120GB. I don't think the player will "feel" like quality in my hand, but the interface looks really nice.

I am sure someone will complain about something on it... after all, it is a Microsoft product!

[Admodieus]

This is awesome news. Marketplace on the go, channels, games (including free games), and some improvements to the software. Glad I have a Zune :)

[Guest xiphi]

I'm so glad I bought my Zune 80GB. :D Hopefully the software will support avi files at some point (of course it would transcode into a compatible format for the Zune). Can't wait to see how the games will work.

[Kupo-Cheer]

I didn't think I was going to get burned by Microsoft, but damned if I didn't just recently buy a Zune 80 for just under $250. Well, that isn't too big of a deal, and 80 gigs is more than enough for me.

I'm loving what MS is doing with their players, although I'd like to see larger capacity solid state based versions that could keep the form factor as sleek as the current flash models without the space limitations. Though I will admit that if the 16 gig version had existed when I bought mine, I might have thought twice about which version to get.

[ahhell]

That sure is really cheap for 120GB. I don't think the player will "feel" like quality in my hand, but the interface looks really nice.

I am sure someone will complain about something on it... after all, it is a Microsoft product!

The Zunes actually feel like they are of higher quality than iPods. The screens and interface are way nicer on the Zunes.

It's too bad that MS hasn't released this in Europe as it would definitely give Apple a run for it's money

[tsupersonic]

Nice, can't wait for them. The flash ones are very cheap compared to the iPods.

[QuietStorm21A]

The zune is getting a lot of great features and i am happy for one being an early adopter that MS is still showing that they care by giving all zunes the update.

[DigitalE]

Have they enabled mass storage support yet? :ermm:

[splicer707]

Will it ever be released in Australia? *sigh*

[.KICK]

Get these out in the UK please, why is it taking so long!

[Bubbabyte]

I love my 30gb zune.. i may actually consider one of these 120gb as i'm always running out of space on mine. I love the zune interface and audio/video quality.. and yes it is much better build quality then ipod in my opinion, i've owned and ipod classic. However there are just so many things i would like to see with the zune that they seem to keep overlooking. SImple things like a clock.. why can't there be a clock, it shouldn't be that hard. Avi support would be nice, as i hate converting everything i have to .wmv format. Another big one is the ability to create folders for videos, this gets frustrating when your videos are all cluttered together. All in all though i would still rather the zune then the ipod, but we'll see what apple has in store for tomorrow :p

[Guest xiphi]

I love my 30gb zune.. i may actually consider one of these 120gb as i'm always running out of space on mine. I love the zune interface and audio/video quality.. and yes it is much better build quality then ipod in my opinion, i've owned and ipod classic. However there are just so many things i would like to see with the zune that they seem to keep overlooking. SImple things like a clock.. why can't there be a clock, it shouldn't be that hard. Avi support would be nice, as i hate converting everything i have to .wmv format. Another big one is the ability to create folders for videos, this gets frustrating when your videos are all cluttered together. All in all though i would still rather the zune then the ipod, but we'll see what apple has in store for tomorrow :p

Looks like there will be a clock afterall.

[Bubbabyte]

thank god.. that's enough awesome news for me. Hopefully the new firmware will work on 1st gen zune's as well. Nice find, thanks.

[strekship]

Nice update. I would love to pick up one of the 16GB models since my 4GB Zune feels like it doesn't have enough space.

[revvo]

They seem to be promoting the new software features that seem to be promoting sales and online business more than features for your current library of music, or am I wrong?

[BajiRav]

thank god.. that's enough awesome news for me. Hopefully the new firmware will work on 1st gen zune's as well. Nice find, thanks.

It will and you won't have to pay $20 as well :p

[nekrosoft13]

That sure is really cheap for 120GB. I don't think the player will "feel" like quality in my hand, but the interface looks really nice.

I am sure someone will complain about something on it... after all, it is a Microsoft product!

had to ipods before and wouldn't recommend ipod to anyone unless there are huge changes.

right now i have zune v2 80gbs, before i had the 30gb v1. i'm using both of them without a case, and guess what not a single scratch on them. nothing, zip, nada.

with ipod there are scratches on them just by holding them, useless POS

[RadishTM Veteran]

This needs to come to the UK without a doubt, been waiting forever.

Radish?

[lecter]

Radish, just use eBay...if I can get a brand new Zune in Bangkok, I'm sure you can get one in London :)

And yeah, I'm loving these new features, just like with the Xbox, as time goes by, Microsoft gives its users so much more capability in terms of software...

[Smigit]

My guess as to why they haven't shipped these outside the US is they arent prepared to ship it without the online store ect to accompany the unit but are still in negotiations or aren't ready to enter that stage. Seems silly to me when you consider all other major MP3 players went on sale in their respective regions before they had online stores ect. Surely it can only be something like that holding them back.

Bit of a shame. I wouldn't be against importing a Zune to use it if they are good but theres no way I'm going to do that if I don't have the chance to at least try one before I do so which is practically impossible given I have never seen a physical zune over here.