Gadgetell | Tech News, Reviews, and Interesting Things

It is always good to get your story out, especially when something rather large is being announced by a competitor.  Robbie Bach, Microsoft Entertainment and Devices Division President has dominion over a very large range of products.  Things like Zune, Windows Mobile, Xbox, Media Center are all his babies.  SF Gate sat him down for some rather pointed q&a.  Here are the highlights:

MORE »

Somewhere in BritPunk Heaven, Ian Curtis is all smiles as he awaits the June 17th release of the Joy Division 80GB Zune media player. Available for $399 from zuneoriginals.net, the limited edition player (only 500 will be made available) not only sports a design courtesy of noted graphic artist Peter Saville, who provided artwork for both Joy Division’s albums, it also serves as a handy promotional tool for the new Joy Division documentary DVD; the movie will be pre-loaded on the player.

All we need now is for Apple to come out with a New Order Special Edition iPod if Steve Jobs truly wants to stick a burr under Microsoft’s pop culture saddle. New Order, of course, is the band that Joy Division became after lead singer Curtis’ suicide in 1980. Dueling commemorative media players would prove Joy Division only half-right: love, and technology, will indeed tear us apart.

Read [Spin]

Product: Kicker iK500 iPod Speaker System
Price and Availability: Currently available and retailing for $299.99
Rating: 9/10
Pros: Simple, easy to set up and use
Cons: Docked iPod sits a little “off”
Overall: Solid sound with a great overall look

While we were able to review the iK500, which is made for the iPod, Kicker also offers the ZK500 for the Microsoft Zune, which also retails for $299.99.

The iK500, after first getting it out of the box has a nice look to it. Keep reading for the rest of the review…

MORE »

If you were looking to purchase a Zune at Gamestop, your luck has run out. The gaming retailer has decided to stop selling the Zune because “it just did not have the appeal we had anticipated.” Gamestop, apparently has changed their attitude because they originally started offering the Zune as a pre-order from the time of its release back in November of 2006. Microsoft seems not all that worried from the lack of support at Gamestop, Adam Sohn, director of marketing for Zune recently stated;

“We have a set of great partnerships that give Zune a strong presence at retail including Best Buy, Target, Wal-Mart and others. We will continue to invest in retail partnerships and have seen good momentum online and at retail over the last few months.”

Even though they’ve sold two million Zune players already, that apparently wasn’t enough appeal for Gamestop to stay in the, err, game. Anybody else sense Xbox 360-syncing coming soon followed by a great sense of regret? While Gamestop has discontinued offering the Zune, they will continue to have them in-store until the current inventory runs out.

Via [Engadget]

The Zune has some reason to celebrate, and while they are still far from Apple and the iPod, they have just reached the respectable 2 million sold mark. This new level comes just about one year from when Microsoft announced they sold the first million Zune’s, and with the increased sales some increased market share comes as well. Microsoft has been (albeit small) affecting the market share of some others such as Creative, who recently saw a two-percent drop. While the Zune has still not been able to affect the iPod with any major significance, its seems to be in the game for the long haul and has only been improving since its initial launch back in November 2006.

Via [electronista]

While most of Microsoft’s Zune media events have usually been ho-hum press gatherings lately, the most recent one has sparked speculations that Microsoft could be planning to roll out a Zune-Sidekick mobile phone combo soon. This is based on an offhand comment made by Chris Stephenson, General Manager of Marketing for Zune. According to Chris, MS is currently finding ways to integrate and work with the 250-man staff of Danger. Danger, if you recall, is a consumer handset OS maker that Microsoft bought recently. And if Microsoft is working closely with them, it could mean one thing above anything else: that they are trying to add a few handset capabilities to the already multi-connectivity ready Zune. To be sure, we’ll be keeping a watchful eye over this issue, and will be here to update you with the latest news when it hits.

Via [Zune Boards]

Well it only took about 18 months but the Zune is finally making its way into Canada. Beginning June 13 Canadians will be able to grab the Zune of their choosing. Well, except for a few small details, namely the lineup is not quite as complete as it is here in the US.

There will not be any 30GB model or green models. Do our friendly neighbors to the north have something against green? Anyway, up for grabs will be the Zune 80 in black or red for $249.99, the Zune 8 in black, red or pink for $189.99 and the Zune 4 in black, red or pink for $139.99.

Via [Engadget]

If you can get over the iPod, you’ll find something pretty darn compelling.

I believe Microsoft is attempting some game-changing things here with the subscription.  For the price of one CD (or 1.5 cds on iTunes) you get your fill of music downloads buffet style.  But you also get the opportunity to pass around music socially to other subscribers.  The key to this is new music.  A Zune study says finding new music is the key to this whole picture.  By sending around your finds, everyone benefits. 

MORE »

Look who’s playing catch up with Apple’s iTunes?  Microsoft has confirmed the rumors that it will start selling TV shows in its Zune Marketplace, possibly to compete with the recently announced iTunes movie download offerings. For starters, Microsoft has sealed a deal with NBC, which incidentally is coming off the recent break-up with Apple’s iTunes.

Although Microsoft’s move maybe a little bit late, lagging behind Apple’s iTunes which started selling TV shows two years ago, Microsoft is confident that its Zune Marketplace will be able to make some headway over the iTunes especially now that one of iTunes biggest content providers has decided to move over to the Zune Marketplace. NBC and Apple had previously disagreed over pricing which caused NBC to stop offering their content in iTunes. 

MORE »

For Valentine’s day, Microsoft created a special edition red Zune 80 to celebrate, and cash in on the holiday. That Zune remained for just a short time, and was later brought back, but availability was limited to just Zune Originals. Overall it seems like it must have been a hit because Microsoft has decided to make it available everywhere. Cesar Menendez, the marketer for the Zune, confirmed this today and stated that they are already “beginning to make their way into retail stores.” So if you are still wanting the red, hit up your favorite retailer that carries the Zune, if its not already in stock, it should not be much longer.

Via [Electronista]