Gadgetell | Tech News, Reviews, and Interesting Things

Even though the new Zune 3.0 firmware is set to be officially released on the September 16, a Wal-Mart in Harborcreek, Pennsylvania already has the new Zunes on sale. Thanks to a recently surfaced image, we can now see that at least this Wal-Mart has begun selling the Zune 80 for $198, which is $50 cheaper than what it used to sell for and it shows the new Zune 120 for $250. In addition, the Blue Zune 16 was also said to be in stock, however, it is not pictured above. Well, it looks like some stores have manged to get the new Zunes, as well as drop the price of the older Zunes. Let us know if you spot any cheaper or new Zunes in stores near you.

Via [Engadget]

Remember the good ol’ FCC leaking out the new Zune 120GB? Well, now there have been some pictures released by the Canadians that show off two new larger capacity Zune players. The image includes a 16GB flash based model and the new 120GB model.

The pictures show up pretty clear considering they were taking from a phone, and you can see that the 16GB Zune has a glossy screen. It would make sense that Microsoft is updating their Zunes, as there have been rumors of what Apple plans to do come their special event. If Apple decides to update their nano, Microsoft will want to have something updated in their Zune line up as well.

Stay tuned for any further developments.

Via [Zunited]

This is where we call out by names the actions and companies that seem odd, out of touch or just plain straight up smokin crack.  Technology is an odd realm where PR speak doesn’t hold a lot of water if the 1s and 0s don’t line up.  This week sees posturing, positioning and flat out insanity.  Here is what caught my eye this week:

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Not much to go on here, but Zunescene is reporting phone giant Nokia is working with the Zune team to gain access to the Zunestore content.  This would be an inroads for Microsoft which current sits atop 0% of Nokia phone OS share.  Clearly, Microsoft wants to get on Nokia phones but is Zune the way to do it?

In my mind -and I am willing to say that I may be alone- Zune is a dead brand.  It represents a me-too attitude that got forgotten before it started. I’ve said before, much to our editor, Robert Nelson’s dismay, the Surface brand would be much better to bring in, especially if touch is the design make up.  Surface is still interesting and full of potential.  Zune, not so much.

So whether MS hopes to get its OS into european hands in a very big way or get their content sales up, it seems from this rumor, Nokia is interested.  Can Nokia resurrect the Zune brand?

Read [Zunescene]

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:

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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…

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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]