The Gull Wing

Just updated my zune a few days ago, the new firmware has a visual refresh and the marketplace does as well.

Some of the complaints I have read and experienced for myself is the fact of the new maketplace software is not user friendly as some things are take some frustration to figure out for a lot of us.  New interface for the zune itself, although looks nicer, its not really much of a upgrade for us V1 users =( The only thing that really changed is the availabilty of wireless sync. Hopefully Microsoft can pull the Zune together and make that wifi an actually “ipod killer” its supposed to be over a year ago.

Facts taken from: http://www.zunescene.com/

• The newest additions are smaller 4gb and 8gb players with flash memory. The devices sport video playback and wireless functionality. They are priced at $149 and $199 respectively. Currently the small Zunes come in red, pink, green, and black. They are similar to the former Nano in size.
• An updated hard drive model will have 80GB of storage and come in black at launch. More colors could be added later. It’s 27% smaller than the original Zune yet boast a much larger 3.2 inch lcd screen. Pricing will be $249. The “old” 30 GB Zune will be sold for $199 and get new firmware updates with the new devices. New Zunes are due to release November 13th.
• New Wi-Fi features will include wireless sync with PC. This will be a nice advantage over competing devices. However, wireless purchases via Zune are not implemented. The Zune will also expand on sharing capabilities. Shared songs will no longer have a 3 day limit for use, but the 3 play rule remains in effect. Photos as usual have no restrictions at all when shared Zune to Zune.
• As we reported back in September, the round navigation button has been replaced with a “squircle” shaped button called Zune pad. The pad will be touch sensitive in addition to the regular directional operations.
• To improve on “the social” online Zune Cards will be introduced. Each card can be personalized based on unique interests.
• Zunecasts (podcasts) are coming to the Zune marketplace along with video content. TV shows recorded on Windows Media Center can also be synced up with the Zune devices.