Source: Zune's new 'click-flick' hybrid interface
What will they be called?
The 80-gigabyte hard drive and a 3.2-inch screen will be called Zune 80.
Th smaller, flash memory-based Zune, with 1.8-inch screen, in pink, green, black and red with either 4 GB or 8 GB of storage, will be called Zune 4 and Zune 8 respectively
Any new features?
- The latest generation sports a shiny glass screen and new interface (also applicable for early Zune 30gb adopters as a firmware upgrade)
- New touch pad navigation button (zune pad)
- Wi-Fi to sync music, movies and photos wirelessly with users' PCs.
- Like the original Zune, the new models include an FM radio tuner and the ability to wirelessly share songs with other Zune owners.
- Premium headphones (in-ear ones)
- New codecs supported h.264 and MPEG-4
- Podcast support
- and some imporvement on the zune marketplace which we'll never get to use since we're in the Philippines!! (-.-)
When will it hit the stores?
The new Zunes are to go on sale in mid-November.
How much?
The 4 GB Zune will cost $149, the 8 GB one will sell for $199 and the 80 GB model for $249. The prices match those of Apple Inc.'s comparable iPod models.
I will just wait for the Zune Phone
Sure, wait for it...but in the meantime read this:
Microsoft executives have denied plans for a "Zune phone" since the iPhone was introduced this summer. J Allard, a corporate vice president in Microsoft's Entertainment and Devices Division, said designing a touch pad instead of a touch screen was a deliberate decision to let users skip tracks and change the volume without having to look at the screen.
(source: yahoo news ; engadget)
