Valentine’s day is coming up and on Zune.net they are offering up some themed goodies, sch as new backgrounds for your Zune, some songs and other various things to celebrate the day. So if want to show your Zune some love or significant other then Zune.net has some things for you.
Click on the pictures to get the correct size and full image for your Zune.
Chika for Zune is a collection of images that allows you to communcate with others via the Zune’s wireless abilities using pre-printed words, questions and comments. The images are sorted into directories, which makes it easier for users to find the words that they would like to use. Just another new feature for the Zune’s WiFi capabilities
The current version of the application is only availble in Lite which has 100 images and is a total of 2MB. There is also a large version in the works for more common conversations. However, the creator has not given a date for the release of the large version yet. The download of ChikaZune lite is available via the link provided below, but as of now there is no large version.
It may come in handy the next time you see someone with a Zune and want to ask them something. But if the other party does not have ChikaZune, then you probably won’t get a reply via Zune.
More Details and Download: http://www.chikazune.com/
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Well you know what today is kids? Zune is out! So here is a little round up over the past few months to give you a hand in your decision to get a Zune or not.
Zune Launch Parties:
Zune Accessories
Zune MarketPlace
Zune and Xbox 360 Working Together
Zune Review Round Up
Zune Windows XP Theme
And of course the 2 official Zune sites - Zune.net and Zune-Arts.net
If you are now interested in purchasing a Zune head on over to here and as always don’t forget the Zune community, come have a chat and let us know what you think of the Zune.
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If you have iTunes and you download a song then oops you lost it, what happens? Well you have to fork the money over again to re download the song. Ok now that scenario in Zune MarketPlace, you will be able re-download purchased songs up to five times and possibly more if you call up tech support. Itunes does sometimes let you do this, but Zune MarketPlace takes it a step further and stem lines the whole process for the user.
So as the Zune release date for the US draws every so closer, the number of various Zune reviews grows. Here is a listing of all the Zune reviews, where the reviewer had some one on one time with the Zune and have done some very interesting in depth reviews. So lets begin:
Site: 2Old2Play.com
Zune Review: Reviewed on 20th of October - Link
Details: One of the first independent full hands on reviews of the Zune. These guys go into great depth and try to explain every thing about the Zune the best they could. They do not really go into great detail on the Zune MarketPlcae and there are no videos or pictures as well. But 2Old2Play.com do cover the core aspects of the Zune: The Zune setup, music sharing, video playback, and user interface.
Site: Cnet.com
Zune Review: Reviewed on 2nd of October - Link
Details: No surprise Cnet.com has done a review of the Zune, Cnet is one of the leading consumer product reviewers on the net. These guys opinions are usually pretty spot on and holds allot of weight as far as product reviews go. The Cnet Zune review covers: Body design, interface and the Zune features.
Site: Gizmodo.com
Zune Review: Reviewed on 3rd of November - Link
Details: One of the big tech blogs out there and my personal favorite one as well, Gizmodo has carried out a great review on the Zune. They cover some of the things not covered that well in other reviews, including the Zune Marketplace, where they get to try it out and see how it works on a PC. Gizmodo also covers DRM protection, with and interesting point:
Another not-published or seldom-talked-about feature is guesting. A friend can take his Zune over to your computer, set up a “guest” relationship with your Zune Marketplace software (as opposed to a regular owner relationship), and you’re free to drag songs and pictures from your library onto her device. These songs do not have the 3 play 3 day limit on them. Depending on whether you purchased or you’re leasing these songs, you can do this with either 5 or 2 Zunes, respectively. So in essence, if your wife wants to grab a few songs off your library for listening to…
Gizmodo has some great pictures of all 3 colored Zunes (Black, Brown and White) as well as some video clips of them using the Zune MarketPlace.
Site: Engadget.com
Zune Review: Reviewed on 3rd of November - Link
Details: The Engadget review is more for the people who do not like to read and are more visual. There are various pictures on the Zune, that pretty cool looking Zune case that they are carried around in and the Zune MarketPlace. Engadget also has a really in depth video walk through, where they do a complete interface walk through, showing you every nook and cranny of the Zune and the things it can do. That video can be viewed here or download it here (109mb)
The following is a list of the reviews from 6 music industry bloggers who were flown out to Zune HQ a few months ago for a first hand look of the Zune:
There were 6, but the other 2 were not really that good, so I did not include them.
Well that about wraps it up on the Zune reviews. Get enough info there? If I have missed out any reviews, please leave a comment and let me know so it can be included in the list. If all this reading about the Zune has made you interested in buying one, you can pre-order your Zune at the ZuneInfo.com shop which is powered by Amazon.com
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If you don’t already know, they way songs will be purchased over the Zune Marketplace is via Microsoft Points. If you have an Xbox 360 then you would already know what these things are and be quite used to them. If not, then if you follow this link there is a good article describing what they are and how they all work.
Expect to see these little babies next to the iTunes cards at your local shop very soon.
Thanks to the boys at PodTech.net they have done a video interview with Matt Jubelirer, who is the product manager for the Zune at Microsoft. The video covers a variety of Zune subjects and runs for around 40 mins.
Click here to watch
Here to download
