Zune Hardware and Software Upgrades Coming?
 In a Houston Chronicle interview with Bryan Lee, corporate vice present for Microsoft’s entertainment business he said something that really caught my attention. Bryan Lee states in the Chronicle interview that it would be logical for the Zune platform to see an annual or twice-annual refresh of its software and hardware. He also said that there will be addition models to compliment the current line up, with the addition of flash based Zunes.
 On the software side, it will probably be the release of a new version as we have seen with iTunes and probably a redesign of the store itself. This will probably become a common thing with the Zune Marketplace with upgrade happening yearly. The store itself could add TV shows, Movies and Games in the future. The software side is a much simpilar task for Microsoft compared to hardware.
 On the hardware side, it is no surprise that the Zune will get a redesign soon. The 1st generation Zune was Microsoft’s entry into the market. It will keep getting improved over time, but it is possible for a complete redesign of the Zune from ground up or will it just be a simple advancement like 1Gen iPods to 2Gen iPods. It could possibly even make a move by releasing a touchscreen Zune for $249. People are really intrigued by the touch screen technology and there still isnt a standalone widescreen iPod (excludes iPhone, because it is integrated and therefore more expensive). So it is key for Microsoft to make some upgrades to reach their goal of becoming the #2 portable media player after iPod.
 Also when Microsoft does make its launch into the flash based Zunes, it will have tough competition from the nano and a ton of PlaysForSure devices. So Microsoft will really need to pull off an awesome, yet cheap product to gain some ground in this field. It will also be the stepping stone for the broad range of products under the Zune name.
Upgrading hardware soon? I would like to know when which makes it even a harder decision to buy a zune or not if they’re just going to make it better soon. God knows I need a media player and I don’t want to be left with last generations zune .
:(
I think they should come out with a nice flash player before redesigning the current Zune. The new iRiver models look very nice possibly MS can get them to design the next player.
example: http://bycube.net/blog/attach/1/4503772381.jpg
i agree w/ gonzalo some of us just got our zune and now they are making new ones and those are probably gonna be 250 dollars as well and when we try to return the old ones they wont be as expensive. i say when they make new ones make updates maybe this is just my suggestion.
[…]  He also indicated that Microsoft is working on new Zune’s for the US. The new Zunes should arrive for the Christmas season in the US aswell. This will probably include the flash based Zune’s mentioned earlier and an update to the hard drive Zunes. The change isn’t unexpected seeing that iPods and other portable media players also go through yearly revisions. […]
It is a problem. But I don’t think there should be any reason to worry, because if you were to wait for the new one. You would wait till next Fall, then then will say a new one is coming Fall 2008 and so on. Just like iPods
It’s like almost every other electronic, it always gets an upgrade and waiting for an upgrade or price drop is always going to be a pain..
[…] Original post by Saran […]
Let’s see a usuable upgrade, like…I don’t know..How about a Microsoft product that interfaces with Microsoft Outlook (like another non-Microsoft product and while we’re at it, how about a clock and alarms/reminders?? I’m still baffled on why I can’t interface with outlook!!!
how do you get the upgrade for my Zune because when i put on moives it takes for ever