Microsoft Zune

[sangers]

It just came out and is set to take on iPods.
http://www.zune.net/en-US/meetzune/device.htm



Reviews:
http://hardware.slashdot.org/article...24233&from=rss
http://www.gizmodo.com/gadgets/porta...iew-212255.php

What do you think? Should I get one whilst I'm in the states?

[MrThanh]

saw this on the news just now. wifi ftw!

[fueltank]

Wonder how long it would take until we can use them with headunits like the iPod. Hopefully M$ will subsidise to help move it along

[wi11iam]

you can use them already ed

remember new decks already out with bluetooth 2.0 for audio streaming
sony, pioneer and kenwood decks have that feature alpine is a bit slow

[-Ad-]

thats a costly exercise.. sigh..

[MrThanh]

if the product is successful, it wouldnt be too difficult to integrate them with current head units. AFAIK, most head units use some sort of interface box to connect the ipods to the head unit (like the alpine KCA-240i, or Kenwoods KCA-iP500). All they need to do is make a similar box to run the controls and feed audio from the Zune.

[sangers]

im not sure whether to get a zune or whether to get this:



Cowan A2

• 20GBs; 16hrs of music playback; 8hrs of video playback.
• 4" Display with 480 x 272px widescreen. It does not have an antiglare screen like the Zune but has something better as a PMP: It will playback videos without having to resize them!! Nearly all other PMPs on the market force you to re-encode videos to a lower resolution for playback which is the biggest pain in the ass. It takes about 30mins for a 1hr show.
• Plays mp3s, wmas, wavs, jpgs, wmvs, divx, xvid, mpeg-4
• It has shortcut A/B/C buttons to help navigate but its controls are not as good as iPods or the Zunes'.
• It has FM Radio, radio recording, line in audio and video recording, voice recording with a built in microphone, ability to schedule alarms and recording sessions (ie. you can plug it into your tv and program it to record a show).
• It has USB hosting so you can plug your digital camera up to it and download photos or plug a USB stick into it and download files.
• It has TV output.
• Review:http://www.dapreview.net/e107_plugins/content/content.php?content.239.1

[fueltank]

Does the Zune have bluetooth?
And is the bluetooth as good as a cable connection? probably not.

[sangers]

you can use them already ed

remember new decks already out with bluetooth 2.0 for audio streaming
sony, pioneer and kenwood decks have that feature alpine is a bit slow

Does the Zune have bluetooth?
And is the bluetooth as good as a cable connection? probably not.

no, the Zune does not have bluetooth. it has WiFi. high speed wireless networking.

a review i read said that a song was transferred in 20seconds and a picture was transferred in 1 second. i'm assume that the song was around 4mb.

currently if you send a song to another device other than syncing with your own PC, the song has a 3 play or 3 day expiration date. but it won't be long before someone hacks that security feature away.

[fueltank]

awesome!
Just need a headunit that will interface with the Zune

[Page]

Just make a car computer with a touch screen that folds out of your dash then you can make it what ever you want.... Blue tooth, wifi, as much storage as you want as well as GPS. I have started making one.

[fueltank]

Just make a car computer with a touch screen that folds out of your dash then you can make it what ever you want.... Blue tooth, wifi, as much storage as you want as well as GPS. I have started making one.

You wouldn't need a Zune then as you'd just copy the MP3's from your bedroom to the garage via wifi

[hebe]

and a carputer costs more too...lol

[hebe]

I downloaded the Zune theme onto my work desktop...hahaha

[sangers]

im torn between the a2 and the zune.

the a2 has heaps more features and playing videos in more formats and their native resolution is the biggest drawcard for me as i can just copy over all my lost/prisonbreak/survivor/lagunabeach episode downloads to it and watch them on the way to work. also the scheduled recording feature will be great when the world cup or other television events are on that i need to tape. and i need line in recording so much.

but the zune's wifi capabilities and the fact that it's an MS product that will be hacked by programmers across the globe gives it almost unlimited potential. i envisage people developing software and firmware upgrades to support browsing the internet, viewing maps, using it as a remote control and many other applications.

such a tough call. i might just buy them both.