According to Microsoft, you should really hold off on buying an iPhone just yet, because huge Zune news is coming in June, and it will blow your mind! Just in case you didn't know, June is E3 time, so it seems like MS will have a hot reveal for the Zune in LA.
MS dropped the news via its Office 2010 Twitter account, where it's been hyping up Zune June. The term "Zune June" was my idea, but MS can use it if it wants to give me money. The Office account has been saying things like: "New product launch ... hold off from buying an iPhone/Pre," and "June 2009 will be an important month for Zune lovers." All five of them?
So, why would we want to hold off on buying those products? The most logical answer of course is that MS is adding iPhone-esque functionality to the Zune, continuing Microsoft's commitment to follow in Apple's footsteps with less success. Could E3 see the announcement of the ZunePhone? It would seem to be a likely bet.
Would you choose a ZunePhone over an iPhone? I somehow can't help feeling that if the Zune tried to copy the iPhone, it would fail on a number of issues, not least the fact that MS is a dictatorial emperor, and I can't see it embracing the freedom of Apps in the same way Apple did. Still, MS has its hands on some decent game licenses, so who knows what will happen? Mobile Gears of War, anyone?
Contest:
8:00 AM on 05.12.2009
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Don't get me wrong, I love my iPod Touch, but the lockdown really gets on my nerves.
No ideas of their own since Windows 3.1.
Jim: "I can't see it embracing the freedom of Apps in the same way Apple did."
I hope you're being sarcastic here.
I don't know, I think I would buy this.
(still interested to see what it's like though)
what the hell is a pre? i dont follow all the hip lingo cause its stupid.
lol
So what's Community Games, then?
No, you have to pay ()$99 to put stuff in the AppStore. See http://developer.apple.com/iphone/program/apply.html
http://www.mimbee.tv/blog/2009/05/harte-fakten-zum-zunex/
MS spent years relying on smartphone manufacturers to peddle their goofy WinMo platforms, which has basically become an extension of XP/Vista and not it's own unique platform.
They can kinda write their own blank check on this to create a new platform with a Zune Phone, but with the iPhone, Android, Palm, and Blackberry covering the smartphone market ALONG with WinMo phones, I don't think there's room on the market for MS to make a real dent into the marketplace.
It's too late to market for me to care, personally. Add in the fact that there's no way a casual phone like a ZunePhone will be able to make marketshare inroads with the business community, it's going to end up a niche product like the NGAGE did.
The Pre is the new touchscreen Palm phone that is coming out. It's all the rage.
However, once you get the music onto the device, the Zune is leaps and bounds better than the iPod. Navigating is easier, the menus are better thought out, features like shuffle and repeat are much easier to access (on the iPod you have to back all the way out to the main menu), the device just looks nicer and doesn't have a retarded metal fingerprint magnet for a back, bigger screen, etc.
So if they want to do a Zune Phone, go right ahead. I'm sure the device will be cool but the software will be so atrocious that I still won't get one. Which is a shame because I loved my old Zune. My iPod... eh.
This would steal Sony's PSP Go! thunder, and perhaps worry Nintendo and Apple too. Zune is already hard drive base too. If we could transfer Live Arcade/XNA games onto it, it would look just as attractive to devs as iPhone. Hopefully, its open source too.
Zune has never been launched in Europe either, but if it was a new hand held, with DLC games, better hardware etc, I'd certainly buy one, after getting and enjoying my 360, and a lot of U.K/EU would too.
As CatalinZima points out, there is a developer fee you have to pay.
Also, Apple has to approve your app before it can be posted. They've denied legitimate apps for no reason.
On WinMo, Palm, and (I think) Android, anyone can create their own apps and host on their own website.
To be honest, an iphone without jailbreaking sucks, hard.
(if you own one and haven't jailbroken it, you're missing out)
I am a wee bit frustrated that I just bought a new Zune 120gig a matter of weeks ago. Hopefully whatever xbox functionality there may be will come to the older models like they did with the Zune 30s. I'm not too concerned about the phone part, I already got my G1 ;)
These pics from that German site look fairly legit. Christ, this thing looks big and hideous. Going by pics of the specs for the thing from the same site though, the features are fucking awesome. This thing seems to be a powerhouse that could compete with the PSP, DS and Iphone all at once if not for the damn thing being so hideous. Still, I think I see Braid being played in that bottom screen shot. Looks like I'll be torn by the awesomeness of the feature and the sheer hideousness of the design -_-
i have jailborken my iphone 3 times and go sick of troubleshooting it constantly im perfectly fine using my 3g with apple approved firmware with appstore content sure there are things that you cannot do but the key factor is the phone works! When ever and where ever i need it to work
Submitting apps to the iTunes store is akin to submitting Xbox 360 community games. In both cases, you pay a $99 fee for the development tools and then have to pass a screening process before your game/app seems the light of day. I don't think it would be a stretch for MS to extend the XNA community development stuff to the new Zune, which would be a welcome development. Overall, the Zune is a pretty slick piece of hardware--I would prefer it to just about any iPod, save the iPod touch, as a portable media player. However, the iPod touch's enhanced utility from the apps store just blows the current generation Zunes out of the water.
I currently use an iPod touch and a regular Verizon cellphone because I refuse to switch to AT&T. If I can use the Zune phone on my Mac (can't do this with the current Zunes) and it's available on Verizon, I'd certainly pick one up.
That's a lot of what if's but why write it off without even seeing it? If it;s crap it's crap. If it's not crap then you'll looks silly.
Really? The software was your issue? I find the Zune software to be far superior to iTunes, literally light-years ahead. I have absolutely no problems with it, and people are always interested in what sweet looking program I'm running.
Also, I love my Zune.
Sprint's expensive, but their shit works like a charm man.