(Heads up; this is a long post I highlighted some things to make it a little bit easier to read)
Since we started the Zune project, and I started this blog, I’ve been talking about community, about bringing a social aspect to music and entertainment. Zune is the next step in connected entertainment. With Xbox Live, we created a world of connected gamers. With Zune, we’re creating a world of connected music fans. Zune is the next step in the space we're calling "connected entertainment." What's connected entertainment? Take MySpace, YouTube, Xbox Live, and every cool record store on the planet. Then add 1000 of your closest friends, and make it all accessible though a little device in your pocket. That’s what we’re doing with Zune.
Brian said it last week “When we get specific on features and things that we're doing, you'll see a lot of emphasis on community, on a shared type of experience.” Well, dear blog readers, it's time to get specific on the features and the stuff we're doing:
First off. Yes, Zune is a 30 GB Player. You can store up to 7,500 songs, 25,000 pictures, or 100 hours of video. Make playlists on the go and watch a slideshow while you’re listening. But Zune's about being connected - about turning 1000 songs into 1000 recommendations or 1000 different experiences with 10,000 different friends.
And that's where Wireless comes in. You can share full length sample tracks - your favorite song, your own recordings, playlists, or pictures with friends wirelessly - device to device. Once someone sends you the song, then you can listen to it up to three times in three days. If you like a song you hear and want to buy it, you can flag it right on your device to easily find it later. Actually, our very own CrescentDave put it pretty well in a comment on my last post:
It's "Let me share/discover this music that really excites me" . . .The music junkie as entertainer
And lots of folks have asked me about Zune's service - it's called Zune Marketplace. People ask: Is it download or subscription? It's both. Choose to buy a track individually or buy a monthly Zune Pass for a single flat fee for the freedom to download as many songs as you want.
Zune also has a built-in FM Tuner. Advanced tuning capabilities allow you to see the name of the song currently playing on select frequencies local FM radio stations or tune into programming while you’re at your local health club.
Ok, in the interest of not writing a novel, I’m going to direct you to both the press release and the fact sheet. Also, a new video is at Comingzune.com (some of you noticed that already)
As for the future: Hardware is important in the future, it’s absolutely the amplifier for all of digital experiences. But software is what’s going to make the digital entertainment age run. And software is a place where Microsoft has a good track record. We demonstrated that with Xbox. We’re going to demonstrate it over time with Zune.
For those skeptical about me, this post (with good reason, I work in marketing and I have a huge bias ;), it's all good. I invited some of my favorite MP3/Music blogs to a special preview event at the MS campus last week. You can check their Zune impressions.
Stereogum
Coolfer.com
My Old Kentucky Blog
Scenestars
Tiny Mix Tapes
Music For Robots
3Hive
(their stories should go up throughout the day)
Got questions? See something missing? Drop a comment.
(edit 9:14: fixed the links, and added our friends from 3Hive. Sorry folks!)