why is it that the hdd based model has a longer battery run? usually is the other way(bigger battery?)

otherwise these numbers are impressive

good job

The battery life specs are in on the new Zunes, and they match up pretty well to the latest iPods. The Zune 80 will get 30 hours on audio and 4 hours on video, and the 4 and 8GB flash...

IIRC the Zune 30 was quoted as up to 14 hours on Audio...and now you have managed to double the battery life for the Zune 80 (on top of the new hardware specs).  

I'm very impressed...Great jorb!

Can't wait to upgrade

Great news about the battery life! That is quite an improvement over the old 30.  

I thought with the super sized screen on the 80 compared to the iPod Classic the times would be much lower...

yes...baby...yes...iTouch owned...big time...baby!!!

ZUNE FTW!

Sweet. Nicely done team!

Quick question (:P), will we be getting the new firmware/software before the Nov 13th release date?

Wow, that's awsome battery life! Funny, the rumored release date of the Zune 2 is tomorrow, but it's now the 8th of Novemeber? I forget, the Zune.net website has the release date, or atleast the accesories have the 8th i think.

The battery life specs are in on the new Zunes , and they match up pretty well to the latest iPods. The

That is amazing news! Looks like I'll be selling my 30 to get an 80!

How about a custom EQ? This would be the most important feature to me.

30 hours on audio?! Wow!

Curiously, would it be possible to benchmark with wireless ON as well? I want to know what sort of battery life I'll get when I'll be part of the social. :-)

Will this new Zune 80 fit in the Zune 30 docks that are out now?  I also have a Belkin Tunebase FM Transmitter - wonder how it will work/fit with products like that?

Wow! Well, I'm sold, can't wait to import one.

Incidentally, will you provide a way to "deauthorise" old Zunes for when people buy new ones? I currently have a Zune 30 and want to get an 80 and an 8, so I need to revoke the licenses in some way from the old Zune, so I can use the two new ones as the two devices I'm allowed to sync to.

Cesar,

Any word on whether or not the firmware upgrade will affect battery life on the Zune 30?

Thanks for the news, another great reason to but the Zune 80! Can you guys do some tests using mp3s @ 128kbps, since mp3 is more of a standard format? do wmas use up more or less battery than mp3s?

What is the battery life with the wireless turned on?

Seems to me that if the social is truely going to work effectively...then the wireless would need to be on all the time so that your friends can find you without having to come tap you on the shoulder and ask you to turn on your wireless...

"Incidentally, will you provide a way to "deauthorise" old Zunes for when people buy new ones? I currently have a Zune 30 and want to get an 80 and an 8, so I need to revoke the licenses in some way from the old Zune, so I can use the two new ones as the two devices I'm allowed to sync to."

Good question. We're a 2 Zune household, how would new Zunes fit in?

I dont know why you need battery life with WiFi on...since the Zune 30 reduces battery life by 1 hour with WiFi on.

Zune Team....EXCELLENT JOB!

btw, fix the Zune4/8 with a bigger screen. Thanks.

thats pretty impressive. I'm definately getting me both andd 80 AND a 4.

Great Job! I can't wait to see the new Zunes in action.

What's the word on showcasing the new Zunes in NYC?

Also, my Best Buy hasen't received their Zune showcase yet. Anyword on when they'll get them? There Located in Grand Rapids and they said it was shipped about two weeks ago.

now I want one even more, I need to start saving. :)

Will the newer Zune 30s get upgraded battery life? I wanna get a Zune 30 cuz i don't like the Zune 80 desgin...

Does anyone know how I can convert my iTunes music to my ZMP? Thanks!

Hey... any talk of adding audible.com support to the new zunes?  this has been the only thing holding me back from getting a zune instead of an ipod... thanks!

stephen

These new Zunes look great, great job!  

I have one question thought what is the back of the 80 like?

Chadre: You know the Zune30 is only getting the new firmware and not new hardware right? ;)

If only, the differences will be minimal with the new software. Don't expect magic to happen. You're going to get anywhere between 12-14 hours with the Zune30, which is still decent. Well, its decent in my eyes since I only take mine to school and back and charge each night.

lots of questions to be answered before i invest anymore. i have already been disappointed one time by zune. when shall the new firmware be out and how would i upgrade?

i shall not be burned again by MS so if you answer these with what i want to hear than i will give ms one more shot.

Filed under: Portable Audio , Portable Video Cesar on the Zune team says his crew's wrapped up its

Yup, it will be a Zune 80 for sure now. I'm with Chadre, in that I like the look of the Zune 30 a bit more than the 80, but between the bigger screen, better video-out, and better battery life, it's Zune 80 all the way!

The battery life specs are in on the new Zunes , and they match up pretty well to the latest iPods. The

I would also like to know, what is behind the longer battery life of the Zune 80, vs the Zune 30. Is it a difference in software? Hardware? Combination of both? What exactly has changed?

With the new firmware. with the Zune 30 also receive improved battery life?

A recent post on zuneinsider.com (Microsoft's official Zune blog), reveals that the battery life tests for the newest generation of Zune media players fall short of what was expected. Despite what was previously posted on Amazon.com, a new run...

This rock's,I LOVE ZUNE'S, THEY WILL KILL I-POD

I know this doesn't have to do with battery life, but please provide an answer to the following question:

Why aren't you releasing different colors for the new Zune 80 (other than black)?

Also:

Why are you doing away with the brown color altogether (that was one of the things that set you guys apart from the iPods)?

And, if you are silent, I will assume that it is all part of some retarded marketing stunt.

Good news, but those numbers aren't what i'm so interested in. Being a big track skipper and "browse while I play" type person, i'm more interested in how low the battery life gets with a reasonable amount of interactive use. This is where the iPod has always been amazing - playing with the interface doesn't drain the battery too much so I can fiddle without worrying about killing the battery. The Zune (30) has been much worse at this. I know it's the price you pay for a complex interface and a big ass screen.

@Josh

Zune 80 will be black after that who knows.

Zune 30 is available in Brown.

@randall Nov. 13

@ randall: The firmware is going to be updated when they release the new Zunes (at least, that is the assumption for now). And to update all you will prbably have to do is sync your Zune and wait a bit.

@ Josh: I hope they announce a brown Zune 4/8/80 as well. At the moment, they've said that green is the new brown, so that's why there is a green flash Zune. Don't worry though, if the last generation is any indication, there will be plenty of colours available in the future.

@ Amblin: The hardware is a year newer, so the batteries should be more advanced. Plus, it was developed in-house this time, so they have more control over that kind of stuff. I wouldn't expect much (if any) improvment in battery life for the Zune 30. Interestingly enough, video playback is the same for both. How does that work? Maybe the firmware will have an effect....Any comment, Cesar? I'm trying to help out :)

Man, check out Amazon. Brown Zune for $139.99 w/free shipping. So tempting...

http://www.amazon.com/Zune-Digital-Media-Player-Brown/dp/B000H0QDCC/ref=pd_ts_e_1/104-2307225-6462317?ie=UTF8&s=electronics

Guys, I want to hook up my Zune to my car stereo. What do I need to buy? please link me.

any chance you guys can test with wireless on? Since that is the MAIN/ONLY differenciator from the rest of the field?

I would be intersted to see what the "official" drain of wireless is..

@dario E3

dude, burn those songs into a CDR and let the Zune software rip it back into mp3 or wma. done.

What about when you are trading wirelessly? I had a full charge and after trading a few songs, both of our Zunes were dead... Our Zunes HD were making really loud winding noises as well.

same as ipod 80 =D

I put this on Digg:

http://digg.com/gadgets/Gen_2_Zune_Battery_Life_Kicks_Ass

Microsoft's Cesar Menendez publishes battery life info for the Zune 2 devices on the Zune Insider

So what about plawing WMA Lossless?

How was this test conducted?

If it was like with the first gen, only able to get the full 14 hours with wireless off and having to play a single album over and over with no interaction with the player...

Then these numbers are of no use.

Impressive, yes.

Applicable to real-life situations, No.

I'm sorry, but if the true battery life is going to fall short once again, as did with the first gen, then I can only say that you guys need to test the device more towards real-life usage than in a controlled lab.

People are going to switch songs, view pics, watch a couple vids here and there, and possibly use wifi.

If the current posted battery life does not reflect this: the interaction of the player during use, then the numbers will fall short of the user expectation when the 2nd gen is released.

Because you know, that once it is released, there are those that will test it in many fields. I'd hate to see the zune get burned by the online community, again, for having lower than expected battery life.

The new design had me sold by itself, and not i see 30 hrs out audio time...Im Sold even more. Then the custom  lazer printed skins?! IM SOLD.

I dunno if its just me, but since i updated my zune, the battery life has been much better

Is it true that if you run a lithium-ion battery(The batteries used in the Zune) completely dead that it will lose a bit of its potential charge? Thats what was said @ Zuneinfo.com. I was just wondering because some sites say to run the battery completely dead before charge, but I know that that was the case in older style batteries because of there memory, which i don't believe LI batteries have. If someone knows for sure e-mail me at Doseme420@yahoo.com. Thank You.

Hey Cesar, or anyone out there, my 80 GB Zune has good battery life and I've had it since December. But every time I turn on wireless, and begin to trade music with someone it dies. As soon as I trade about 20% of a song or so, it dies, even when I had just finished fully charging it, it died. How do you explain that? and what should I do?