congrats!

So are we done with the announcements? No chance of Microsoft striking a deal with Audible in the near future?

Congrats to everyone!! Great job!!

Congrats man!!!

Very nicely done guys.  Loving the new stuff.

But can we please have a few of our features back?  Please?

Congrats I am really proud of you guys! Enjoy breakfast and THEN GET BACK TO WORK! Just kidding, great work Wish I could Have been there

It's too bad I can't find an 80 GB anywhere in Omaha...

More parties...geezzzzzzzzz

j/k

Congratulations...but back to work. ASAP.

Cesar, the pictures on this blog post aren't showing up for me.

-Jamie

Great work guys! eat and be merry.

I hope the issues will get fixes in the coming weeks.

Congrats!! Zune team.

The new Zune is Awesome. U've earned every bit of it! Njoy!! have fun.

Congratulations! It took me an hour to find a zune 80 here in San Luis Obispo, but I found one! Tried out the wireless sync, kinda slow but awesome none the less. Also, I guess I accidentally plugged it into a usb port that didn't have enough power and the sync drained the battery completely but that's more my fault. Anyway, I'm loving my new zune and look forward to future updates! Good job, Microsoft, keep up the good work

Felicidades! I'm enjoying my red Zune 8. Beautiful interface, great podcast features, this is the begining of the end of manzana's monopoly (apple's monopoly) and Sansa dudes, star shaving your heads.

Congratulatins on a great product! I work for target, and since the store opened this morning, we have been getting constant phone calls for Zune and we have already sold out of the pink version!

This Zune will be a huge hit!

Where might I find a Zune 80 in the Seattle area?

Ok guys and gals

Love the new software, love the new firmware works great and seems a good bit faster and cleaner. and the simplified software is perfect and i can already see how it will grow. But theres a few things i think need to be reviewed in 2.3

Ok so here are my small tidbits on what i think we still need

- XBL Video Marketplace content in Zune and Zune Marketplace music on 360

- This is a biggie since the new wireless syncing has seen me excited over some possibilities, and heres a big one, 360 streaming! I have podcasts and stuff on my zune now and videos and music, im at a friends house with his 360 plugged into a wireless router... so why can't i connect to the wireless and stream from my zune to his 360! THAT WOULD BE SPECTACULAR! I could only imagine syncing a tv episode to my zune and while i'm at my buddys house flip on my wifi and start a video stream, especially since i don't carry my sync cable with me everywhere i go.

- Gapless playback

- And something that's never been done before on a DAP as far as im aware and i know its a longshot... song splicing via BPM, during sync a BPM could be saved to the ID3 for each song, and then a small mixer could splice the songs into auto-mixes. This would be a huge selling point and from what i've heard of the hardware in the zune i don't see why the z30 and z80 couldn't pull it off, basically a spliced together constant jam of music spliced together by bpm. Their has been desktop to do it in the past automatically, but i'd love to see a simplified version on my zune, with randomizeable mixes, huge request thats probably impossible but would definitly be amazing for a music player.

Beyond those 4 requests that i think would be wicked to round up the video/audio on the Zune the new release is wicked.

oh and also the new units look wicked i love the zunepad! it's like having touch screen without the need for fingerprinting your screen :) and with the love of the tactile world as well!

Hey, youze guys done good!  Enjoy your party.

Congrats!!! Buuuutt time to stop partying and time to start giving us what you took away.

Dynamic Search

Autoplaylists

ID3 Tag Editor

5 Star Rating System

EQ

In that exact order too.

grats! it's not perfect but it is "great"

actually I have a question, why is the word "Zune" not allowed in my status? I wanted to say "Lovin' my new Zune 80" but it won't let me!

Can you comment on whether or not the Zune 80GB is available today? I've gone to 2 different Best Buy stores, a Circuit City, and a Target, and all have informed me they are not yet available???? Also, checking online on Amazon.com, it states "Available December 14th, order now"  What's that about? I was under the impression that the 80GB was available today? I want one now!!!!

Thanks!!!

Nice work.  The hardware/software combination is beautiful.  I'm going to miss some of the features, but if you were to (quickly) add some of those back in to the new interface, you're looking at an out-of-the-park home run. The black zunes are beautiful pieces.  The software is beyond intuitive.

Tom

I am reading a lot of posts about people complaining about how the software messed up their libraries.  Is anyone looking at this?

The zune forums are filled with enraged people.

I rushed home from school, got on my computer and started checking websites to see if anyone had any Zune 80s.  NOBODY has any left.  I have been dying all day, waiting for school to get out, and now they are all gone?

who are these dudes on the Custom Soda, Ceasar ? :-)

@Spencer

Chances are they were never there to begin with...

Congrats...

Congratss Cezar! the Zune team has done a great job! Now that I am in the UK. Still, when will you be launching Zune in Europe?

congrats! can't wait to get my 80, hopefully new colors before christmas eh?  Love the zune originals, super cool idea, I can't wait to get mine.

Congratulations Zune team! Thanks for everything. I have everything updated and working wonderfully. Add my ZuneCard: Z3A

Love the updates - great job!  

Hey by the way for some reason I can't get on zune originals any more. It says I need flash but then I installed it and it still wont work! I've tried several times now and it won't let me on. Maybe I'll try booting up in linux and seeing if it works on that... which would be the most ironic thing in the world... ever

Congrats....It wouldn't be a party without the Jones soda!

You know what is awesome?

Plugging your recently wiped Zune 30 into your car power (where it is used 95% of the time) and walking back into your house to find it syncing all 3000 tracks.

That, my friends, is awesome.

No zune 80s in the entire Seattle area. :(  And i just sent my 30 to a friend this morning too!  Saddest day ever.

I've been hearing nothing but good things about the new Zunes. You all deserve a celebration. Congrats!

Many, many people are reporting failures with zune drivers to install.

This problem started about 2 weeks ago.

I have uninstalled and reinstalled zune and also hoped the new firmware update would correct problems.

But to no avail.

I was an early adopted of zune and this is making quickly lose all of my enthusiasm for it.

Have posted this questions to other zune boards and notice othe rpeople reporitng exact same problem.

zune driver failed to load error 10

Congrats and thanks Zune team!

Must be a great party.  I guess all the truck drivers and FedEx people were there too, since no stores in my area have the 80GB model and have no idea when they are getting them.

I think I read most/all of the press today and I must say my fav is:

"Simply put, Apple is no longer the leader in the realm of hard drive-based players," says PC Magazine reviewer Tim Gideon.

Awesome guys!

Just wish I didn't cancel my Zune 80 pre-order from Amazon thinking I would be able to buy one from zuneoriginals today...

What is with the shortage on the 80s?  I have talked with others in different parts of the country, and nobody has them.  What's going on Cesar?

Good job guys. You've done good. I'm lovin' my Zune, this thing rocks.

It looks like a lovely new device and I'm sure it will sell well and gain many new customers.

But on the other side, the loss of features in the software is dreadful.  So for many many people who've been using "MP3" players for any significant period of time, this is a big step backwards.

The bugs will be fixed, but will we get our features back?

Congratulations everyone.  We are all excited about the roll-out of the new Zune warming our palms and hearts.  Talking about hearts...  What the hell is that (the new rating system)?  The smart list removed? And wireless sync does not recognize a wireless network that is not broadcast.

But over all great work we all love it, number one on Amazon sales list, lets just stop taking steps backwards with the technology/features.  Listen to your customers when they beg an plead for features it will only add to your success.

About the Z80; if you really want to gripe about this; contact the buyers for Best Buy, Target, Wal-Mart and whoever else.  Call them up and complain to them for not either a)distributing to your market or b) for not ordering enough to supply the store in your market.

Ultimately its not MS fault.

Cesar the product is great as I said in my review but nobody can find the 80 anywhere in any store except a few circuit cities.  Hopefully you can remedy this before black Friday.  

@Chris

Or maybe the production problems we were warned about last summer effected the ramp timing and there isn't enough product. That would be MS's problem. Though not necesarilly their fault. Stuff occurs. They want to sell Zunes.

@Chris

Then who is responsible for zuneoriginals.net having no 80s in stock?  Cant blame that on anyone else.

Zune software...its beautiful and great improvement.  There are still many things I want but I'll post those on the forums.

@Chris

I don't think it's a problem with the stores not ordering enough. I ordered one from Amazon soon after they were announced, and Amazon can't even fulfill preorders. I don't know of anyone on the boards over there who got one. My estimated ship date is now Dec. 12th-26th which frankly is RIDICULOUS for a preorder.

Hopefully someone will be able to find an answer about the 80's.  I live in ohio and you can't find them anywhere.  Most of the 4 and 8's are sold out around here too.  

Haven't seen a zune 80 yet in the stores here in Seattle - anyone else?  Probably just as well; I want a zune original.  Fry's probably had a few; they used to have an end-cap for the Zune, but moved it around the corner for some iPod accessories.  They need an end-cap at Fry's - pass that along to the retail team.

Tom

Thanks Cesar, please keep us posted I just visited 5 different large retailers at lunch here in the Dallas area and no one had them in stock.  They all said they never recieved shippments.

Please comment on the apparent lack of 80s soon Cesar, i'm getting really dissapointed. I was so excited for this launch.

Cesar:  Is the lack of behind-a-proxy support a known problem?  'Will there be a fix on this?

Seems lots of us can't login.  

Thanks..

Can someone please add support for asian fonts? It is probably the easiest thing you guys could possibly do. Just drag a couple of fonts into the new firmware. Many people listen to music from other countries as well. I don't know why this is so difficult! =( I know it works, because there was a firmware hack that let you do this, but that no longer works for the new firmware. This honestly would make the decision to buy the device much easier for many people and the solution is so simple.

Cesar,

Can't wait for your post about Z80s turning up somewhere. I'm in the 4th biggest city in the US and can't find one ANYWHERE.

-Jamie

Yeah, man MS really botched this launch.  At least the 360 launch had SOME units delivered.  All retailers I've spoke to here in Chicago are saying they never even received the Zune 80's.  Circuit City had about 2-3 per store, but no else (Target/Best Buy/Sears) even received them.

so whats the deal here? ive been to santa fe and albuquerque to target, best buy, and walmart, NO 80's!!! what kind of launch day was this?!?

I've used my family adn friends in NC and Chicago....in NC the manager said that no BestBuy company wide received the 80's and are on backorder online....

By "more of a demand than we thought" do you mean more than the three units that were sent to the gulf coast?  It seems there were many people who were excited to get this product and go away from the ipod, and the longer we wait the more bad reviews we read.  I may have to go get an ipod soon.  Not what I wanted to do.

I know the Walmart I went to last night had a total of one shipped to them and I snagged just as the guy was going to put it in the display case.  

whats up with the no zune 80 on zune originals?

So Cesar, does that mean there was not a production issue?

Also, does this mean that we will see more Zune 80's in stores by next week or more like next month?

I Need Help with the new software It Screwed up My Music Library

I love the new firm- and software. Feels like my Z30 is reborn. Next time in the US i will get a new one, but thanks you all for also supporting the early fans !!!

enjoy!

Hendrik

Just updated the firmware. I love it all, and it's a bit step forward. But I do have a couple questions... (naturally :))

1. What's going on with Zune Arts? I miss it. :(

2. Is it possible to have podcasts sync automatically/wirelessly? How does that work?

3. I know others have mentioned this, and you probably hate hearing it, but is there *any* chance of Xbox Live Marketplace / Zune Marketplace crossover??? Because that would be fantastic. Presumably there are licensing issues or whatever, but really, that'd be great. Just adding my 2 cents. :)

wow...first full day with the device commuting to work.  The zune pad still needs work...lol.  It's doing a center click everytime I try to go to the last song or change the volume in my car...what in the world?

Well to bad I've called all over the place and no one has them.  I doubt they were that popular so I think your not being completely honest with us Cesar

New Software is a GREAT improvement but there are drawbacks in which i like the old software. Love the now playing screen. Its AMAZING. i cant get the wireless sync to work. but oh well i guess. I do wish that there was metadata editing in this version. why would it be taken out? I used this extensivly to fix little problems with my library that irked me. After fixing my library after the update screwed it up i also noticed my videos had thumbnails that were correct but incorrect titles. An easy fix for me though. I actually feel like the fast scroll (holding down or up) on the new firmware is slower than 1.4 because i use it while im driving alot. well im probably going to buy an zune 80 when they are in supply and i have the cash just because i like the look a little better and want to try the touchpad. well just giving my opinion and two cents. bottom line = GREAT UPDATE but there are some drawbacks which suck. im sure they will all be ironed out soon though. after this update you guys have restored my faith. well most of it. :)

Also Cesar i hate to keep bugging you about this but i need a new alarm clock and i would like a zune one. could you find out about the memorex or ihome one for me. the memorex one was supposed to be out in july and they never updated their website and ihome hasnt updated their website but i read a post or two about people seeing an ihome zune dock. i just would really like to buy one especially if i can get the wireless sync working on my zune. it would make my zune complete. well except for me buying  a z80 that is.

Some launch, no store around my area has any. and today when i checked my local fye they had gotten a black 4 gig in. Only 1. wtf.

Software update screwed up my library to.

And now it won't recognize new content and doesn't sync properly (have the older zune).

too bad the launch never left the building.  lame that we can't buy something we're so excited for.  should i have opted for the ipod classic?  maybe so.

Whoever is having issues with their library, check out the forums on zune.net.

http://forums.zune.net/1/11142/ShowPost.aspx#11142

There is an easy fix posted.

ya. i ordered my 80G zune on oct. 20th from best buy and its backordered. i dont get it. when i checked the stores in my area all say out of stock. thats impossible. so much for a launch.

Cesar,

It's not hard to sell out of them when each store had 0-2 units.  I really want to buy the zune 80, but I have a coupon for $40 off of any purchase over $199.  This expires 11/30/07.  I'll have to buy the Ipod if I can't get the zune before then.  I suspect that I'm not alone, since the coupon is available online.  I think you guys really dropped the ball on this one.

Yeah MSFT screwed up on this one, no 80's anywhere in Dallas.  What really upsets me is that MSFT isn't even owning up to it and they aren't letting anyone know the status or what is going on.  Just makes us loyal zune folks angry.

@ JD

It might turn out better not being able to get them right away. The update is currently messing up peoples libraries pretty bad. I have logged about 6 hours trying to fix mine and it's still a giant mess. I'm about ready to just start re-ripping all my CD's again from scratch. I can't even connect my device until I get the library issues fixed. Just pretend it doesnt come out for a few months and see if they have a solution by then.

@ rhett

we may be better off in the end, but the bottom line is that the amount of people who are anxiously awaiting this is a small group when compared to the entire population.  why a major company would want to disappoint the people who they NEED to spread the word of mouth praise about their product can't even get one - and the bad taste this leaves in our mouths will not only lead to a change in our purchase plans, but also our chances of recommending it to friends/family/peers.  i'm the geek guy among friends/family/peers and everyone i know comes to me to ask about product choices.  i'm the guy who has to explain why the popular products they know about are maybe not the best to buy.  now with christmas time, i can't tell people to buy zunes when i know that they won't be able to find them.  hell, i probably won't even have one.  and i'd probably forgive and forget if microsoft would just address the issue.  tell me what is happening.  tell me a date i will be able to get them.  apologize.  earn my money instead of just expecting me to hunt down your product.

Rhett, have you tried the fix on the Zune forums?

http://forums.zune.net/1/11142/ShowPost.aspx#11142

The problem is only occuring for some people who had a Zune30 and the old software. Anyone who is starting fresh with a new Zune4/8/80 and no previous software is not having any issues.

I would suggest uninstalling the Zune 1.X software before installing the new Zune software.

I checked with all the Best Buys in my area(NM), joplin MO, and some in DFW and they all say the same thing.

NO 80's to be shipped to the stores period. they will be avalible online only and are backordered for now.

so i guess this means, Ceaser, that you are just perpuosly not telling us something. its imposible for the stores to have this "sold out due to overwhelming responce" statement when you never ment to ship to some of the major stores or at best ship 1 or 2 units. what is the reasoning behind this?

you got to know that if your just freaking honest with the zune community we can just sit on our hands and lump it till then.

give us a little credit for not being idiots here.

@ Matt (and Chariot)

I agree but I am also tired of shouting at the rain.

Yes I did manage to eventually get the library fixed but these problems shouldn't be happenning AT ALL. People say "You have to expect this stuff". I say that's BS. We expect them to test it and ship it working or push back ship dates until it works. This issue seemed to effect everyone with last years model and not just a few cases. Everyone I personally know who owns one had this problem to some degree and the help forums are swamped with the issue. The MS line of this being a few isolated cases is just nonsense.

I am also of the opinion that the people working on this project are NOT music fans or we would not see things like the complete removal of important features like sorting and playing by genre or advanced tag editing.

There are some improvements but all the feature removals and bugs really cast a dark shadow on the good stuff.

Gapless?!

Cesar- A little bit of an odd question.

The pic on the Jones Soda is a bit small.

What was so customized about it?  Just the flavor or like some other MS sodas (I have a collection going of campus only sodas) was there special customization to the bottle as well?

I know it sounds silly, but I'm wanting to know so I can keep my eye out for it since I collect them *blushes*

Yesterday was an exciting day for the Zune Team. Their new Zune devices - the Zune 4, Zune 8, and Zune

6 weeks after I firsted posted device driver wont load and still no fixes

saving my money and getting new ipod

so so so beyond disgusted to have been an early adopter and be screwed over.