zune

This guide is aimed at those who already have a previous generation Windows Phone handset but can also be worthwhile for those of you who are new to the platform.

We’re going to cover what you need to know in order to ease the transition from old to new so you can get back to top speed and start enjoying your new device.

If you’re a current Zune Pass subscriber, you may want to check your email. Microsoft has just sent out the Xbox Music update details for those who are using Zune Pass and what’s more, they’re throwing in a 1,000 MS Points to celebrate.

Those points (worth $12.50 or an average album) can be used “on any of the music, video, or game content on Xbox LIVE”. (Wait, we’re still calling it Xbox LIVE?)

This morning we woke up to a few app-updates on our Windows Phone but before we were able to process them, we were prompted with a new pop up from Microsoft.

Filed under ‘Setup Account’ the new agreement centers on ‘Personalize my Music’ and simply says "Send us your music playing and rating data to tailor the Zune experience to your interests". Of course there is no mention of Xbox Music, the new service that is replacing Zune Music, but it is clear that Microsoft is starting to roll out some features for consumers.

Now what makes this interesting is as far as we know, Zune always had this feature of rating music and songs you liked, then giving you recommendations under the Zune Desktop client. But from what we remember that would only happen when you manually synced with your desktop—but now it seems as if your recommendations will go over-the-air.

What we still don’t see though is a ‘Recommendations’ section on the phone in the Windows Phone Music Store, which is an odd omission (unless we’re missing it). Currently you have to use the Desktop sync client to get personalized choices, something that we hope comes to our phones directly in the future (we don’t really sync that often with our computer these days).

The Lumia 610 to get a successor?

According to The Verge, Nokia plans to release two more Windows Phone 8 devices, code names "Zeal" and "Flame" in early 2013. The "Zeal" is rumored to be a mid-range offering and will sport a unibody design and will be "Zune-like" in its appearance. We're not exactly sure what that means, but it consider our interest officially piqued. The Zeal will have a 4.3-inch display and will feature a 1.0GHz dual-core processor, 512MB of RAM, 8GB of storage, and a microSD slot.

By now it’s old news that the Zune Desktop as we know it will be phased out—in fact we’ve seen features already removed over the last few months.  What was to replace it though was always a bit of a mystery though there are only so many options available.

Now an image has leaked out of what appears to be the ‘companion app’ for Windows Phone and Windows 8—think of it as Zune Desktop the next generation. There's really not too much to the image though we suppose it is better than nothing.

Back at the end of May, Microsoft surprisingly turned off the Windows Phone Marketplace from Zune Desktop. The “update” wasn’t software based but instead just altered a configuration file on the user’s computer, causing the Marketplace to be hidden.

We ended up using a simple hack (more of that below) to bring ours back but now a user in our forum (“rockstarzzz”) is claiming that they’ve received another feature-change notification…

The human race enjoys shoving plastic and metal into (or around) the ear, but a new patent shows just what Microsoft had in mind to make this more enjoyable for those who listen to music while on the go. Think headphones, think Zune, now think of both of those connected as one, slapped on top of your skull.

As one can see in the above image, the headphones enable the user to connect a Zune music player to the side, while the opposite connector is free for rechargeable battery packs, storage extensions, WiFi adapters, and more. The Zune device looks to be a fairly minute music player, presumably along the dimensions of the Apple iPod Nano.

According to the documentation, the headphones could also house controls to operate peripherals, not to mention an optional microphone and even USB ports. It's an interesting concept that allows the consumer to personalise the headphones to suit the individual needs.

The only downside is this patent was filled back in 2008 and we know that Zune hardware is no longer with us. Who knows, perhaps Microsoft also planned to include voice control - "Beam me up Ballmer!"

Source: Engadget, via: Being Manan

Microsoft is set to unveil a sneaky preview of its upcoming service at this year's E3 that will replace Zune, according to unknown sources familiar with company plans. The new service, code named Woodstock, will add a few more nails to the Zune coffin and continue Microsoft's move from the Zune brand to either the Windows or Xbox umbrella. The sources also revealed that the service replacing Zune will support multiple platforms, including: Windows 8, Xbox, Android, and iOS. No word on what's planned for Windows Phone.

Much like the current music streaming service, Woodstock will feature browser playback. As well as not requiring any browser plugins, it is reported that the plan is to integrate the service into Facebook, enabling friends to build group playlists and share music. Similar matching functionality, much like iTunes Match, is also being tested that will allow users to identify existing music tracks on the service. It is expected to launch later in 2012. Unfortunately, no details surrounding pricing has arisen yet, but we'd expect it to compete with other services available on the market.

Source: The Verge; thanks everyone who tipped us!

With the outlook on Zune (as a service) being fairly bleak, it's somewhat positive to hear rumours of Microsoft engaging with the record labels regarding a potential new music service - or an upgrade to the existing. While the Zune Pass service as a whole is pretty feature rich with download and offline playback functionality, it hasn't been actively adopted as the software giant had hoped, which is largely due to the company not pushing the service out hard enough and market competition.

Windows Phone, Windows and the Xbox console all sport Zune access to a certain extent, but with Windows 8 just around the corner, plans for better multi-platform integration and a more useful (yet user-friendly) service would please many. According to the report over at CNET, HTC and Nokia are in talks with the software giant to partner in the deal. It's not known what the new service would bring to the table, but one would suspect a move towards the likes of Spotify, and possibly place the new music service under the Xbox LIVE branding.

It would be interesting to see an iTunes Match-like feature introduced where subscribers could upload their entire music collection, then stream it over the air to a Live ID associated PC, Xbox and Windows Phone. Microsoft is looking to have the new music service up and running this coming summer. Would you like to see anything altered/introduced? Let us know in the comments.

Source: CNET