It’s no secret that Microsoft is consolidating several of its brands into the uber-successful Xbox brand. Just last week we reported that the Games for Windows website is moving to Xbox.com. In the last few days, Microsoft phased out Zune original sales on their site. And of course, it’s long been rumored that the Zune brand will split up into several tiny robot lion brands.
That rumor gains more credence thanks to some recently-released screenshots of the upcoming fall Xbox 360 dashboard update. Not only does it look super slick and Windows 8-ey, but it’s also lacking the Zune logo in its music and videos sections. Zune, we’ll always have Paris.
The big question though: How will this matter to Windows Phone, going forward?
Update: Looks like Thurrott may have been a a little quick on the gun. Zune is still listed as an App in the new Xbox hub, as seen above. It's just not named for Music/Music, which may be the area in which you access local media, whereas Zune is for streaming, etc. Read more at They Lyons Den.
Source: Supersite for Windows, Live Side
Comments
Maybe it'll be undecovered with the name Music+Videos and with a logo of the Zune on top of it ;)
as a graphic designer, i love the zune logo.hope it stays.
I see zune... same as windows phone. stupid rumor.
http://www.winsupersite.com/blog/supersite-blog-39/news2/look-familiar-w...5th picture down... Zune.That took me all of 25 seconds to find. Next time do even the slightest bit of research first.
With any blog-based news site, mistakes are bound to slip through. We get in too much of a hurry sometimes. It's kind of like how you forgot to utilize manners when making your comment.
Sorry, but manners has nothing to do with it. It literally took me 25 seconds to find that picture on Paul's own site. Even in a blog you should take time to actually check for yourself rather than "hurry" and simply repost, especially when the correct data can be found in less than 30 seconds. Mistake may very well happen, but it's up to you to do everything you can to reduce them.... which includes checking for yourself. Any idiot can see someone else's post and repost it with a link, I would hope no one would want to aspire to be this type of person/blog and instead strive for more.
While I respect that news sites strive to get the content out as soon as possible, it is also important to take the time to verify your sources/story before publishing it. It's what separates the good sites that post worthwhile data from those that just push out any rumor that they heard or even made up.You made a mistake. It's fine. We all do. But be the bigger man and own the mistake and move on. Belittling someone who points it out doesn't make this a better site.
Hey, point out every mistake we ever make. We don't mind - it makes us happy since of course we strive for accuracy. With that said, you catch a lot more flies with honey than vinegar. It's wise to utilize tact when posting here or anywhere, else nobody will want to talk to you.
Too bad. I actually like everything that the Zune brand has encompassed.
Who cares? As long as the service remains the same (and improves) - I don't care about the logo and the name. They may call it Windows Live XBox Music Marketplace Store for all I know :-)P.S. About spam in comments - have you considered Akismet for protection?
They said they would be emphasizing "Music + Video" more but they never said anything about the Zune name disappearing. Most people who don't know better would see the zune name and not understand it, but when they click "music" and see the name and logo once they're inside the app it makes more sense. That's not something exclusive to Zune either. On WP7 it's technically called the Games hub, not the Xbox hub.
It's in the in the apps tab:http://tromboneforhire.com/2011/06/09/call-the-national-guard-where-is-z...
Spotify ? :)
Paul Thurrott proven to be an idiot once again. News at 11!My god I could have told you that Zune was in the new dashboard update a month ago at E3. I immediately poured over the screens and videos of the new dashboard to make sure it was there. Every indication that has come from MS recently is that the Zune Market is as strong as ever and not going away. Zune features prominently into the Mango update in everything from SmartDJ to the lock screen to custom ringtone creation. We even got news yesterday that the Zune Pass service is expanding to more countries and the Zune desktop software will be updated to support more foreign languages. How much more does MS need to do to put an end to these rumors?
Can people please quit linking to and discussing rumors brought up by Paul Thurrott?I have no idea why Microsoft continues to entertain him when he is the worst "pro Microsoft" blogger out there. Everything that he says in terms of Microsoft things are backhanded compliments, or downright insults.Microsoft should not be given a pass for anything, nor should Apple or Google, but he is regularly the source complete falsehoods and he seems to think that he is a gift to the community in general. If you've ever watched a live blog unveiling on Neowin that he participates in, then you'll know exactly what I am referring too. He just sits there and nitpicks and downplays every single thing.Here is part of his conclusion on his preview of Mango:"And while Mango doesn't address some of the shortcomings from v1, it adds so many useful new features, and fixes so many of the early complaints, that I'm finding it hard to criticize this release with any enthusiasm ... But Mango looks great so far, and I've really only scratched the surface here."Really? I've seen preview after preview of Mango and the only concern from "v1" that I still have is, "will Bluetooth work with my car" (Samsung Focus currently does not, which is the only reason I returned it--I love WP7). Everything else looks downright awesome. I can't wait for the split mailboxes (rather than unified) in different live tiles with groups of people, voice to text (and vice versa), and a Nokia camera. I am downright excited about Mango. His concerns stem from autouploading that compresses photo backups and the dream of hub extensibility, which is coming further in Mango.HE is the source of Zune being killed off. He keeps perpetuating the rumor at every turn to keep himself relevant and in the news. And to be honest, maybe Microsoft will kill Zune (even though it has repeatedly stated otherwise), but who cares? The service will obviously still be there, in some form, but maybe a different name.