This is horribly irresponsible rumor-mongering, but we over heard this tidbit about the Zune over at GDC. Apparently, if the person was correct and our ears didn’t fail us, the next-gen Zune will be available in August. Unfortunately for the first-gen Zune team, the next version will feature gaming, which is supposedly making them feel dejected over working on a product (1st gen) that will be “abandoned”.

Couple that with this quote from the Zune Release manager over at Zuneinsider about Microsoft NOT abandoning the Zune, and you have a potentially juicy rumor. – Jason Chen
more at gizmodo

source : http://www.knowngallery.com/blog/post/tempt-one-zune-player-limited-edition-35-pieces-made-worldwide

If i was back in the UK id no doubt have a zune by now but since im living in new zealand i dont. boo hoo! Ok…. enough wining from me!

Im starting to realise its not as easy to get unreleased products over here…compared to the uk anyways where theres a lot of import websites…not to mention most usa sellers will ship to the uk.

I currently have two options.
* Go with the guy who is selling it via trademe.co.nz in new zealand and is charging $420 NZ dollars
or
* Go with the guy selling it via ebay in the usa (who is actually a little cheaper too)

now the new zealand guy only accepts bank transfers. although the other guy is in the usa, he accepts paypal which means i will have some protection. Both sellers have good ratings on the auction sites so im probably being a little cautious…though at the moment im favouring the usa guy

once i get it ill give my first impressions here and then do a full review. im sure that will help a lot of people who are considering buying the zune.

kevin

as per http://zuneinsider.com/

Yesterday I had a meeting w/ James, the Zune release manager and he spilled the beans on the next firmware update. In Mid March, we’re going to release Zune Firmware Update 1.3. Here’s what’s in the update:

• We’re fixing the skipping problem that some users were experiencing – that is, content acquired from Zune Marketplace will no longer skip when played on the device.

• Improved device and software reliability, when it comes to device detection, and improved sync’ing.

• We’ve made some changes to the FM Tuner so it no longer drains the battery when in sleep mode.

Now, for the inevitable question, “When is the *next* update coming?” or the corollary, “When do I get (insert ‘podcasting’ or another feature here)?” No specifics yet, but again, the dev team is always working on making Zune better. As we get closer to knowing what’s coming out and when, I’ll make sure and post. Also, know that some folks on the Zune team (including the Zune release manager) are reading this blog, and reading your comments. Thanks to everybody who has chimed in with ideas and suggestions (Cesar looks at John W, Tom, T, Swanlee, Rhett, and everyone who commented in yesterday’s post). You rock High five!

The specific date I heard on 1.3 was March 20, but let me double check w/ the team and get back to everybody.

im still bewildered why microsoft isnt releasing zunes with a higher hard drive capacity in the first place….perhaps they will in the future. For now, those with dreams of more storage will have to go find your zune box,

get that warranty and then throw it away. This is something you need to consider when deciding whether to put a 60 or even 80gb hard drive in place of the current 30gb. I havent upgraded a zune as yet though i did upgrade my iriver a few years back (well i did for my brother who i gave the unit to) and it was actually a lot easier than i expected. Those of you who are used to modding your pc will breeze through the steps needed.

The best installation guide i have found so far is at ZuneMods.net. They have a step by step guide with pictures showing you exactly what you need to do. Just follow the link below :

80GB Zune Harddrive Mod

Hi there

I recently purchased zunezag. The site will be changed a little. We will be concentrating more on zune news and articles.

The site had been live since November 2006. During that time the site had collected about 600+ posts from 50+ authors.
I looked through most of these and decided to keep….none! Thats right. Out of 600+ posts i couldnt find one post that
was worth keeping.

Nearly all the posts were taken from rss feeds. No time was taken to actually write informative posts or articles.
Therefore they were all deleted - including the authors too.

So what will i being doing different. Well for a start im a huge music fan. Although ive used loads of ipods,
i have never owned one and have instead been the owner of the creative zen 4 years ago, followed by the iriver H140 and now the iaudio x5.

Im from the UK but im currently in New Zealand so i may have to wait a little longer to get my hands on the zune…though im tempted to import one!

If you have any suggestions please let me know

Thanks,

Kevin