According to Wired, Microsoft will release a Joy Division edition of its Zune MP3 player to coincide with the June 10th release of a DVD about the band. This version of the Zune will feature Peter Saville’s iconic 1979 artwork for the band’s Unknown Pleasures album.
Microsoft showed off the first game developed for Zune at the Game Developer Conference in San Francisco:
Microsoft wants to compete with Nintendo and Sony on the market for mobile consoles. At the Game Developer Conference in San Francisco, the software giant announced that it would be developing games for its Zune portable media player.
The XNA programming environment will be extended to portable devices in the version 3.0 of XNA Studio and cover three platforms along with the PC and Xbox. Microsoft presented the first Zune game, Zauri, that has a multi-player mode via the wireless networking in the device. In addition, music from the Zune library can play as a soundtrack for games.
Sky News reports that the Microsoft Zune will not be delivered to Europe until 2009. I would say this is due to the high demand for the Zune in the US and Canada and the low supply. So, if you are in Europe you will have to wait until 2009 to get a Microsoft Zune.
A few weeks back Microsoft announced a special Valentine’s Day Zune that comes with custom engravings schemes “inspired by the themes of love and sharing.” If you purchased on of these Zunes and expected it to arrive before Valentine’s Day you likely got a letters from Microsoft stating the device will not be delivered on the 14th, but will come with a full refund when it arrives. While it may be disappointing not to get the Zune on time, it must be nice to get a full refund!
A few days ago Microsoft bought Danger the maker of the popular T-Mobile’s Sidekick smart-phones.
“From the beginning we have talked about one phone for life,” said Scott Rockfeld, group product manager for Microsoft’s mobile communications business. “No longer do we have the Wild West of mobile phones,” where consumers have to carry a holster loaded with everything from a cell phone to a music player.
Microsoft’s Rockfeld downplayed that interpretation, saying that Danger doesn’t make hardware. He also deflected a question about whether consumers might one day see a “Zunephone.”
“We obviously will react if consumers ask for it,” Rockfeld said, “but at this time, there’s no plan to make hardware.”
So, for the time being there will be no iPhone, but I would be willing to bet there will be one within a year. The Zune seems to be upgraded each November just in time for the holiday seasons. If I were a betting man I would expect to see a Zune phone start to take shape in a few months with a launch this November.
Microsoft has released firmware 2.3. From Zune Insider:
There are no new features in this update, but it does provide some performance enhancements around set-up, sync and as always general reliability.
You can download the latest Zune software here.
