Second Generation Zune and Flash Based Zune on Their Way…Says iLounge

According to a new post on iLounge, new details have emerged about the new Zunes currently under development. Apparently, two new Zunes were previewed on Monday at a day-long event organized for Microsoft's developers.

The first Zune presented at the event was the expected new Flash Zune. The device as been described as being larger than the nano with the same features as the 30Gb Zune currently on the market.

The post also revealed a second generation Zune (2.0 Zune) under development as well. The Zune 2.0 would have bigger hard drive (60Gb, 80Gb or 100Gb?) and would also be built we a bigger screen.

That being said, even if iLounge enjoys an extremely good reputation, this is still only a "we heard that" kind of information. Those features like a bigger screen could also be the inspiration of the moment and could also be subject to change without any notice...

The thing that bugs me about the bigger screen is how could they integrate it without making the second generation Zune (Zune 2.0) larger than the 30Gb Zune we currently have. If they only stretch the screen, it would mean that the 320x240 aspect ratio would have to change and I don't think this would make sense.

I firmly believe that a larger Zune is not an option. A new generation would necessarily need to have a smaller form factor. No?

Comments

[JohnCz]

I don't know about you but my eyes get tired when I have to focus on a small screen for too long. Would you want to watch a 2hr movie on the current Zune? In addition, I think alot of people will want a screen that can display 16:9 movies. Just a guess, but I think Microsoft will do away with the d-pad (on Video Zune only) to free up space for a larger screen.

[KPatel]

I think that Zune should make the screen touchscreen like Apple rumors say about their new MP3 device, but then again it might make the Zune more expensive. I totally agree that the screen should be a 16:9 aspect ratio because that is the format that most movies are in and also Microsoft should uncripple the Wi-fi and maybe integrate a web browser into the Zune with an optional thumb keyboard (so I can trade stocks)

[Stephane]

That's possible, I just think it would be strange to move to 16:9 from 4:3 within a year of a product introduction.

A 16:9 screen would give even more space for the scrolling menus. That would be great though.