Zune pass subscribers: Last day to grab your 10 free tracks

If you haven’t done so already, don’t forget to use the 10 track credits you have from your monthly subscription. If you don’t use the credits before midnight tonight, you lose them.

I personally bought “Pink Floyd - Wish you we’re here” (5 tracks) and “Pink Floyd – Meddle” (5 of the 6 tracks). One of the best way to optimize the use of your free tracks is to find albums with a low number of tracks. This way, you can get even more than one album with your 10 track credits. Classical or jazz albums can be good choices as well. As an heritage of the vinyl LP, older music also tend to have a lower number of tracks.

What were your monthly picks? Please share your music suggestions in the comments, I will have 10 new credits to use tomorrow morning!

All 30 GB Zunes Expired at the same time!

Are you Zune 30GB owner? If yes, December 31st is not your lucky day. Tons of Zune owners are reporting that their Zune froze at the Zune logo screen when they turned on their device this morning.

The normal reboot trick doesn’t solve the problem and Microsoft hasn’t responded to this yet. This can’t happen at a worst time for the Zune support team, as the technical staff is probably all gone for the New year’s eve party.

We never now, if this is a date related problem(and it does look like it), January 1st might solve the problem. Can this be caused by the clock recently implemented?

Let us know if you find something to reboot the device…

UPDATE: The Zune team acknowledged the problem by posting this on Zune.net:

"Customers with 30gb Zune devices may experience issues when booting their Zune hardware.  We’re aware of the problem and are working to correct it.  Sorry for the inconvenience, and thanks for your patience!"

UPDATE 2 - "FIX IT YOURSELF": Isaac is suggesting that if you unplug the battery of the Zune, you should be able to restart the device. This should normally void your warranty, but most of the Zune 30GB out there are well over the one year warranty period. The detailed instructions are available here. I will personally wait until Microsoft provides a fix for this...

Zune Christmas Miracle?

With the Christmas sales still being tallied, it will be a time before we know how well this year's Zune sold.  While many of us are still rooting for the Zune, there are some factors working against it including less interest in pure players, Apple's continued dominance of this segment, and overall slowing of the economy.  On the flip side though, let's not forget that the Zune lineup, particularly it's flash offerings continue to offer good value, and overall the Zunes were the strongest players put out by Microsoft yet.

One hint that the Zune may have a had a strong showing comes from Google.  You see, all those Google searches get tabulated and analyzed.  It turns out that this past Christmas morn, search terms with the word Zune in them, including Zune.net and Zune.net/setup had an unusual spike, and even broke into the top 20 search terms, which apparently they are regularly not even in the top 100.

So, does this mean the Zune sold well, or just that lots of folks had trouble setting it up and sought assistance online?  Too early to say, but intriguing nonetheless!  I'm hoping the final sales numbers are as good as these search results might suggest...

Zune Team Merges To Work On Phone...Possibly

While I haven't given up on seeing a Zune Phone at CES next month, apparently another has.  This is the on again, off again, on again, and now it's off again story that keeps going round and round.  However, now there appears to be yet another twist developing.

Clearly the Zune team is more in touch with what younger folks want in a handheld device than the Windows Mobile team.  While many of us would like to see a "True Zune Phone" that could compete with the best of anythign out there, that still does seem a longshot (at least on the "off again" days).  Be that as it may, the latest thinking is that the Zune team will simply be merged with the Windows Mobile team into one big happy family.

In my mind, it's a bit of a risk because the device that could have been may never see the light of day under this scenario.  It also means that the partners will continue to manufacture the devices in all probability.  Finally, I doubt I'll ever get to dial with my squircle.  Here's hoping the Zune Marketplace makes it into a 3G connected device!

Get a Zune 80 for $229 and get a free 2 month Zune Pass

Microsoft is currently running a nice special on the Zune 80. The offer is simple, if you purchase a black Zune 80 for the regular price ($229) you will be given a free two month Zune Pass. Which should be more than enough time to convince most people just how nice the Zune Pass really is. Of course, there are some catches, this offer is available through December 31, 2008 and limited to the US.

[Zune Store via ZuneBoards]

Warriors in Pink offer limited edition Zune to support Susan G. Komen for the Cure

Warriors in Pink have just begun offering a customized pink Zune. The limited edition Zune is a 4GB flash model with a pink front and the Warriors in Pink logo on the back side. The one drawback is that the Zune is retailing for $175, but what you get, aside from a nice pink Zune is the feeling of doing something good because the proceeds go towards the Susan G. Komen for the Cure.

[Warriors in Pink]

Zune Originals adds new artwork, online exclusive colors

In addition to the new software and free Wi-Fi, Zune Originals has also received an little refresh with the introduction of the new Zune hardware. We have already seen the new Zune 120 and Zune 16 hit the retail stores in black, and now Zune Originals has also announced that the Zune 16 will be available in blue, red, pink and green as an online exclusive. Finally, customers will also have the option of choosing some new artwork as Zune Originals has added 14 new designs to give your Zune a little more of a personal feel.

[ZuneOriginals]

Microsoft offering free McDonalds Wi-Fi for Zune owners

In addition to the recently released Zune 3.0 software, Microsoft has announced that Zune owners will also be able to get free Wi-Fi at McDonalds restaurants across the US.

“Wayport is pleased to be working with Microsoft to make it easier for Zune users to access music on the go,” said Dan Lowden, vice president of business development and marketing for Wayport.

Now, assuming you have already updated to the latest software you will be able to take advantage of all the new features the next time you get that fast food craving. Which means that in addition to downloading music from the Marketplace you can also tag and purchase from the FM radio, and also take advantage of the recommendations and programming features. As of the current announcement, the wireless access is available at more than 9,800 McDonalds locations.

[Microsoft]

Zune 3.0 software now available

In short...the Zune 3.0 software update is now available. You can grab the new software by launching your current version and heading to Settings -> Software -> General -> Check for update. Also if you do not already have the Zune software installed you can download it directly by clicking here. Mine is downloading as I write this post, can't wait to begin playing.

Microsoft officially lets the new Zune details out

I suppose this post comes as a little bit of bittersweet news considering we have already seen the details, but that said, Microsoft has chosen to officially unveil the details for the new Zune hardware and software.

So just for a quick recap, the new model of the Zune will be the black 120GB hard drive based model which will retail for $249 along with a 16GB flash based model which will retail for $199. Additionally the Zune 16 will also be available in blue. The Zune 8 will be priced at $149, and Microsoft also plans to lower the prices on some of the older models.

As for the software side, it looks like software version 3 will be available with those features that we mentioned earlier, which include Buy from FM, Device to Cloud, Channels and Games. Currently nothing was mentioned about when the new software will be made available for current Zune owners. Personally although I like the blue Zune 16 and the black backing on the Zune 120 I am more excited by the new software features and hope that will be ready soon.

If nothing else, I guess Amazon can go ahead and add that Zune 120 listing back to their website now.

[CNET]

Zune 120: The unofficial roll-out continues...or does it?

In addition to the listings over on Frys, another online retailer (Amazon) had ever so briefly list the Zune 120 for sale. Currently I have not seen any confirmed purchases through the Amazon store listing, but they have since removed it from the store, with the URL now going to a big'ol 404.

With just one day before Microsoft is expected to officially make the announcements, it seems Amazon has had a change of heart, one can only wonder whether Frys will do the same. Of course it seems that Frys is already in a little deeper with between their multiple leaks and at least one confirmed sale.

Funny thing is that when this listing was available on Amazon, there were eight vendors listed, of which seven was showing the Zune 120 as in-stock and even had expedited shipping available, and strangely the only one of the eight that was showing a "temporarily out of stock" notice was Amazon themselves.

At this point we can only hope the announcements come tomorrow, and put an end to this mess. Anyone interested in the larger capacity Zune, or what about the blue Zune 8, its pretty sharp looking.

[Amazon via Pocketables]

Frys leaks new Blue Zune 8 along with new features

Well, one can only speculate that Frys will either be in some big trouble with Microsoft, or perhaps Microsoft is trying something new to get a little attention and decided to allow them to intentionally leak, and in at least one instance sell the new Zunes to built up some excitement prior to the official release.

Of course the model that we saw sold, and later unboxed was the Zune 120, however the latest Frys leaks comes in the form of that rumored Zune 8 in Blue along with some previously unannounced new features. At least we can confirm that the Blue Zune rumor was indeed accurate, and furthermore its retailing for the $149.99 that we expected.

But perhaps a little more exciting than the Zune 8 in Blue, which personally I am digging the color is the newly listed features that it will come along with. Some of the leaked features include:

 

• Buy from FM which allows you to mark a song that you hear on the regular radio for later purchase.
• Device to Cloud which lets you use wireless hotspots to "update your collection, browse Zune Marketplace, refresh Channels, exchange favorites with friends, or buy songs you've tagged from your FM radio."
• Channels which allows you to create "custom programming stations that deliver personalized playlists to your Zune from a variety of sources."
• Games which seems to have come out of beta and become official. So far they have listed Texas Hold'em, Hexic as pre-loaded titles.

Now its seems we are just waiting for Microsoft to make this all 'official' but judging from what we have already seen I am not sure what else they could have in store for us.

[Frys] via Zunerama

Zune 120 gets unofficial $249 pricing

UPDATE: Here are the latest news related to the Zune 120:

• Microsoft officially lets the new Zune details out
• Zune 120: The unofficial roll-out continues...or does it?
• Frys leaks new Blue Zune 8 along with new features

This latest bit of information comes, assuming we can believe this latest listing (screenshot above) on the B&H Photo website, and has the upcoming 120GB Zune being priced at an affordable $249.95.

Currently the Zune 120 is being listed just in black. So far we have seen the FCC approval with further conformation coming from Cesar Menendez. The pricing seems to be legitimate, of course this has not been confirmed, so lets not get disappointed if it changes. Of course, at least at the time of this screenshot, B&H seems to be taking orders, however they are not listing any availability date.

In addition, just to add further speculation of a quick launch for the Zune 120, another tip which comes courtesy of a "Wal-Mart worker" is claiming that they (Wal-Mart) have discontinued the Zune 4 and Zune 80. According to the worker, both models are being listed as NRPL, which is better known as non-replenishable. Of course, and again this has not been officially confirmed however it does fit in with the recent Zune 120 and Zune 16 findings.

All in all it looks like we may have some new options when it comes to the Zune in the not to distant future.

Get a 30% Discount on Zune Skins from SkinIt

Are you tired of the color of your Zune? Do you want to express your personality and give your Zune a basic scratch protection?

Well, if this is your case, you might want to take advantage of the back-to-school 30% discount from SkinIt. Buy online at skinit.com/zune and use the code ZUNESUMMER at checkout. Simple as that.

SkinIt skins come in a vast selection of artwork. They have all sorts of skins,  including professional sports, colleges and college sports, fraternities and sororities, comics, entertainment, fashion, popular art, and more. These skins are made with 3M vinyl and won’t damage your Zune. You can also create your own design.

Nokia looking to integrate the Zune Marketplace?

The news surrounding the Zune has certainly calmed down a bit, which leaves one to wonder just what goodies are going on behind the scenes just waiting to come out, however in the meantime we are now seeing some information that Nokia is looking to integrate the Zune Marketplace on some of their handsets.

The reports are still just in the rumor stage and come according to a "well-placed source within Microsoft" so we have to be careful not to get to excited, but it looks like we may see that fabled Zune phone after all.

Of course it would not truly be a Zune phone, in that it would not be a Microsoft, or even Zune branded product, but lets face it a great part of the Zune is the Marketplace and having that on a current phone, especially with some of the great Nokia models certainly sounds like a Zune phone to me.

The source was noted as saying that "Nokia is currently working with the Zune team on integration of Zune Marketplace," however was also quick to mention that although they were working on a deal with Nokia, the deal would not be exclusive to Nokia. Sadly as this is just based on a few statements, we still have no estimate of when we as the general public can expect to see anything.

Personally, I have been a big fan of the N95, but have resisted, however if I was able to use my Zune Marketplace account with it, that may make for a quick and easy purchase decision.

[ars technica]

Zuneboards sold for $62 000!

Zuneboards, one of the most popular Zune forums was recently listed on the sitepoint.com, an auction site for everything web related. Zuneboards was rapidly sold for $62k, $2k over the "buy it now" price. According to the Sitepoint listing, the new owner is the sitepoint user"gisingh", but that hasn't been confirmed by Zuneboards.

With monthly revenues of approximately $1500, it means that the site was sold for 41 times the monthly revenues. I'm sure this is well over Lpxxfaintxx expectations with this sale, and seems to be overpriced. Zuneboards founder said he was selling the site to give his parents and himself some financial support.

Zuneboards had an impressive growth over the last year. Many Zune fans moved from Zunescene to Zuneboards because of the more dynamic and positive attitude of its members and moderators.

Congratulation for your achievement Lpxxfaintxx and good luck to the new owner!

Zune Hack: Upgrade your Zune 80 to a Zune 120

Not enough space on your Zune 80? Don’t worry, for $150 you can now upgrade you Zune 80 to a Zune 120 by replacing the original HDD by a Toshiba MK1231GAL 1.8” 120Gb 5mm HDD. This Zune hack as been performed by a Chinese based company called Luna Commerce. The company says it will replace any HDD with bad sectors.

Of course, buy at your own risk and remember that attempting to install a HDD in you Zune 80 will instantly void your warranty. Who will first try to perform this Zune hack?  Any volunteer?

Speaking of Zune 120. Do you think the next Zune device will be a Zune 120, Zune 160 or even a Zune 250?

More pictures after the jump...
 

Canada Gets Zune Originals

We knew this was coming, but details about the availability of Zune Originals in Canada will be announced tomorrow. A Microsoft Canada press release will give Canadians all the details on how and where to buy Zune Originals in Canada.

But don’t expect to see the same designs currently available on the US version of the Zune Originals store. Canucks will get their own designs made by Canadian artists. Artist names, designs, prices and availability will be revealed tomorrow morning.

That's cool! No? That means that we'll see more and more unique designs in the wild. The Canadian launch sketches how Zune will be launched throughout the world. Since the green Zune will be available only in the US, could we see colors only for the Canadian market?

A media event called “Zune Originals Media Tour” will be held tomorrow in Montreal. Cliczune will of course attend the event. Stay tuned!

XNA Games Studio 3.0 Community Technical preview released

If you know how to program or want to start programming with the slight programming skills you may have, and you want to make some small, fun and cheap to develop games that would work on Zune, Xbox, PC or all 3, then you may be interested in XNA. I would try it myself (I have a good game I want to port from Windows mobile to Zune) but I don't know any programming. There are some things the XNA Team wants you to know before you download though:

• Either Visual Studio 2008 Standard Edition and higher (C# language support must be installed), orVisual C# 2008 Express Edition are required to install and run the XNA Game Studio 3.0 CTP.  Visual Studio 2005 SKUs are not supported with XNA Game Studio 3.0 and beyond.  However, you do not need to uninstall Visual Studio 2005 or XNA Game Studio 2.0, as those products will work side-by-side with Visual Studio 2008 and XNA Game Studio 3.0 CTP.
• This current CTP does not enable Xbox 360 game development.  Only Windows and Zune are supported in this CTP.  If you want to build and deploy games for the Xbox 360, you must continue using XNA Game Studio 2.0 for now.
• This CTP doesn't work in 64 bit yet.  We plan to support it before RTM.

Zune in Canada. Let's party!

Zune Canadian launch parties have been announced for six Canadian cities. The lucky cities are Vancouver, Calgary, Edmonton, Winnipeg, Toronto and Halifax.

Details have been announced only for Vancouver though. So, if you're around Sweatshop 1945 East on May 9th at 9PM, and you're 19+, go there take pictures and send them to us!

I was surprised that Montreal was not part of the list of cities chosen by Microsoft to launch the Zune in Canada...

Zune Canadian Release Date Officially Confirmed: June 13, 2008

Any Canadian Zune fans out there? I've just received the press release confirming the Zune release in Canada. Starting today, the Zune software can be downloaded at www.Zune.ca. For the Zune players themselves, we will have to wait until June 13, 2008 to have a chance to buy the first Zunes to be sold outside the US.

Here are the models and prices confirmed for Canada:

• Zune 80GB: SRP $249.99 CDN (available in black or red)
• Zune 8GB: SRP $189.99 CDN (available in black, red or pink)
• Zune 4GB: SRP $139.99 CDN (available in black, red or pink)

A few things are new for Canada and still not available in the US. First, www.zunenews.ca is a place where publishers can submit their Zune related news. You can also visit www.comingzune.ca to check the ComingZune party schedule for dates, talent line-up, pics, and exclusive tracks from the parties.

The Zune Online Community, aka Zune Social, is also available and Canada and is open for registration now. The Zune marketplace won't be available for now.

Zune.net Updated for the Canadian Release

Zune.net was updated and French and English versions of the site are now available. Still now confirmation of the release date, but let's bet for next Monday! Here's the link to Canadian version of Zune.net!

Zune Special Edition: Reebok and Allen Iverson

Everyone knows that the Zune is running like hell behind the iPod and tries hard to still a market share from Apple’s famous mp3 player. But the Zune team brings this race a step further and has teamed up with Reebok to create a special edition of the Zune 8.

The new snicker-Zune package is in fact an Allen Iverson limited edition shoe combine with a black Zune 8.

”The sneakers will be sold with a customized Zune 8g black digital media player, featuring etched AI graphics on the back that is loaded with special AI content including his Reebok commercials, playlists and interview footage of other Reebok athletes talking about the first time they played against AI in the league. The sneakers and Zune media player will also come in special packaging.” Crave

The package will be available in June for a retail price of $300. The special Iverson shoe + Zune 8 package won’t be easy find as it will be available at only five retailers nationwide: Complex/Training Day Store (NYC), Major Commonwealth (DC), Commonwealth (VA), Wish (ATL), and The 400 (Denver). Even worst, each store will receive only twelve packages…We’re talking about a “very” limited edition here!

Zune to be getting XNA Games... and Multiplayer Games using Wi-Fi

In the Xbox Keynote at the Game Developers Conference, it has been mentioned that the Zune will be getting XNA Game Studio that can be transferred to your PC, your Xbox and your Zune.

Not many details yet, but that's because this is being blogged during the keynote.

On Joystiq, here's what's posted from the liveblog:

11:05 am PT -- Satchell whips out a Zune (he actually has one) and selects "Zauri", a topdown shooter. It supports custom soundtracks too (what with it being an MP3 player and all). You can take a game from Windows, to Xbox, to Zune, explains Satchell. "We've more than delivered," says Satchell of Microsoft's original XNA vision.

And Major Nelson's Twitter says:

Chris is doing an XNA games on Zune demo 6 minutes ago from web

Also announced XNA games are coming to Zune 6 minutes ago from web

The demo presented shows a person controlling the game with the Zune pad, pausing it, and going back to the music, and then back to the game.

Even more interesting, since the Zune is a Wi-Fi device, you'll be able play multiplayer games. Cool stuff! You'll be able to play games with players on Windows, Xbox and Zune.

 

Source 1, Source 2, Source 3

A Reflection on Podcasts and Zunes

RawVoice, a podcasting outfit, recently posted an interesting note on their blog about the growth of Zune downloads in the first two weeks of the year. They noted with particular focus how Zune users listening to their podcast was "way up."

RawVoice found their podcast download numbers up by about 15 percent. A large amount of this growth is attributed to Zune growth, particularly since the Zune team made podcasts easy to find in the MarketPlace.

Apple iTunes growth, by contrast, was apparently not the same. RawVoice was somewhat critical of iTunes, saying the interface "makes it virtually impossible for listeners to find shows that are not featured on the front page."

[via Smatphone Thoughts]

Hardware Before Software

Now that the Zune is available in quantity in the US, it's been no secret that Microsoft is heading to Canada next.  This is expected to happen in Spring of this year.  However, part of the Zune package, namely the "social experience" will not be arriving with the player. It's hinted at in this story from Canada.com:

Microsoft showed off its version two Zune portable media player, announcing it will be available in Canada this spring with similar prices as Apple iPod models. But its online song-buying site and Zune Social network will not be available for Canadians until even "later in 2008," according to Elana Zur, Zune product manager for Microsoft Canada.

"We really wanted to focus our resources on getting the U.S. experience right before bringing it into other markets," said Zur. "You can see the progress from version one to version two that was made there with those learnings."

Zur said the further delay on the online Canadian Zune Marketplace has much to do with organizing Canadian media content.

Does that mean they won't be getting the Zune Marketplace?  Will there be a country specific Canadian Zune Marketplace?  Will it work the same except for the currency?  Is a Zune still a Zune without the Marketplace?

Update your Zune Software to 2.3

Time to update your Zune software. There are no new features in this update, but it does provide some performance enhancements around set-up, sync and as always general reliability.

View the Changelog

Chicago Hotel Offers Lounge with Zunes, Other Gear

Next time you find yourself in Chicago you might want to make your way to the new Hotel Sax to check out its "The Studio - experience by Microsoft" lounge. It is outfitted with everything you need to get your Microsoft fix, including some Zunes.

The hotel says that, among offerings like Xbox gaming, you will be able to "listen to music from the hotel's music library via Microsoft's Zune music player." You can also be serviced by a technology butler who will help answer tech questions while taking your drink order. This definitely sounds like a great stop.

Photos and the full press release after the jump.

Microsoft Makes Zune Mushy for V-Day

Microsoft is hoping to make this upcoming Valentine's Day a Zune day by unveiling a red color of its Zune 80GB. Like other Zune 80s you'll be able to pick it up for around $250.

Microsoft said that besides releasing a red 80GB player it would also be making available for a short time a collection of 20 new laser engraved designs which are inspired by "the themes of love and sharing." There will also be available on Zune Marketplace Valentine's Day playlists such as "Hip Hop Love" and "Talk to Me, Barry."

One other thing about the new engraved designs: they feature artwork from four new artist collectives and will let you pair each graphic with up to three lines of customizable text.

Introducing Zlive for Zune

Are you interested in a new Zune speaker system? I am! We don't know much about the upcoming puppy, but it looks great.  Digital Products International (DPI) is releasing a completely new brand called the Zlive. DPI is the company behind ilive, a maker of iPod accessories. ilive has 14 different speaker systems for the iPod.

Are we going to see them all made for the Zune? Probably not, but the picture above looks very similar to the ISPK2806BLK, made for iPod. And if the specs are going to be the same, well, the first Zune dock to be release by Zlive should look like the following:

• Charging, amplification & remote control of Zune player
• Built-In Zune Cradle
• Stereo Speakers
• Slim, Full-Function Remote Control
• Video Output/Auxiliary Input
• AC Power
• Accessories Included: Remote Control, Auxiliary Line-In Cord

The retail price should also be $69.99. To be followed!

Zune Firmware Update 2.3: No New Features

The Zune team just released the Zune firmware update 2.3. There are no new features with this update but we should notice the following:

• Zune battery issue resolved
• Improved device recognition
• Improved stability and reliability on sync (both wirelessly and while connected to a PC).

Let everybody know (in the comments) if you have specific experiences with the new firmware.

Source

Zune Firmware Update on the Way: A Christmas gift From the Zune Team?

According to feedback received from Zune owners since the November upgrade, the Zuneinsider says that the new software has improved the battery life of the Zune 30. This has apparently been achieved by introducing more power-efficient codecs in the Zune software. That’s good news for many folks out there, but Microsoft admitted at the same time that the new software also causes battery life problems to a limited number of Zune owners. This problem occurs when users suspend their Zune hard drives by holding down the play/pause button – in some cases the battery continues to drain.

Microsoft will respond to the problem with a Zune firmware update that should be available before the end of December. No words on the release of new features, but let us all wish for a sweet Christmas gift from the Zune team...(Don't hold your breath to hard on this one though...Cesar also said on his blog that the firmware update is going to be similar to the bug-fix-only update we had last December).

Zune 80 Available at ZuneOriginals.net

If a plain Zune 80 is not enough for you, you can always customize it with laser-engraved designs and personal text through a new Web store called Zune Originals. They only had the Zune 4 and 8 until now, but the Zune 80s have arrived. What is you favorite design? Let us know it the comments.

Enjoy! Thanks Jesus and Arvind.

Zunes On Black Friday

We've been discussing the lack of Zune 80's in stores on this critical shopping day after Thanksgiving, popularly known as Black Friday.  You know, this may actually work in favor for Microsoft.  Recall the theory that people want what they can't have?  Well, the more they can't get it, the more they want it.  Check out these stories floating around the web today to get an idea how the Zune sales are proceeding on the busiest retail day of the year.

Start off with MacWorld (Brace yourselves for a Mac website reporting on the Zune; what a difference a year makes!); they're discussing that there's a big shortage of the Zune 80's, and that the Zune 30 is topping the Amazon list for the last few days.  They do go on to point out that the iPods are still plentiful on the Amazon list, but you had to expect them to give it an Apple spin, right?  Well, that's online, but what's going on B&M?

Then we head on over to news about Toy's 'R Us who apparently had a morning doorbuster of a Zune 30 for $70 (which is a really good deal, and the cheapest I've ever seen one for).  If you were in bed this morn' digesting turkey and stuffing, fret not.  At two corners of the country at least, there wasn't a Zune 30 to be had at that dirt cheap price.  That's right, at both the Toy 'R Us in New York, and the one in Florida, there were apparently a bunch of unhappy shoppers in line as the Zunes sold out at the store, and were forced to leave Zuneless, and look elsewhere.

Hack Your New Zune For More Benefits

While I was searching for some Zune news, go figure right?, I found this interesting story on how many hacks are available for the new Zunes as of right now. While not surprised that the Zune has been hacked, I am a little surprised that there are this many hacks, in such a short time that the new Zunes have been out.

Sarah Perez over at on10.net blog, posted this story about all the available software hacks people can do to their new Zunes. There are surprisingly 10 hacks for the new Zune listed. Although some of them are not really hacks, like how to open up your Zune and stare at the unbelievable hardware inside the player, while others are actual hacks and actually improve the Zune quite substantially. Like for example, take Hack #3:

Hack #3: Use the Zune 2 as a flash drive - this hack makes your computer recognize your Zune 2 just like it's any ordinary USB flash drive

This Hack really caught my attention, because as one of exclusions in most media players, you cannot use your player as a hard drive/usb flash drive. Well worry no more, as this hack will as it says, act as any ordinary flash drive. Other Hacks include: Multi-Extension Support Mod, YouTube to Zune Converter, Custom Themes, etc. So why not go take a look for yourself and see which hacks interest you.

The Zune is Ready to Hit Canada

Dear Canadian Zune fans, it looks like everything is in place for a coast to coast Canadian Zune launch. Why do I say that? Well, when the new Zunes were announced last October, we snapped pictures of the Zune accessories showing  French and English packaging. This alone could be considered as a  good indication for a Canadian launch because Canada, is the only place in the world where French and English packaging is required by law.  But you’re right, that is still not enough to conclude that Canada is the next country to see the Zune on store shelves.

But keep reading folks; a few other indications that a Canadian launch is imminent were found this weekend… First of all, look at the scan above taken from the Zune 8 user manual.  The text is clearly written for the Canadian market with a full Canadian Warranty description.  We also learned from the same manual that the Zune device was approved by the Canadian authorities (left side picture).  Nothing less…

Wait, there's more; another piece of the puzzle comes from the Zune marketplace. Before the release of the new Marketplace last Tuesday, no French artists from the province of Quebec were available on the Marketplace. With the new version though, profiles and discographies have been included in the database. We can now find French artists like Pierre Lapointe, Ginette Reno or Loco Locas, mainly known in Quebec. We still can't buy the content, but that could be just a matter of flipping the switch to on.

Only missing piece of the puzzle? The launch date. Jason Dunn might hold that missing piece...

Want to Write for Cliczune?

Have a lot to say about the Zune players? Always wanted to write for a well established blog? We want to hear from you right now!

Cliczune is again looking for guest and senior editors.  Send us information about you and your previous blogging experience.

You write about music? You're a Microsoft software specialist? Become a guest blogger here at Cliczune.

Join Jonas, Sam, Steven, Roman and I and be part of the Zune revolution now with Cliczune!

New Zune Site is Up

The software is also up too! Downloading it right now!

http://www.zune.net/en-US/default.htm

Luckily, I live on the other side of the planet (Philippines). I'm still awake when web software or product launches are made and be the first one to catch the news. Still, it's a bit disappointing that Zunes are still USA-only. What about us loyal international zune users?... sigh..

Zune 30 Firmware Update: Less than a day!

Tomorrow might be the release of the Zune 80, Zune 8 and Zune 4, but for more than a million of us, it will be the day we have been waiting for a long, long, loooonnng time: A Zune 30 major firmware update.

The least we can say about this firmware upgrade, is that the wait as been well rewarded by the Zune team, and the new firmware can even be considered, from my point of view, as a gift from Microsoft to their early adopters.

Jason Dunn was lucky enough to be able to upgrade his Zune 30 a few days before us, and he's sharing this with us. Have a look at it before you upgrade you Zune 30 tomorrow.

source: www.zunethoughts.com

RSS Subscriber MegaZune Giveaway: Do you Want to Win a Zune 30?

UPDATE: Ladies and gentlemen, boys and girls, we have a winner!  Marcus Epperly from San Diego is the first RSS subscriber Exclusive giveaway winner, and the prize was nothing less than a Zune 30 mp3 player. Marcus won this beautiful Zune 30 because he's a Cliczune RSS subscriber.

It's still time to register in the RSS Subscriber Exclusive Giveaway. We still have a lot more to give away in the next few months.

Here's what Cliczune RSS subscribers could see before everyone else:

Well, this could be easier than you think! Just send me an email at “zune30 (at) Cliczune.com” with the subject “I want a Zune 30 from Cliczune” and you’re in. Simple as that!

You have until noon, tomorrow (November 3^rd), to enter the giveaway. The winner will be selected randomly.

You snooze, you lose! Get to it now!

Update: Zune is still a US-only product, and you need to have a US shipping address to be the winner.

Don't miss the next giveaway and subscribe now!

Thanks to all the readers who sent us an email!

Multimillion Dollar Campaign Launched to support the Zune

Video: Zune TV Spot

Less than two weeks before Z-Day, Microsoft launched a multimillion dollar campaign to support the new Zune 80, Zune 4 and Zune 8. The new marketing campaign named “You Make it You”, will include print, TV, online banner ads, and a new teaser website called Zune Journey.

Basically, the new marketing tagline,”You Make it You”, means that the Zune is absolutely nothing without you, and it comes to life by what you put in it: your music, pictures, videos, etc.

Do you like the new concept?

When Zune was initially launched in November 2006, Microsoft had a $100 million budget for the marketing campaign. That means around $100 per Zune 30 sold. The exact budget for the new Zune marketing campaign has not been revealed, but we can probably expect something similar. Hopefully, the number of Zunes sold in the next 12 months will be much higher than a million. Any guess on that?

Enjoy the video!