New Zune features leaked alongside 8GB flash player

[mauricio]

A cool new blue Zune was spotted at Fry's today, complete with some new features. The first, “Device to Cloud,” allows users to access wireless hotspots to update music collections, browse Zune Marketplace, refresh Channels (another feature), exchange favorites, and buy tagged FM songs

Key Features & Benefits

• Buy from FM
• Listen to your favorite FM radio stations and click to tag the songs you like for later purchase when you sync your device with your PC1.
• Zune Pass
• Download millions of tracks, whole albums or playlists with Zune® Pass subscription service. Explore new music or rediscover old favorites—then sync them all
• to your Zune Extend your subscription online or by purchasing a Zune Pass card.4 Wireless Sync
• Connect to your home wireless network and remotely sync your Zune® device with your PC collection from your dock, AC adapter, or speaker dock accessory. 2
• Device to Cloud
• Access thousands of wireless hotspots around the country to automatically update your collection, browse Zune Marketplace, refresh Channels, exchange favorites with friends, or buy songs you've tagged from your FM radio.
• Wireless Sharing
• Send your favorite songs, albums, playlists, pictures and even audio podcasts freely between any Zune® devices. 3
• Channels
• Zune® Channels are custom programming stations that deliver personalized playlists to your Zune® from a variety of sources you select, such as music experts, celebrities, or top radio stations.
• Games
• Games rock on your Zune®. Zune® Players now come with a selection of fun free games to choose from. Play the popular poker game Texas Hold'em or challenge yourself to a game of Hexic, and make sure you play your favorite song from your collection to create your own personal game soundtrack.
• Video/TV Shows
• Choose from a growing selection of TV shows now available on the Zune® Marketplace video store. Recorded TV shows or movies from Windows Media Center in Windows Vista can be imported and synced to your Zune.5

Requirements

Specifications section

Capacity:8GB
Digital Storage Media: Hard disk drive - built-in
Sound Output Modetereo
Supported Digital Photo Standards:JPEG,Audio & Video Playback
Supported Digital Audio Standards: WMA, AAC, MP3
Playback Modes: Random play / shuffle
Supported Digital Video Standards:MPEG-4, WMV, H.264
Display Built-in Display:LCD-color
Diagonal Size: X"
Resolution: 320 x 240
Battery:rechargeable-Lithium ion
Headphones:binaural-Earbuds
Included Accessories: 3 earpiece covers, sync cable
Connections Type:1 x docking station | 1 x USB | 1 x headphones

[opaper]

While new Zunes and / or features are looking more and more likely for September 9th, said e-tailer has already let slip a few new crucial details about the forthcoming (er, already out) 120GB Zune.

[Johnny]

When an FM transmitter on these small boxes music has to be able to listen to his mp3 FINALLY on all cars?

[ANTIC_cube]

To have been around me, the interface is excellent and the sound quality, but congestion is superior to the iPod.

[bishop]

With most of its news already leaked out there, Microsoft on Monday confirmed the details of its fall Zune lineup.

On the hardware side, Microsoft will beef up Zune's capacity, expanding the hard drive-based model to 120GB and the flash-based player to 16GB.

More significant are the software and service improvements. Most notably, as is the case with the iPod Touch, Zune owners will now be able to use the device's built-in Wi-Fi to download songs.

The fall 2008 update for Zune takes Microsoft's iPod killer at version 3.0. The Redmond company is preparing to release a new lineup of devices, including a new 120 GB model for $249.99, but also variants of 80 GB for $229.99, 16 GB for $199; 8 GB - $149.99 and 4 GB - $129.99. But the new devices are only a part of the Zune 3.0 evolution.

According to the software giant, the new models will be accompanied by the introduction of fresh color schemes: blue-on-silver and sleek all-black. And as the new Microsoft digital media players will hit the shelves, consumers will be able to enjoy new features and upgraded firmware.

“Digital music services really come alive when they help people find not only the music they know they like, but the music they didn’t know they would love. With the combination of subscription, wireless access to millions of tracks, and powerful discovery features like personal recommendations and the ability to buy music from FM radio, Zune is taking the digital music experience to the next level,” explained Chris Stephenson, general manager of Global Marketing for Zune at Microsoft.

Zune 3.0 will permit end users to tag music they listen over the radio, and then buy and download new content straight to their device via the Buy from FM feature, and a Wi-Fi hot spot. The Redmond giant indicated that this is possible through the Radio Data System and RT+ data feeds that are at the basis of the Buy from FM feature designed to correlate information about a certain artist and song with the Zune service.

“Microsoft’s decision to integrate an FM tuner into the Zune was revolutionary and they continue their extraordinary leadership with Buy from FM,” said John Hogan, president and CEO of Clear Channel Radio. “We’ve always known that radio is the primary source for discovering new music, and Microsoft’s decision to marry music discovery and delivery does two things: enables consumers to instantly satisfy their passion and enables FM song tagging to be enjoyed by all radio listeners, everywhere.”

[bishop]

Wireless Connections

More than 61 percent of people say they discover new music by listening to the radio. (1) With that in mind, Zune is taking advantage of the wireless connection and the built-in FM tuner to deliver a new feature called Buy from FM, which lets customers tag and purchase songs they hear on FM radio stations (2) directly from the Zune device. When the customer is in a Wi-Fi hot spot, the song can be immediately downloaded to the Zune device. If Wi-Fi is not available, the device will have a queue of songs ready to download when connected to a home computer or in a hot spot. Buy from FM uses Radio Data System and RT+ data feeds within the FM broadcast frequencies that identify song and artist data and enable the Zune service to identify and deliver the track to the customer.

In addition, users can now access the Zune Marketplace music store directly from their device when they are in a recognized Wi-Fi hot spot, or through a home wireless network. To make it easy to discover music on the go, customers can browse lists of featured new releases and top songs and albums sorted by genre, or use the on-screen keypad to type in the song of their choice. Once they have picked a track or album, they can either download it or stream it directly to the Zune device.

Zune customers have a choice in how they acquire music: They can pay per track or choose a Zune Pass subscription. Zune Pass subscribers can download or stream music to the device or their computer interchangeably, all for a flat rate of $14.99 per month. So whether a device has 4 GB or 120 GB of storage, Zune Pass customers can access and stream millions of songs directly to their Zune.

Ways to Discover Music: Channels and Picks

The new Zune software update taps expert sources, recommendations from the Zune service and online music community, and the user’s own play data to create a dynamic, digital music experience where discovering music is easy and seamless.

Channels. Channels are an exciting new tool for music discovery. Customers can explore channels programmed by experts from the music industry such as the Billboard Top 100, The FADER magazine and KEXP radio, in addition to workout-themed channels tailored for high, medium and low impact, and top chart channels from all genres and subgenres. The powerful Zune software will even create custom channels for each user, based on favorite artists and genres. Channels are included with a monthly Zune Pass subscription and can be synced to the device for playback on the go. For non-Zune Pass subscribers, the Channels are available for a la carte purchase.

Personal Picks. Now the Zune software learns what kind of music users like and makes personal recommendations. When users log onto Zune Marketplace, they’ll find a new area called Picks where the Zune recommendation algorithm will suggest artists, albums and tracks based on the music they have been listening to, as well as channels they might like and listeners like them in the Zune Social.

The Zune Social online music community. Customers can connect with millions of like-minded fans and share music via the Zune Card, a real-time playlist of each user’s favorite and recently played tracks that can be accessed on the Web or within the Zune software, or synced to the Zune device. Zune Pass subscribers can play full tracks from Zune Cards synced to their device while on the go, and now the playlists will even automatically update with the most recently played tracks when Zune connects to a wireless hot spot. It’s like subscribing to a free feed of music from the sources people trust most — their friends.