If you take a stroll down the aisles of any given electronics retailer, there’s a good chance that you’ll see at least a few MP3 player offerings above and beyond the ubiquitous iPod. Unfortunately for Canadians, these alternatives have not included any devices from Microsoft up until now. When the first-generation Zune launched in November 2006, Canucks were snubbed for some strange reason. When the second-generation Zune was released in November 2007, Canadians again wondered if they would ever get the opportunity to buy this new iPod alternative.
Microsoft Canada was nice enough to invite FutureLooks to their penthouse suite at the Opus Hotel in Vancouver, letting us know that the Zune would indeed be launching in Canada. They walked us through some of the key features and what we should expect in terms of a Canadian launch. Here is what we learned.
Zune Comes Spring 2008
It’s a few months later than our American friends, but Canadians will finally have the opportunity to purchase a Microsoft Zune in Spring 2008. No firm launch date has been announced yet, but this information should present itself in the form of a press release as we get closer to the Spring. Microsoft also did not reveal anything regarding Canadian pricing, but given the loonie’s parity with the greenback, I’d imagine that pricing will be similar to what you’d get south of the border after someone translates the Spanish instructions to French.
Naturally, they’ve decided to skip out on shipping the first-generation Zune (Zune 30) to Canadians, opting instead to only provide us with the second-generation. There will be three versions available at launch, all of which come equipped with the innovative Zune Pad. The Zune 4 and Zune 8 are largely competitors for the iPod nano, boasting a similar size and form factor as the second-generation nano. The memory onboard is Flash-based. The Zune 80, on the other hand, is the successor to the original Zune 30, boasting a larger form factor from the Zune 4 and 8. Storage is provided by an 80GB hard drive.
When asked about any sort of marketing blitzes that the Redmond, Washington-company had planned for the Canadian launch, the representative said that they are not going about this affair as if it were a sprint, but rather as if it were a marathon. In this way, the launch will not be as “loud” as some other events we’ve seen in the past. Microsoft prefers to firmly establish itself as a legitimate alternative to the iPod and not a fly-by-night operation. It’s also understandable that they wouldn’t go over the top, considering that the Zune 4, Zune 8, and Zune 80 are already available in the United States.
Features At A Glance
As mentioned, the Zune 4 and Zune 8 are nano-sized and come with 4GB and 8GB of Flash memory, respectively. Outside of their storage capacity, the two units are functionally identical. It boasts a 1.8-inch QVGA display, weighs 47 grams, and measures 1.6 x 3.6 x 0.33 inches. Other key features include integrated Wi-Fi connectivity for music sharing and wireless synchronization, video playback capabilities, picture viewer, and support for podcasts (both video and audio).
Another notable feature is the Zune Pad, which is used for navigating through the menus. You can use it like a regular five-way navigator, clicking in each direction and pressing in the center, or you can swipe your finger across the touch-sensitive pad. The flicking motion is similar to the gestures used on the iPhone.
The Zune 4 and Zune 8 will be available in black, red, and pink. The red Zune has more of a fingerprint-attracting glossy finish, whereas the pink has a softer, almost rubber-like finish. I’m not a fan of pink, but I like the grip offered by the finish. The American retail prices for the Zune 4 and Zune 8 are $150 and $180, respectively.
The Zune 80, which will only be available in black, has identical firmware and features as its Flash-based counterparts. The only differences involve size (2.4 x 4.25 x 0.5 inches), weight (127.6 grams), and screen size (3.2-inch QVGA). The screen is 0.2-inches larger than the Zune 30. American pricing has been set at $250. One thing that all the Zunes feature though is a REAL headphone jack allowing you to use any set of headphones, unlike what has been done to the iPods.
Zune Marketplace
When the Microsoft Zune launches in Canada, it will not be accompanied by the Zune Marketplace. At least, not initially. What this means is that Canadian consumers will need to look elsewhere to purchase their music (*cough*, DRM-free iTunes, *cough*). The Microsoft rep said that they didn’t have any official suggestions, but did recommend that you look toward the usual suspects.
The Zune Marketplace, when it formally launches in Canada, allows customers to purchase music directly from the PC software. There are all sorts of ways to find new music, including searching by album, artist, genre, top picks, and so on. In addition to the usual opportunity purchase individual songs and complete albums, Microsoft also has a $14.99/month subscription service. This gives customers access to the entire Zune Marketplace library as long as they maintain their subscription.
There are currently over 3 million songs available in the (American) Zune Marketplace, and over 1 million of these are MP3 files. Unlike the other 2 million songs that carry DRM protection, the MP3 files can be shared however you like. Burn it on a CD, upload it to your car stereo… do whatever you want. It’s yours. Microsoft is working to increase the number of DRM-free MP3 tracks in its library.
Welcome to the Social
Perhaps the most impressive aspect to the Zune launch in Canada is the social networking. They already plan on having applications that will integrate your Zune into popular sites like Facebook and MySpace, automatically updating the fields for favorite music, based on your actual listening habits. Beyond this, there is also a social section to the Zune software where you can set up a profile page, check out the pages of your friends, and so on. This will be integrated with Xbox Live, allowing you to use your Gamer Tag as your Zune Card.
Zune Social is designed to help you find music you like by seeing what other people are listening to. You can see how many times your friends have been listening to certain artists, which songs they are listening to the most, and what songs are the most popular in the Zune Social sphere as a whole. When you discover a new song, you are able to listen to a 30-second preview too.
The sharing of musical preferences and habits serves as the backbone to this Zune Social structure. That said, individual users can control how much they want to share about their musical tastes. If you want to keep your love for Michael Bolton and Barry Manilow to yourself, that’s a-okay.
Looking to the Future
Microsoft recognizes that iPod is still the “Alpha Male”, so to speak, of the MP3 player pack. In this way, it seems that they would be satisfied with being the best anti-iPod available on the market. In time, this philosophy may change.
When asked about future possibilities, Microsoft said that they were considering:
- Internet Radio capabilities (the WiFi is already there)
- Open sharing of content between the Zune Marketplace and Xbox Live Marketplace
- Greater number of non-DRM MP3 files
- Streaming Internet video capabilities
- Record songs from FM radio, recognizing the song title and artist so that it can purchased later
- More social media: See what your favorite artists like too
At this point, most of these features are still just ideas, so there’s no telling when and if they will be implemented. Whatever the case, I’m glad that Canadian consumers will soon have another legitimate music/video player option beyond what’s being sold by the guys at Cupertino.
We’d like to thank Microsoft Canada for putting together this special preview for us.