FCC Tests 120GB Zune. New Models on the Way?

[Adam Krebs]

<div class='os_post_top_link'><a href='http://https://fjallfoss.fcc.gov/prod/oet/forms/blobs/retrieve.cgi?attachment_id=960067&native_or_pdf=pdf' target='_blank'>http://https://fjallfoss.fcc.gov/pr...tive_or_pdf=pdf</a><br /><br /></div><p>"<em>Ever since Samsung had announced their new 120GB 1.8-inch hard drive in April 2007, Zune fansites has been buzzing with anticipation of a new Zune fitted with the higher capacity drives. Now the wait is nearly over as the FCC publishes a test report (and I assume approves) of the new 120GB Zunes. The 120GB Zune pictured above looks identical to the 80GB Zune and that's expected since the hard drive is of identical size too. The firmware used is nothing special too - version 2.5 (1614). Oh and in case you were wondering about the radiation emissions test results, the Zune passed with flying colors so it won't fry your body parts. Good to know.</em>"</p><p><img src="http://images.thoughtsmedia.com/resizer/thumbs/size/600/zt/auto/1219085023.usr495.jpg" border="1" /></p><p>So I guess Microsoft is planning on releasing a 120 GB version of the Zune80 (<em>Zune120</em>?), which shows little change from its smaller-capacity brethren. Why Zune would release such a player now is baffling. It is too far away from the Holiday Season to be part of gen3 (Zune4, 8 and 80 were announced in October), and it doesn't look like a special edition. Hopefully Microsoft will give us some answers, and soon.</p>

[Janak Parekh]

Moreover, why wouldn't they use the 160GB disk? Does Apple have an exclusive on it? :confused:

--janak

[Ricardo Dawkins]

Moreover, why wouldn't they use the 160GB disk? Does Apple have an exclusive on it? :confused:

--janak
this Zune have the same depth as a normal Zune 80.
no accesories incompatibilities, fit in the same ecosystem already for Zune 80. and the last: dont make a new sturdy Zune brick
Get it ?

[Janak Parekh]

this Zune have the same depth as a normal Zune 80.
no accesories incompatibilities, fit in the same ecosystem already for Zune 80. and the last: dont make a new sturdy Zune brick
Get it ? No, I don't. Toshiba's specs for their 120GB (http://sdd.toshiba.com/main.aspx?Path=StorageSolutions/1.8-inchHardDiskDrives/MK1214GAH/MK1214GAHSpecifications) and 80/160GB (http://sdd.toshiba.com/main.aspx?Path=StorageSolutions/1.8-inchHardDiskDrives/MKxx17GSGSeries/MKxx17GSGSpecifications) models show that the 160GB is the exact same depth as the 80GB and the 120GB units (8mm). Unless Microsoft has sourced a company that makes thinner 1.8" 120GB hard drives, the only explanation I can see is power and/or cost. The former difference seems minor to me (though I could be wrong), and I wouldn't use the latter as a good argument, since this would be the high-end Zune anyway.

--janak

[mszunefan]

Two things make me laugh about this...

1.) Zune Insider was not the first to tell us of this...way to keep up Cesar.
2.) Its 40 gbs less than its competitor and will most likely be in black only. Also with no features this looks like nothing more than a struggle from a dying animal.

[Adam Krebs]

Two things make me laugh about this...

1.) Zune Insider was not the first to tell us of this...way to keep up Cesar.
2.) Its 40 gbs less than its competitor and will most likely be in black only. Also with no features this looks like nothing more than a struggle from a dying animal.

1.) Who's "us"? I thought you were done with Zune.
2.) Maybe market research shows people don't want 160 GB. I certainly don't.

[inteller]

you question why they would come out with this before christmas. This IS what they are going to offer for Christmas.

Microsoft is mailing it in this year.....it is pretty sad really. They better have some STELLAR v3 firmware come november.

But who wants to spend their christmas day installing a firmware that should have shipped with the device?

MS had a killer device with the Zune30, but they have managed to squander every technical advantage by piece mealing this on a shoestring budget.

[mszunefan]

1.) Who's "us"? I thought you were done with Zune.
2.) Maybe market research shows people don't want 160 GB. I certainly don't.

Wow somehow you made a post that makes no sense and adds nothing to the argument. Why wouldn't you want an extra 40 gb when most likely it will cost the same? And by us I meant people who are keeping up with Zune news, I said I am done but I didn't say I wasn't interested to see what the Zune did next.

[Soundtweaker]

I would love a 120gb Zune.
My 80 is bursting at the seams.

I guess the bigger Zunes are for people that collect albums rather than singles.

[MarxMarvelous]

Why wouldn't you want an extra 40 gb when most likely it will cost the same?

Actually, we have no idea what it will cost and that's a key piece to the puzzle. If they price it the same as the iPod Classic 80 would it suddenly make sense?

[MarxMarvelous]

But who wants to spend their christmas day installing a firmware that should have shipped with the device?

Get used to it, this is becoming the norm. iPhone 2.0 shipped unusable until you plugged it in to download the firmware, and they have already come out with 2 point releases.

[mszunefan]

Actually, we have no idea what it will cost and that's a key piece to the puzzle. If they price it the same as the iPod Classic 80 would it suddenly make sense?

If this 120 gb Zune comes out at the same price as the 160 gb iPod classic that would be one more nail in the coffin. So if they are going to do something as dumb as release a like minded mp3 player with 40 less gb they better come out with one hell of an update for the firware. Maybe Zune Marketplace downloading through wifi, Zune pass on the go would help them maintain their footing, otherwise they are doomed for failure.

[bubuschoeny]

My guess is the Zune 120 will be at the same price point as the Zune 80. The Zune 80 will get a nice price cut. They also need an Ipod shuffle competitor, and they need to get that damn Zune client out for Windows Mobile and S60. They also need a Zune Touch Device out this year to keep up with Apple.

Combine these with a killer V3 update in November and some tighter integration with the Xbox and you might actually have something.

[Jason Dunn]

After your parting video rant, I was honestly hoping you'd really do what you said you'd do and leave the Zune behind. In your video it's pretty clear you don't understand technology lifecycles, marketing, or business in any way. You attained your 15 minutes of fame by making a spectacle of yourself, not for your knowledge about the Zune. If you insist in coming in here and trashing the Zune and the Zune team, I'll have to answer...

1.) Zune Insider was not the first to tell us of this...way to keep up Cesar.

FCC filings are not product announcements - they're essentially product leaks that seem to happen when companies don't file the right documents to keep the tests private.

Let's say Cesar was to say "Hey guys, we have a 120 GB Zune coming...but I can't tell you anything about it other than the fact that it's 120 GB." You know full well he'd be raked across the coals for that - Microsoft will announce the Zune 120 when they're ready to talk about it. And, historically, Zune Insider hasn't been a place for new product announcements, at least not things that are up on Zune.net first.

2.) Its 40 gbs less than its competitor and will most likely be in black only. Also with no features this looks like nothing more than a struggle from a dying animal.

I agree that it's not a good thing for the Zune to not match the size of the biggest iPod, but I think it's a very good thing that they only have ONE size for the hard-drive based Zune. When the Zune 80 came out, it had the highest-capacity hard drive that was available on the market that fit into the thickness they designed. It looks like now that same thickness can accommodate a 120 GB drive, so we get a 50% boost in storage but the Zune stays compatible with all the accessories for the Zune 80. That's critical.

What happens if Microsoft were to release a thicker Zune with a bigger hard drive? All the accessory makers groan because they have to make new accessories for the thicker Zune - that's not a big problem for the market-leading iPod, but when you're the "little guy" in the market you don't want to give your partners any excuse to give up on your product. If you make things difficult, or increase their customer service costs, they might walk away from your product.

As for the colour, why wouldn't it be at least black and red like the Zune 80 is now? And why do you think it will have no new features? We don't know that, because the FCC documents don't tend to talk about features, they just talk about specifications. If this is just a new product in the current generation of Zunes, a Zune 120 identical to the Zune 80 in every way but size, then maybe it won't have any new features. Or maybe it's part of a new generation of products that will have new features? We don't know.

As for your "struggle of a dying animal comment", that's just pure ignorance talking. You seem to think that consumer technologies should come out with new versions every six months or something. What planet does that happen on? The 2nd gen Zune came out in November 2007. There were a few minor software/firmware updates until the spring, when they release a very big software & firmware update that added new features, fixed a lot of bugs, etc.

There are rumours about something new coming in the fall - we don't know what it is, but it's clear that the Zune team continues to move the product forward on a regular basis. No one launches a product then four to six months later launches a new version of that product - that just isn't done, and for you to expect that shows your ignorance of how things really work.

[Jason Dunn]

MS had a killer device with the Zune30, but they have managed to squander every technical advantage by piece mealing this on a shoestring budget.

You thought the Zune 30 was killer? I'd say it was just barely "OK". It wasn't bad, but the desktop software sucked bad, and the device itself was pretty hefty. I'd say the Zune reached "killer" status in the spring of this year. With the 2.5 software, I have no reservations about suggesting the Zune to iPod owners.

[Jason Dunn]

Wow somehow you made a post that makes no sense and adds nothing to the argument. Why wouldn't you want an extra 40 gb when most likely it will cost the same?

Why would you think that a 160 GB hard drive would cost the same as a 120 GB hard drive? If you go into a store and look at the price of a 300 GB hard drive and a 500 GB hard drive, are they the same price? No.

It's entirely possible that, due to sales volume, Apple can get the 160 GB hard drive for the same price that Microsoft can get the 120 GB hard drive for, and for Microsoft to match the price of the iPod Classic they have to price it in the middle of the iPod 80 GB and the iPod 160 GB - like $299 USD or something similar.

Never underestimate what the power of a market leader can to do make it very difficult for anyone else to compete with them.

[Jason Dunn]

If this 120 gb Zune comes out at the same price as the 160 gb iPod classic that would be one more nail in the coffin.

You finally said something sensible! Yes, if they price the Zune 120 at $349 USD, that would be pretty foolish. But there's $100 price spread between the iPod 80 GB and the iPod 160 GB, and in the consumer market, $100 is a LOT of room to play. As I said in another post, they could do $299 and it might work...or what if the Zune 120 was $249 and the Zune 80 dropped to $199...or even stopped being made altogether? There are LOTS of options for Microsoft here.

[inteller]

You thought the Zune 30 was killer? I'd say it was just barely "OK". It wasn't bad, but the desktop software sucked bad, and the device itself was pretty hefty. I'd say the Zune reached "killer" status in the spring of this year. With the 2.5 software, I have no reservations about suggesting the Zune to iPod owners.


when it came out in 2006, it had RDS radio and the ability to exchange songs wirelessly. Those were some killer features, but they have managed to squander that, as you say with crappy software and slow firmware updates. The technical underpinnings of the Zune 30 (and the new ones too) is pretty impressive....they dont fully take advantage of all the hardware for sure.

[mszunefan]

First off Jason Dunn you like to hear yourself type. Second off, just because I said I would no longer support the Zune full steam like I have been for over a year doesn't mean I am still not interested in the PMP market.

Thirdly, to expect a company who is fighting one of the biggest product monopolies on this planet to maybe not keep everything secret and share with us their "master plan" might not be a bad idea. They have take a great product line and slowly drug it to its near death. They will have to pull a magic trick of a zune out of their butt to make it past this Holiday season and a 120 gb Zune isn't the magic trick they need.

[inteller]

i really think there needs to be a Zune client for windows mobile phones. Windows media player mobile is looking really loooong in the tooth. I was loking at the Treo Pro (which I'll probably buy anyways) and thinking "if this thing had a slick media client on it, it would be flying off shelves."

if unicode doesn't make it into v3 firmware I'm through.

[Jason Dunn]

Thirdly, to expect a company who is fighting one of the biggest product monopolies on this planet to maybe not keep everything secret and share with us their "master plan" might not be a bad idea. They have take a great product line and slowly drug it to its near death.

What are you basing this "near death" on? That the Zune hasn't somehow taken away 10% of Apple's market share already? Market share isn't won overnight - it's a long, slow process...and against a giant like Apple, who rarely releases poor products, it's a very hard process.

Sharing the "master plan" with the general public far in advance accomplishes one thing: it gives your competitors time to copy and beat you at your own game. Don't you think there's a reason nobody does it?

I think your expectations of the Zune team are completely out of whack.

[mszunefan]

What are you basing this "near death" on? That the Zune hasn't somehow taken away 10% of Apple's market share already?

***long quote trimmed by mod JD***

No near death means that there hasn't been any real news until just now and the Candian launch was so big that they just forgot to tell us how much it bombed. Also when you go against a big competitor like Apple, wouldn't it make sense to use all your gun powder and attack them full force with a killer product with even more killer features? Instead the Zune Team has used a sparkler to so some slight sparkling hopes but after 10 mins it has fizzled out.

[Jason Dunn]

No near death means that there hasn't been any real news until just now and the Candian launch was so big that they just forgot to tell us how much it bombed.

See, here's the whole problem with what you're saying: somehow, and I'm not sure why, you're under the impression that there should be "big Zune news" every 30 days or something. The Zune 2.5 release, which was a big release with lots of new features, was three months ago. 90 days or so. As in, pretty recently?

You somehow believe that the Zune team can move so fast that they should be releasing new features, and new Zunes, every couple of months. Apple doesn't do that. Samsung doesn't do that. SanDisk doesn't do that. Nobody does that. So why on earth do you think the Zune team can do that? Your expectations for the Zune team are COMPLETELY unrealistic and every time you express this opinion it only serves to show how ignorant you are.

Also when you go against a big competitor like Apple, wouldn't it make sense to use all your gun powder and attack them full force with a killer product with even more killer features? Instead the Zune Team has used a sparkler to so some slight sparkling hopes but after 10 mins it has fizzled out.

Ok, so your theory is that the Zune team has killer products and killer ideas about killer features but they're somehow not implementing them? Why, because they're lazy? Or they're saving them for something specialy? Get real. Killer products and killer features take time, and I'd say that the second generation Zune was a huge leap above the 1.0 Zune, and the 2.5 update improved the Zune another big step. Microsoft is making improvements, and you may not think they're big enough, but it's unfair of you to claim that they're not doing anything. Doing nothing was what they did with the Zune 1.0 - there were no real firmware or software improvements for a whole year, which sucked. That was them doing nothing. But we saw what they were really focused on when the Zune 2.0 came out...

PLEASE enjoy your iPod and stop posting here. Go join an Apple community and complain there about how much the Zune sucks - you'll get a lot of support for your opinion over on that side of the fence.