Zune: Fill 'er up at Starbucks?

[Zunerama Ed.]

From the Zunerama blog:

Note: some of this is addressed in other threads. Today's blog pulls together several interesting hints that were divulged or confirmed by Microsoft's Chris Stephenson in France this weekend.

More tantalizing hints this week about the future of Zune!

First, Microsoft plans to make downloadable music available for Zune owners from retail settings, according to Microsoft's Chris Stephenson, who spoke to reporters at the Midem music expo in Cannes this Saturday. These filling stations could include Starbucks and McDonald's... both naturals given that the chains have many WiFi-enabled locations.

Likin' that!

I have no inside knowledge on how this would work, but I can envision a simple server macro running at your local Starbucks, continuously scanning for nearby Zunes. It finds yours and offers to send a preselected set of songs to your Zune.

Second, Stephenson also lent credence to the Zune flash model rumors, reportedly confirming the development of a smaller player using flash memory instead of a hard drive. Oh yes... likin' that.

And, finally, Stephenson "emphasized that Microsoft had Xbox-scale ambitions for Zune, which means a multi-year, multi-billion dollar commitment".

What can I say, but... likin' that..!!

[xxxoom]

i wonder how the nano zune will work? i mean, since it's so small, it can't really have wifi can it? and, without wifi, how is it different from ipod? just curious.

[Zuneologist]

i wonder how the nano zune will work? i mean, since it's so small, it can't really have wifi can it? and, without wifi, how is it different from ipod? just curious.

please dont use the words "nano zune"..ahah ..lets just call it flash based.
well i dont see why it cant have wi-fi man. technology is making hardware smaller and smaller.. but unfortunately we dont know too much about it yet, any estimates on the size of the player, are just estimates.

[mrpetey2u]

Here is a picture of the potential micro zune

Pete

[inflamesfan018]

the micro zune is cool looking, and i wouldn' mind having the extra pocket room, and they should be able to put wi-fi in it, if not, oh well, i would still prefer it over any ipod

and as far as that starbucks, Mickey D's thing, that would be great, because i have to admit, i don't mind waiting 15 minutes for some mediocre coffee, and everyone loves McDonald's(come on you know you do) now song downloads would make the wait at least a little enjoyable.

p.s. the line at Starbucks has to be that long, or you wouldn't have time to memorize your order so you can spout it off in one breath when you reach the counter, i mean, geez, the combinations!

[xxxoom]

well, it's not just the size of the nymbis that would effect wifi, but also the need for an interface and screen size.

i think most people buy a nano for it's simplicity. to bog it down with a lot of other stuff might defeat the purpose.

still, they should try to distinguish it from nano somehow.

[spencerjf]

Here is a picture of the potential micro zune

Pete

It looks great to me! I wonder how many songs it will hold.

[rj1790]

COol good to hear

[HellboyOne]

Here is a picture of the potential micro zune

Pete

Don't those buttons seem a little low?  I wonder how easy it'll be to control with one hand. 

[inflamesfan018]

do they have an estimate on capacity yet, will there be a few different sizes to choose from? and will this be in the original colors or will this zune be a rainbow of color?

[Zunerama Ed.]

That pic is a mockup someone created (not from Microsoft). I don't think the Zune flash player will look like that.

I would like it to look something like the wireless remote that comes with the AV kit.
But there's no indication from Microsoft what the next player might look like.

Here's the wireless remote:

[xxxoom]

yeah. that one looks more zune-like...