Filed under: Peripherals, Portable Audio, Portable Video

While Amazon has done a commendable job in (presumably) dispelling the hot air of a Griffin spokesperson, it’s not always, um, entirely reliable. However, we’d bet the gallery of Zune accessories gracing its pages now weren’t uploaded erroneously. Boasting everything from the premium earphones, travel pack, FM transmitter, and dock to the sync cable, wireless remote, A / V cable, and car charger that we’ve known were on the way, we’re just glad we can finally match a face with a name. Although none of the Microsoft-branded accessories are priced or available for pre-order, the Zunes themselves certainly are (in all three colors, no less) for those who aren’t feeling lucky. Say, doesn’t that dock connector look awfully familiar?

[Thanks, Darryl]

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SPONSORED BY: BOLD MOVES: THE FUTURE OF FORD A new documentary series. Be part of the transformation as it happens in real-time.

Filed under: Gaming, HDTV, Home Entertainment

Just like expected, Microsoft is busting out their Xbox 360 HD DVD add-on for a mere $199.99 in the US, while they’re shipping the drive for €199.99 in Europe and £129.99 in the UK. The drive will also be bundled with Peter Jackson’s King Kong and the Xbox 360 Universal Remote. The combined price of an Xbox 360 and HD DVD drive in each region adds up to basically the same price as a PlayStation 3, which doesn’t give Microsoft much of an edge for console buyers who haven’t bought a next-gen console just yet, but gives them quite the price advantage for current Xbox 360 owners. It looks like Japan FTW on this one, since they’re getting their drive for roughly $170, and have a solid November 17th release date, while Microsoft is targeting mid-November for the US and Europe.

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SPONSORED BY: BOLD MOVES: THE FUTURE OF FORD A new documentary series. Be part of the transformation as it happens in real-time.

Filed under: Gaming

When the rumor mill gets a’turnin’ you’re bound to have a few false-starts, and it seems the new black Xbox 360 meme is no exception. The snazzy “black Xbox” seen above might look quite black and Xboxy, but we’re sorry to report that it’s just a developer box, plenty of which have been out since before launch for testing out pre-release games. Also, if when Microsoft does actually build a black version, we’re kind of hoping they stick with that chrome drive tray from the regular 360, and maybe go with a truer black instead of this piddling smoke color. We’re definitely not writing off the rumor entirely, according to some “leaked info” from Microsoft’s planned X06 announcements this week, they’ll be announcing Xbox 360 Black for the holidays, along with 1080p Halo3 and other fanboy pleasers. We also got a tip from somebody who claims to have a friend at GAME that says the black Xbox 360 will be a premium only color, and might even come with an integrated or bundled HD DVD drive and possibly a larger HDD. We suppose we’ll know soon enough — X06 is over tomorrow — but that doesn’t mean we can’t stay busy drumming up the hype and unrealistic expectations until then.

[Thanks to everyone who sent these in]

Read – Black Xbox at Microsoft event
Read – X06 info leaked

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SPONSORED BY: BOLD MOVES: THE FUTURE OF FORD A new documentary series. Be part of the transformation as it happens in real-time.

Filed under: Portable Audio, Portable Video

And in other news, it’s a chilly 32 degrees in Hell today, and we just saw a winged pig buzz by our window.

[Thanks, Mikami]

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SPONSORED BY: BOLD MOVES: THE FUTURE OF FORD A new documentary series. Be part of the transformation as it happens in real-time.

Filed under: Portable Audio, Portable Video

We thought the world record for the speed of knockoff went to TechFaith Wireless for their Q-before-the-Q, and their line of slick Windows Mobile-based knockoffs — but it would appear we’ve been proven wrong. Everyone, say hello to Oriphe Industrial Limited’s MPF2110, which is “liking Microsoft zune” (yeah, we’re liking it too). The MPF2110 plays MPEG, AVI, AMW, and MTV video formats (what the hell are those last two?), MP3, WAV, and WMA audio, has an FM / voice recording, USB 2.0, a 1.5 or 1.8-inch display, and up to “2GB flash memory chip by Samsung/Hynix, the most reliable.” (So, Samsung is an accessory to the crime; perhaps because Microsoft went with Toshiba?) Sign us up, we’re going to buy ten thousand and sell them outside Zune-sponsored shows to see if anyone of those “artists and musicians” can actually tell the difference.

[Via The MP3 Players]

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SPONSORED BY: BOLD MOVES: THE FUTURE OF FORD A new documentary series. Be part of the transformation as it happens in real-time.

Filed under: Portable Audio, Portable Video

Yeah, it’s a somewhat minor-seeming detail, but no one seemed to know how much damned battery life the Zune was going to have at launch. They were pretty tight lipped about it, but our new pal Matt Rosoff, a Microsoft analyst, let us know that according to his contacts, with wireless off we can expect a 12 hours of music playback at 128Kbps, 3.5 hours for video playback, and 4.5 hours when running a slide show. Compare that to the 30GB iPod‘s 14/4 hours and the 80GB iPod‘s 20/6 hours, and it’s a little difficult to fully envision the payoff for that added thickness and height. Still, remember: bigger screen, wireless, bigger screen, wireless. Ah well, we’ll just hope upon hope that’ll be something the fix before release in a couple months.

[Thanks, Matt]

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SPONSORED BY: BOLD MOVES: THE FUTURE OF FORD A new documentary series. Be part of the transformation as it happens in real-time.

Filed under: Cellphones

Zune, the music player; Zune the service; Zune, the software; Zune the lifestyle brand; Zune, the cellphone? The iPod beat Microsoft to the portable music device market by what, five years, so don’t be surprised that it doesn’t look like they’re going to let Apple off so easily on a cellphone — especially not while they’ve got a fighting chance. At a press conference today, Chris Stephenson, GM for Zune, told the press, “A Zune phone is definitely part of the future of this brand.” We did definitely hear before that Microsoft was working toward setting up an MVNO, but even if that never takes off, there’s no reason to believe the Zunephone won’t spring to life irregardless. As much as we love our HTCs, let’s just hope it isn’t a Windows Mobile device given a facelift — we all know that, like PlaysForSure, the problems with adapting off-the-shelf Microsoft stuff are more than skin deep.

[Thanks, Joel]

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SPONSORED BY: BOLD MOVES: THE FUTURE OF FORD A new documentary series. Be part of the transformation as it happens in real-time.

Filed under: Digital Cameras, Peripherals

As if to prove a point to their comrades in the Microsoft Windows division, Microsoft Hardware has just launched nine new peripherals to show ‘em how its done. We won’t trouble you with all nine products, but the four highlights of the launch are plenty to be getting on with. Pictured above is the new Wireless Entertainment Desktop 8000, which claims to be the first wireless rechargeable backlit keyboard, and who are we to argue? The ‘board features ambient and proximity sensing, while keeping it slim at a mere 1-inch thick, and it should be available next February for $250. Next up is the do-it-all Wireless Presenter Mouse 8000, which stuffs in slide presenter, laser pointer, media remote and laser mouse functionality into its meaty girth. The Bluetooth mouse should be out mid-October for about $100. Microsoft also has the new Natural Wireless Laser Mouse 6000, with high-def laz0r tracking and intense ergonomics, and the new LifeCam NX-6000 webcam, which features 7.6 megapixel stills and 2.0 megapixel video in a minuscule package. The cam should be out in November for $100, while the Laser Mouse 6000 should follow in January for $80. Now, if only we had a shiny new OS to use these with. Keep reading for more pics.

Read – Wireless Entertainment Desktop 8000
Read – Wireless Presenter Mouse 8000
Read – Natural Wireless Laser Mouse 6000
Read – Microsoft LifeCam NX-6000

Wireless Presenter Mouse 8000

Natural Wireless Laser Mouse 6000

Microsoft LifeCam NX-6000

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SPONSORED BY: BOLD MOVES: THE FUTURE OF FORD A new documentary series. Be part of the transformation as it happens in real-time.

Filed under: Gaming, HDTV, Home Entertainment, Storage

Yeah, yeah, we’ve heard this plenty of times before, but one more time couldn’t hurt, right? DigiTimes is reporting that Microsoft is hard at work at a second-generation Xbox 360 with internal HD DVD capabilities, and is currently selecting manufacturers in Taiwan to build the drive. Of course, they haven’t even gotten their external drive out the door yet, so it seems just as likely to us that they’re searching for another manufacturer for that drive. If this does pan out, DigiTimes is saying the internal HD DVD Xbox could be out as early as the first half of 2007. We’re not holding our breath, but we can’t say the idea of a souped-up (or maybe slimmed-down?) Xbox 360 doesn’t appeal.

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Filed under: Gaming

It’s one of the principles of supply and demand that as supply goes up while demand is down, the great equalizer is lowering the price; well, Microsoft finally has the supply they were after with the Xbox 360, but the demand sure as hell isn’t there in Japan. So what’s Redmond to do? Dump ‘em off for about ¥29,800, or about $255, a solid $86 US off its current retail price and $45 less than in the US. First the UK, now Japan — what’s America got to do to catch a break with the 360, play hard to get and stop buying the damned things?

[Thanks, theburn16]

Update: Well wouldn’t you know it, our Japanese bureau informed us that they aren’t actually slashing the price, but are just introducing the Core system to the Japanese market. Still, it’s at a price far less than that of its US counterparts — and it kind of makes you wonder why they didn’t launch the more affordable version over in the Japanese market to begin with. Japanese 360 buyers: it’s coming your way November 2nd!

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Filed under: Gaming

Actually, the headline that would more accurately reflect the situation would read something like “Microsoft talks trash about Sony delay; Nintendo respectfully reinforces its own launch goals,” but headlines like those don’t sell RSS subscriptions. After hearing about Sony’s weak launch quantity and global delays, Microsoft came out woodwork with a bit of backhanded sympathy (laced, of course, with some low blows): “We know how challenging it is to pull off a global launch, so it’s not surprising that Sony has backed away from their previously announced launch plan, due to the unproven technology they are trying to pack in to their console.” The MS types also made sure everybody knew how much they care for the global gamer: “Europe remains a priority for us. That is why gamers have been able to experience Xbox 360 from day one, and why we’re confident we’re going to have a great Christmas – regardless of what competitors are or are not in the market.” Zing! Nintendo, however, merely reiterated their launch goals: “Wii is on track to ship in Q4, Nintendo plans to ship 6 million systems to retailers around the world between its launch in the fourth quarter of 2006 and the end of its fiscal year on March 31, 2007.” Nary a dis for Sony, but we’re sure they’ll catch the drift all the same.

[Thanks, AJ]

Read – Microsoft talks trash
Read – Nintendo respectfully reinforces

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Filed under: Portable Audio

Mere days after Microsoft started pushing a new IBX version for “protecting” PlaysForSure files from its users, the FairUse4WM guys have thrown down a new version that deals with that and other little DRM-circumvention obstacles. The new release — version 1.2 — knocks out DRMv1 files you’ve ripped yourself with protection, breaks down individualized WM9 files and has a workaround for WM11beta2. Of course, we’re guessing it won’t be long until Microsoft has another quick update to break FairUse4WM again, but it seems like a more drastic update might be in order to shut down this hack for good. We’re sure you’re well familiar with our stance on this whole issue, and hope that version 1.2 treats you right.

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Filed under: Portable Audio, Portable Video

Well, well, well — it seems that Toshiba’s been up to more in the portable media space lately than just helping Microsoft out with the Zune manufacturing. In fact, ole Tosh has been working on a DTV-less version of its Japanese OneSeg-capable 30GB V30T; shake off the TV tuner, and you’ve got America’s own MEV30K. This model borrows many of its features from the popular S series — including Microsoft’s Portable Media Center software, WMV9, WMV10, and PlaysForSure video playback, plus support for MP3, WMA, WMA lossless, WAV, and Windows DRM 9 / 10 audio files — but, like the V30T, tosses what will probably be some well-received spec bumps into the mix. Besides the addition of a built-in speaker, the main changes here involve screen size and battery life: the V30K sports a 3.5-inch TFT LCD (compared to the 2.5-incher on the S, though both share the same QVGA resolution) and promises up to 8 hours of video or 25 hours of audio playback on a full charge (as opposed to the meager 2.5 and 12 hour lifespans for video and audio, respectively, on the S). We’re sure that there are more than few people interested in this stamina-filled $400 Gigabeat, so the good news is that pre-ordering begins today through Crutchfield and Amazon, though a nationwide rollout is not expected until sometime in October. Let the iPod comparisons commence!

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Filed under: Desktops, Laptops

Folks, whip out your credit cards, because if you haven’t already downloaded the Vista beta or a leaked copy from the internets, it looks like we may actually have a product for you to buy. Amazon shows that Windows Albatross um, Vista will be released on January 30, 2007, and they’ve been taking preorders for the last two weeks. Depending on which package or upgrade you decide to get, Vista will cost you at least a cool $159 and up to $399 for the full “Ultimate DVD-ROM.” Keep in mind that these preorder prices may be subject to change and may not reflect the actual final retail price, and may require the full written consent of Major League Baseball.

[Via I4U]

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Filed under: Gaming

Just like Microsoft, Nintendo was a tad cramped in the PAX exhibition hall — their full setup could’ve squeezed into a small corner of their Wii extravaganza at E3. But they’re making the best of things with an all DS all the time booth, and quite a few new games on display such as Yoshi’s Island 2 and Final Fantasy III. We can’t deny we’re a bit disappointed by the Wii‘s absence, and the resulting lines would’ve been fun to see as well, but it’s not hard to see why Nintendo opted to keep they’re little mysterious console off the floor. Of course, with no plans by Nintendo to show the Wii at the Tokyo Games Show, we’re starting to wonder if it’ll show up in “public” at all before its still-undefined launch, but we suppose we’ll see it when we see it.

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Filed under: Gaming

Yeah, we’re kicking it here with our Joystiq pals in beautiful Redmond, Washington for a weekend of rubbing shoulders with the game-nerd elite. PAX’s 17,000+ attendees this year are bursting the Meydenbauer Center at the seams, which means exhibitors like Microsoft can’t quite have their usual sprawl of a booth. Luckily, they’re moving the show — which is now the biggest games show in North America thanks to the demise of E3 — to downtown Seattle at the Washington State Convention Center next year, so hopefully the claustrophobic among us will be able to manage a step through a booth in ’07. Keep reading for pics of the setup, and start saving your pennies for next year’s extravaganza.

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Filed under: Gaming

It’s not a huge price drop, but reports are starting to come in that Microsoft’s turning up the heat in Europe on the price of their Xbox 360 Core console. Apparently retailers in the UK are beginning to drop the price on the console from £209 to £199, nearly a $20 US price cut on the system. There’s a little he said she said going on between Microsoft and the retailers though: Microsoft’s stance is that the retailers set the price, and they’re all just deciding to drop to £199, whereas the retailers seem to all agree the edict came from Redmond to drop it. Why? Well, if Microsoft pretends like they didn’t ask retailers to drop the price, they’re less likely to the incite of negative feedback from, say, their US customers who have also been waiting patiently for a price drop to buy their console. And to that we say bullocks.

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Filed under: Portable Audio

Well it’s official; we’ve definitely gone Zune-crazy ’round these parts. Not content with presenting you with a super-blurry photo of the upcoming device’s supposed interface, we’re now reporting on an artist’s rendition of the GUI from someone claiming to be in the know — so keep in mind that you’re looking at mockups here and not actual screenshots. Anywho, the pictures jibe pretty closely with all the info that’s streamed in so far: although they depict a rather no-frills white-on-black menu screen, when you slap some skins onto the background (like Bill Gates’ old mugshot, for instance), it seems like a pretty aesthetically-pleasing experience. We’re not gonna repeat ourselves and regurgitate all the functionality and specs that you’ve heard so many times before; instead, we’re sending you directly over to iLounge to peep the full set of meticulously-rendered drawings. Hey, even if these shots end up looking nothing like what appears on the final device, whoever whipped them up has a promising career as a fake product designer and Internet rumor-starter of the highest caliber.

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Filed under: Gaming, Peripherals

If you’re one of the few hardcore folks that have been getting by with a hacked Street Fighter joystick on your Xbox 360, Mad Catz is (hopefully) coming to the rescue. All signs are currently pointing towards the impending release of a retro-styled Xbox Live Arcade Stick that not only adds an entirely new dimension to those immensely addicting HD Xbox Live arcade titles, but is rumored to actually include a few with the purchase of the ‘stick. While things aren’t set in stone quite yet, a few internet sleuths nabbed a screen cap (hit the read link for a peek) of the pre-order page — which was quickly yanked, of course — that shows an awkwardly high $69.99 price and an October ship date. Our friends over at Joystiq have claimed that the yankage occurred because Mad Catz still hasn’t finalized which games it’ll toss in, and for reasons beyond our understanding, have suggested that we’ll see a $49.99 pricetag when the pre-order (really) officially starts. Whatever the holdup, we’re glad to see someone stepping up and offering us retro gamers a controller that feels a bit more natural, and we’ll consider this kit a much more worthwhile purchase should it actually drop for under 50 bucks.

[Via Joystiq]

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Filed under: Gaming

Sure, graphics and games may be all that are important to you when it comes to next-generation videogame consoles, but your spouse / significant other is probably even more concerned with how the device(s) will fit in to your home decor. Luckily for him / her, Games Radar got its hands on an exact wooden replica of the upcoming PS3 (straight from Sony, so you know it’s the real deal), and did a little comparative photo shoot with the Xbox 360 so all of us have some idea of what to expect. As you can see, Sony’s machine is living a lot larger than Microsoft’s offering, but with its all-black exterior, the PS3 might actually be less obtrusive sitting among the rest of the gear in your rack. As appreciative as we are to Games Radar for providing some perspective on the aesthetic merits / detriments of both systems, we still think they could have taken a page out of DocCRP’s book, and photographed the mockup next to every single object ever produced in the history of mankind. Oh well, maybe Doc just set the bar a little too high; keep reading for another angle, and then head over to GR for the rest of the *shudder* “pr0n”…

[Via Guardian Unlimited]

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Filed under: Gaming

A few juicy hints were dropped by Microsoft’s Robert Walker on Monday in regards to a special FPS controller in the works for the Xbox 360. His comments were made at Gamefest in Seattle, and he was quick to clarify that Microsoft has no concrete plans for the device, but that it’s more of a long term exploration. Sadly, it’s no replacement for the tried-and-true keyboard/mouse combination: Microsoft is merely working on a new right analog stick that would be better with the precise movements required for FPS and game types. The controller wouldn’t replace the current, well-praised offering, but would merely be an option for enthusiasts and competitive types. Microsoft is also dropping more hints about some sort of motion sensing technology implementation in a future 360 controller, stating that their experiments with joysticks weren’t well promoted to developers, but playing it safe by dissing the sensitivity of the tech for FPS and racing use. The main question seems to be: will it rumble?

[Via Xbox 360 Fanboy]

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Filed under: Portable Audio, Portable Video

We already knew the Zune was going to come in a triad of colors, but we didn’t have much of any idea as to the price they were going to stick you for. Common sense would dictate it would be at or slightly below what the iPod is asking for their device — but not above — and if TWiCE is correct with their information, the Zune will run for an on-par $299. They’re also reporting the Zune won’t allow for music purchases on the go, which kind of flies in the face of that whole “connected entertainment” thing, as well as the idea of putting WiFi in a portable, so we’re looking at it somewhat skeptically for the time being.

[Thanks to everyone who sent this in]

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Filed under: Gaming, HDTV, Home Entertainment

For Microsoft to demo their forthcoming Xbox 360 HD DVD isn’t that surprising; to see them show off some UI mockups, ok, maybe a teensy bit surprising; to hear them give a price? Pretty shocking — but they didn’t, they gave a price range, and a nebulous one at that. HD Beat has it that during Microsoft’s presentation at the North America DVD Forum Conference, the 360′s HD DVD drive was said to “be the cheapest HD DVD player on the market for consumers who already own an Xbox 360 console.” In other words, means it’ll cost you less than a half a grand — which is even less encouraging than what we heard before. Gee, thanks; playing this one close to the chest, are you Microsoft? Don’t make us consult inside sources, because you know what happens when we do.

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Filed under: Portable Audio, Portable Video

So word going around late this week was that the Zune, better known as Microsoft’s supposed iPod killer, is slated to ship without support for video. Yeah, you heard that right. According to a report on from the New York Post, “Microsoft called up some content providers and said the video portion of its Zune device… was being delayed.” (The other juicy tidbit was that they’d have ad-supported downloads, but that’s still unsubstantiated as far as we know.) Microsoft’s Zune PR, of course, provided us with the following statement with regards to the story: “We do not have product details to share at this time and as such cannot comment on rumors or speculation.” Then, on top of that TechWeb reported that Microsoft actually referred to the rumor as “speculative.” It’s all the standard fare non-denial denial, we know, but we still don’t have any strong reason to believe the Post’s report has any weight. Besides the fact that sources told us nothing of the like, Microsoft would effectively be committing Zune to launch failure this buying season if they trot it out into the market place not even as well equipped as your standard iPod. That is, after all, the point of Zune, right? To best the iPod in all the ways Apple’s been dragging its feet, and provide a viable alternative? It’s 2006, look at that device right up there. If you think that’s not going to have video, well, may god rest Zune’s soul.

[Via Macsimum News, thanks CoreyTheGent, Jon, and Conor]

Read – NY Post
Read – TechWeb

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Filed under: Cellphones, Laptops, Wireless

Proving that corporate agendas sometimes can’t be put aside long enough to create a unified computing platform for the world’s poor, Microsoft has unveiled “FonePlus,” a concept device making good on its proposal to use smartphones as the basis for sending computers deep into emerging markets. Unfortunately we’ve been unable to dig up any eye candy, but FonePlus looks to follow Gates’ formula pretty closely: you get a CE-based smartphone (likely watered down from the full Windows Mobile package) with TV out and an external keyboard connection. The logic behind FonePlus suggests that phones and televisions are pervasive even in some of the world’s poorest regions, making the product an easy sell — plus, Internet access is part and parcel with the phone, something OLPC doesn’t provide out of the box. Whether FonePlus will see production remains to be seen, but Microsoft’s studying the idea closely — and when you get snubbed by OLPC in favor of Linux, well, it’s no surprise to see them come out swinging.

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