“Microsoft’s plot to use Wi-Fi capabilities in order advantage its upcoming digital media player over the iPod could have an adverse effect on the player’s battery life, one Wall Street analyst says,” Slash Lane reports for AppleInsider.
“‘We believe the biggest issue […] is that Wi-Fi power requirements are still quite steep and so we are skeptical that battery life will be strong on these Microsoft portable media players,’ American Technology Research analyst Shaw Wu wrote in a note to clients on Monday,” Lane reports.
“While Microsoft declined offer specifics of the products, some analysts claim to have confirmed with the company that its media player device would pack Wi-Fi capabilities, allowing it to download content wirelessly,” Lane reports. “Similar portable devices of slightly larger proportions have recently hit the market with Wi-Fi capabilities, but at the expense of battery life. ‘In our analysis, a Sony PSP lasts only about 45 minutes when Wi-Fi is turned on,’ Wu told clients.
Lane reports, “Wu also believes Microsoft’s Zune products could tarnish its reputation amongst several partners already battling Apple’s iPod dominance. ‘We believe the biggest issue with Microsoft’s entrance into the portable media space is that puts it direct competition with its partners, all of whom support Microsoft’s Windows Media format,’ he said. ‘While the focus is on Apple, we believe this move will likely have a much larger competitive impact on Creative, SanDisk, Sony, Samsung, iRiver, Archos, and others.'”
Full article here.
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Is it me or is Microsoft just reinventing the Pocket PC? They dont do too good when they try that.
Most of the “leaked” spects describe a Pocket PC with HD. The Dell ix3 I have had for 2+ years has wifi that eats power. If I play a MPEG4 clip I get about 2 hours max. And can do music for longer. Surf the net but a pain with a touch screen.
This is like when Microsoft re-inventing the tablet computer. Utter disaster. They tried for a redesigned of a PDA and came up with the diaster UMPC. And now a PMP??? SHEECH.
If they could take the best from a PDA… Add a huge Flash storage of 8 to 16GB. And offer the wide playback formats of a Cowon A2, Archos, iRiver etc. Then maybe but its dead before they even clicked the first line on their CAD programs.
I have seen the new moble phones with Windows Mobles 5. Intergrations is a joke! Its works like some one tired it together with string! Nothing really intergrated to being usfull just fustrating.
If all of the other DAP players mfg got together.. That would be intersting. But this will be a small footnote in DAP/PMP history.
The only thing no one has brough up here or any where is the Toshiba Gigabeat S30 series….. Its may be a look at what this thing may be. It does run Microsoft OS….
don’t worry about battery life, the MS comittee says put a bigger battery in it.
BRICK
I can’t wait for this to come out, what a bomb it will be and THAT type of reading never gets old when Ballmer is involved.
Have you seen techno Balmer?:
http://video.google.com/videoplay?docid=2362050448778905490
To all of you who have commented on the “cost” of a WiFi connection… where is this WiFi bill going to show up at the end of the month? Do you even know what WiFi is? You don’t pay a monthly bill for it. You may have WiFi at your home or office (no monthly fee) or you may go to a bookstore, coffee shop, McDonalds etc. and use it to your heart’s content, also for free.
If the Zune allows wireless ‘instant messaging’ and/or the ability for one MP3 junkie to wirelessly send his tunes to another MP3 junkie (there has been talk of this) then Zune will be a hit with a large number of young people as they (young people) have already demonstrated that they need constant contact with one another.
The claim is that WiFi will sap battery life. Which is at least somewhat true. Active WiFi will certainly do a number on battery life … what about passive WiFi? WiFi that only activates on-demand or when ‘paged’. Yes, it would use battery power … but only when actually in use.
Which is likely what Apple will do when they respond to whatever MS thinks up.
This is great. The more money Microsoft wastes, the better.
Zune is Oragami.
Oragami is Zune
DL Meyer:
<b>Can WiFi actually work for file sharing between users?<b>
How will people share files in a crowded space? This would be like having a radio receiver with a “tuner” that accepts 100 simultaneous signals. Obviously, persons on a crowded bus or subway, in the union hall or at a party would find cross signals annoying especially if the Zune is receiving and storing unwanted files. Maybe Microsoft’s Zune tip #12 will be, “Be sure that you and your friend exchanging songs are at least 20 feet away from everybody else in the vicinity to avoid cross signals, otherwise you will have to purge your Zune of unwanted files.”
Of course, the WiFi receiver and transmitter could only work within a limited distance from one another thus exclude all other surrounding signals, but this restriction will also limit its actual functionality. Maybe Microsoft’s tip #35 will be, “Be sure that you and your friend exchanging songs are no more than 2 feet 7 inches away to prevent signal drops.”
The only way I see WiFi used for practical file sharing is if one could manually adjust the range that signals could be transmitted and/or received; however, this adds a layer of complexity to the Zune.
On the other hand, if each Zune had its own unique wireless frequency then users could tune in their Zune to receive signals from another Zune irrespective of multiple signals in the vicinity. Microsoft would have to program each Zune with its unique transmission frequency, but how would you, as a receiver, know which frequency to select? Would you have an alphabetical menu of friends names each with their personal frequency? If you have a lot of friends, you might spend more time scrolling through the lists to select the correct frequency than actually sharing a file.
Lastly, how does one protect the Zune from other frequencies jamming or interfering with the WiFi signals?
Reminds me of an old joke about Harley-Davidson- ‘If they can’t make it better, they make it heavier.’ Yeah.
first of all, not to defend the company which i highly loath, but they will probably let you turn the wi-fi off, only turning it on to buy a song etc, so i’m sure the battery drain won’t be horrific á la PSP’s 45 min.
2ndly, microslothy, go back to bed. “better late than never” does not hold up here.
then again, i guess i’m kinda late with this reply….
Alex,
My point is, is that unless you are actively using the wireless connection, there is no reason for it to be on. Most cell phones have web access now. Are you connected the entire time the phone is on? No. It connects when you want to use it. It disconnects when you’re done. Same thing here.
As far as extraneous features, yes, I agree. That was not the point of my post, though.
Wifi will be an essenstial part of the zune because mp3’s are a social object.
http://www.zunescene.com