Zune 4, 8
Encyclopedia
The Zune 4, Zune 8, and Zune 16 are second-generation models of the Zune
lineup, they were first announced on October 2, 2007 and released on November 13, 2007 in the United States
and June 13, 2008 in Canada
. They are flash memory
-based players meant to compete with the iPod Nano
and the Sansa Fuze
, both smaller and cheaper than the three hard drive-based Zune devices, the Zune 30
, Zune 80, and Zune 120. They feature music, video, and podcast support, and come with Wi-Fi
and FM Radio
.
, which allows for touch-sensitive controls in addition to 5-way clicking. Wi-Fi is used for wireless synchronization and for sharing photos, podcasts, and music with other Zunes, although shared songs may only be played three times by the receiving Zune. The FM Radio includes RBDS support for displaying song and station metadata, but does not support HD-Radio. The flash Zune models also feature scratch resistant glass screens, similar to the screens used on the v2 Zunes.
The Zune 4, 8, and 16 have gotten generally positive reception. Positives and negatives mimic those of the Zune 80 and 120, as the 4, 8, and 16 are very similar devices in a smaller package: the Wi-Fi, user interface, and excellent sound quality are praised. Some reviews have mentioned the lack of TV shows in the Zune Marketplace, it has since been updated with the ability to purchase and rent TV shows and movies.
Zune
Zune is a digital media brand owned by Microsoft which includes a line of portable media players, a digital media player software for Windows machines, a music subscription service known as a 'Zune Music Pass', music and video streaming for the Xbox 360 via the Zune Software, music, TV and movie...
lineup, they were first announced on October 2, 2007 and released on November 13, 2007 in the United States
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
and June 13, 2008 in Canada
Canada
Canada is a North American country consisting of ten provinces and three territories. Located in the northern part of the continent, it extends from the Atlantic Ocean in the east to the Pacific Ocean in the west, and northward into the Arctic Ocean...
. They are flash memory
Flash memory
Flash memory is a non-volatile computer storage chip that can be electrically erased and reprogrammed. It was developed from EEPROM and must be erased in fairly large blocks before these can be rewritten with new data...
-based players meant to compete with the iPod Nano
IPod nano
iPod Nano is a digital media player designed and marketed by Apple Inc.. The first generation of iPod Nano was introduced on September 7, 2005 as a replacement for iPod Mini. It uses flash memory for storage. iPod Nano has gone through six models, or generations, since its introduction...
and the Sansa Fuze
Sansa Fuze
The Sansa Fuze is a portable media player developed by SanDisk, and released on March 8, 2008. The Fuze is available in three different Flash memory capacities: 2 GB, 4 GB, and 8 GB. It comes in five different colors, black, silver, red, pink, and blue. Storage is expandable via a...
, both smaller and cheaper than the three hard drive-based Zune devices, the Zune 30
Zune 30
This article refers only to the Zune 30 model. For the main Zune article, click here.The Zune 30 was the first portable media player developed by Microsoft. It was released on November 14, 2006. It was simply named the Zune...
, Zune 80, and Zune 120. They feature music, video, and podcast support, and come with Wi-Fi
Wi-Fi
Wi-Fi or Wifi, is a mechanism for wirelessly connecting electronic devices. A device enabled with Wi-Fi, such as a personal computer, video game console, smartphone, or digital audio player, can connect to the Internet via a wireless network access point. An access point has a range of about 20...
and FM Radio
FM broadcasting
FM broadcasting is a broadcasting technology pioneered by Edwin Howard Armstrong which uses frequency modulation to provide high-fidelity sound over broadcast radio. The term "FM band" describes the "frequency band in which FM is used for broadcasting"...
.
Overview
The D-pad of the original Zune has been replaced by the Zune padZune Pad
The Zune Pad, which is a squircle, is the primary control mechanism for Zune 4, 8, 16, 80 and 120. The pad lets users scroll through a long list of songs with a few flicks of the finger, then press the button to select tracks or change the volume....
, which allows for touch-sensitive controls in addition to 5-way clicking. Wi-Fi is used for wireless synchronization and for sharing photos, podcasts, and music with other Zunes, although shared songs may only be played three times by the receiving Zune. The FM Radio includes RBDS support for displaying song and station metadata, but does not support HD-Radio. The flash Zune models also feature scratch resistant glass screens, similar to the screens used on the v2 Zunes.
| Zune 4 | Zune 8 | Zune 16 | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Capacity | Gigabyte The gigabyte is a multiple of the unit byte for digital information storage. The prefix giga means 109 in the International System of Units , therefore 1 gigabyte is... (flash based) |
Gigabyte The gigabyte is a multiple of the unit byte for digital information storage. The prefix giga means 109 in the International System of Units , therefore 1 gigabyte is... (flash based) |
Gigabyte The gigabyte is a multiple of the unit byte for digital information storage. The prefix giga means 109 in the International System of Units , therefore 1 gigabyte is... (flash based) |
| Processor | |||
| RAM | |||
| Directional pad | Zune Pad The Zune Pad, which is a squircle, is the primary control mechanism for Zune 4, 8, 16, 80 and 120. The pad lets users scroll through a long list of songs with a few flicks of the finger, then press the button to select tracks or change the volume.... , a "squircle Squircle A squircle is a mathematical shape with properties between those of a square and those of a circle. It is a special case of superellipse. The word "squircle" is a portmanteau of the words, "square" and "circle".-Equation:... " shaped control featuring touch sensitive controls along with standard direction pad controls. |
||
| Suggested retail price | United States dollar The United States dollar , also referred to as the American dollar, is the official currency of the United States of America. It is divided into 100 smaller units called cents or pennies.... |
United States dollar The United States dollar , also referred to as the American dollar, is the official currency of the United States of America. It is divided into 100 smaller units called cents or pennies.... |
United States dollar The United States dollar , also referred to as the American dollar, is the official currency of the United States of America. It is divided into 100 smaller units called cents or pennies.... |
| Screen | |||
| Dimensions | |||
| Weight | |||
| Battery Life | |||
Reception
Specifications
The specifications as listed by the official web site of the Zune:- 1.8-inch color display with 320x240 resolutionDisplay resolutionThe display resolution of a digital television or display device is the number of distinct pixels in each dimension that can be displayed. It can be an ambiguous term especially as the displayed resolution is controlled by all different factors in cathode ray tube , flat panel or projection...
- 4, 8, and 16 GB flash memory options
- CPU: 399 MHz ARM Core Freescale i.MX31L
- RAMRam-Animals:*Ram, an uncastrated male sheep*Ram cichlid, a species of freshwater fish endemic to Colombia and Venezuela-Military:*Battering ram*Ramming, a military tactic in which one vehicle runs into another...
: 64MB - 802.11b/g Wi-FiWi-FiWi-Fi or Wifi, is a mechanism for wirelessly connecting electronic devices. A device enabled with Wi-Fi, such as a personal computer, video game console, smartphone, or digital audio player, can connect to the Internet via a wireless network access point. An access point has a range of about 20...
compatible with open, WEPWired Equivalent PrivacyWired Equivalent Privacy is a weak security algorithm for IEEE 802.11 wireless networks. Introduced as part of the original 802.11 standard ratified in September 1999, its intention was to provide data confidentiality comparable to that of a traditional wired network...
, WPAWi-Fi Protected AccessWi-Fi Protected Access and Wi-Fi Protected Access II are two security protocols and security certification programs developed by the Wi-Fi Alliance to secure wireless computer networks...
, and WPA2 authentication modes and WEP 64-bit and 128-bit, TKIP, and AES encryption modes - Built in Li-Ion rechargeable with up to 24 hours of audio playback (wireless off) and video, up to 4 hours
- Size: 41.4mm x 91.5mm x 8.5mm
- Weight: 1.7 ounces (47 grams)
- FM radio tuner
- Audio support:
- CBR and VBR audio, up to 48 kHz sample rate:
- WMA Standard Up to 320 kbit/s
- WMA Pro stereo up to 384 kbit/s
- WMA Lossless stereo up to 384 kbit/s
- Advanced Audio Coding (AACAdvanced Audio CodingAdvanced Audio Coding is a standardized, lossy compression and encoding scheme for digital audio. Designed to be the successor of the MP3 format, AAC generally achieves better sound quality than MP3 at similar bit rates....
)(.mp4, .m4a, .m4b, .mov) up to 320 kbit/s - MP3MP3MPEG-1 or MPEG-2 Audio Layer III, more commonly referred to as MP3, is a patented digital audio encoding format using a form of lossy data compression...
(.mp3): up to 320 kbit/s
- CBR and VBR audio, up to 48 kHz sample rate:
- Video Support:
- CBR or VBR for:
- WMVWindows Media Video'Windows Media Video is a video compression format for several proprietary codecs developed by Microsoft. The original video format, known as WMV, was originally designed for Internet streaming applications, as a competitor to RealVideo. The other formats, such as WMV Screen and WMV Image, cater...
Main and Simple Profile - MPEG-4 Part 2 Advanced Simple Profile up to 2.5 Mbit/s bit rateBit rateIn telecommunications and computing, bit rate is the number of bits that are conveyed or processed per unit of time....
- H.264 Baseline profile up to 2.5 Mbit/s
- WMV
- CBR or VBR for:
- Picture Support:
- JPEGJPEGIn computing, JPEG . The degree of compression can be adjusted, allowing a selectable tradeoff between storage size and image quality. JPEG typically achieves 10:1 compression with little perceptible loss in image quality....
(.jpg)
- JPEG