Yes, I know, it's been kinda slow lately. I've been a tad busy. I enjoy my Zunes, I enjoy Zune all together, I don't much care for the "Social", but all in all I'm still a big cheerleader for Zune. It's been slow in the Zune World lately though. The little news out there has been touched on. We even broke a story or two, but most wouldn't know it the way other sites crap on us. Oh well.

Anyhow, just wanted to say hello, we're still here. Are you? Let us know.

Gizmodo got their hands on the newest Gears of War Zune...

In addition, they posted some info a lot of people will be happy to hear...

Marketing director for Zune Jason Reindorp told us that a serious "step up" in Zune and Xbox 360 integration will happen "within a year." Finally, though they're taking their sweet time getting to where they should've been a long time ago.

Hey Matt, The Zune hasn't been around too long. Give them a break.

Source: Gizmodo (Thanks Aaron)

Last October, I was honored to buy a pink Zune to support the Susan G Komen Breast Cancer Foundation. We unboxed it, fondled it and gave it away in a contest to folks that donated to the Red Cross. It was a win/win for everyone!

I am pleased to have discovered today that the Warriors in Pink lineup this year has another Pink Zune. I have been harsh on Microsoft for allowing any old Joe to slap their name on a Zune and sell it as a "Special" Zune, but this one is a good cause. The only thing I am disappointed with is that they picked a flash Zune this time. Oh well, I hope others will join me in ordering one.

Head over to The Warriors in Pink Website to order.

So, it's been like a month since the Zune 120 has been available in retail right? Well, today I decided to just replace my 80 that has been giving me problems. I headed to Target and got the Zune 120 for $249.

So far, I have to admit that I LOVE the new paint job. I like the gloss, I like the back much more than the 80s, and I like the extra 40g.

It syncing right now...

I guess my little in car, constant use test on my Zune 80 has taken it's toll on my Zune 80 (aka BigDaddyZune). For the 3rd time in 2 weeks, my Zune's About page looks like this...

Rutroh raggy...

That's it, a Zune 80 Deal at Wal Mart.

Steve Ballmer was interviewed today by CIO magazine and the Zune came up, more or less in the context of “What the devil were you thinking?� In the process of answering, Mr. Ballmer made clear to me at least that for all the attacks and mockery he gets in the blogs and tech sites, he really does GET it.

CIO: Why has Microsoft developed Zune?

Ballmer: At the end of the day, one of the big trends is that all content is going digital. And if we don’t have the software and services that are useful, helpful and valuable for the consumption of music and video, we are sort of not really a player.

Now, we built the Zune hardware with the Zune software - and what you’ll see more and more over time is that the Zune software will also be ported to and be more important not just with the hardware but on the PC, on Windows Mobile devices, etc.

CIO: It seems to me to be a tricky one because Apple is out there, and they have a pretty good product - but also they have this kind of cult following of people who are just going to buy, because it’s Apple. That must be a frustrating thing to compete against.

Ballmer: They may have a cult following in the music business, and we got about 97 percent of PC users using our stuff. 97 percent may not constitute a cult! But I wouldn’t trade that for a cult!

Zune on mobile devices other then the Zune player itself? Hopefully this means that we will soon see the end of Windows Media Player on mobile devices, and have Zune software build into Windows Mobile. Imagine being able to sync media and music on your phone using Zune.

I think I understand now that Microsoft is viewing Zune not as an iPod competitor, but as an iTunes competitor…perhaps with an eye towards unifying the media experience across all Microsoft products using Zune. I think that would be an excellent plan and hopefully will bear fruit in the near future, perhaps as soon as in the increasingly modular Windows 7, and WM 7.

Posted on Behalf of Zealot at Mobilitysite.

Remember when you would visit a company and they would throw you a pen or keychain complete with their company name and phone number? That was a win/win right? I mean, you get a free pen and they have their phone number in your hand for easy retrieval. Well, I know the Zunes aren't inexpensive enough to give out to customers like a pen, but the rate at which Microsoft is cobranding Zunes kind of reminds me of this.

Is it smart to have all these special edition Zunes or do you think it cheapens the appearance of the product? I like special edition things, but only when they are indeed "Special". I eluded to my opinion on this a little in my post announcing the Gears of War II Zune yesterday. I think that they are putting too many branded Zunes out there. Hell, I can't remember them all either.

Not much to say other than, here is another Zune Branded with something. We've had a Halo Zune, 2 dozen Zunes with text and/or graphics from bands/companies i've never heard of, now this. I will admit, the box is pretty nice looking and the graphics on the back are nice too.

Source: Engadget

PS. I am going to buy a Zune 120 in the next couple weeks. I wanna see one in person so I can feel like I know what I am talking about again.

I got a tip on an article that is sure to spark a little conversation either way. On the other hand, there are surely 20 reasons why the iPod is better than the Zune. Let's not forget that the Zune is not a competitor to the iPod Touch or iPhone.

Let me also say, this is not my article. There are some things I don't agree with, but hey... It's their article.

Many audiophiles believe that Apple’s iPod range aren’t the best media players on the market with sub-par audio quality and limited functionality. While fancy, they are fairly basic with inflated prices. The iPod’s popularity is fuelled by fashionistas and passionate Apple fans but also by consumers that get caught up in the hype – buying Apple because it’s ‘cool’. The Microsoft Zune aims to change this, and to an extent, they already have. We’ve extracted the top 20 reasons why we believe the Zune is the better choice in the media player war.

Read the rest at Gadgetzone.