Vendor: Incipio

Price: $12.99

This review covers Incipio's first zune 4/8 silicone case, the dermaSHOT. Incipio currently has a much more vast selection of leather based cases, but i'm glad to see they've branched to silicone as well. The review for this case will be fairly simple, being it's a silicone case, but i'll try to cover just about everything you could need to know.

Tight fitting anti-slip case for your Zune. The Incipio dermaSHOT silicone case is curved to the shape of the Zune so that you can access all the device's features.

Features

• High density silicone.
• Play-through design for full function while in case.
• Anti-static coating grips the device, not your clothes.
• Shock absorbing silicone helps protect against damage.
• Cut-outs give easy access to controls and inputs.
• Backed by Incipio's Lifetime warrant

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... at least according to Jasmine France in her recent article, "Best MP3 players for podcasts"

This article highlighted the pro's and some con's, of different MP3 players and their podcasts. The Microsoft Zune was proudly positioned as #1, followed closely by the Ipod Touch in the #2 position. This is the blurb about zune podcast support taken from the article:

Microsoft Zune: A fantastic podcast option, the Zune even ekes past the iPod for the top spot. The software is excellent for podcasts: You can manage how many episodes you want to sync to your device on a subscription-by-subscription level, meaning you can update three episodes of Buzz Out Loud, but only one of MP3 Insider and so on. You can also unsubscribe from podcasts directly from the player, and there's an option to wirelessly sync new podcasts when you charge your player at night. The Zune also offers accelerated fast forwarding and passive bookmarking to automatically remember your spot in each podcast.

Zune clearly does excel with podcast support, but their is still room for improvement, and many other aspects Microsoft needs to put more emphasize on to get a stronger foothold in the MP3 industry. Always glad to see zune on top though(at least at Cnet).

As many of you may know, the Joy Division is on the brink of it's June 17th release, and as you can see in the picture below, it does feature a black back. Now, for any of you who read one of my past posts about black backed zune's, it becomes apparent that this Joy Division was the Zune 80 pictured.

However, the zune 80 was not the only zune with different color. Also found by Zunited, was a red flash zune, with not only a black back, but a black touch pad as well. Does this mean a new limited edition zune coming in the near future?  It sure would be nice to see.

Zuneboards has finally released ZuneTV! A zune-friendly video download section of their site.

We've hinted at an upcoming project a few times earlier. We've asked for donations to help with the development costs. Well, after almost 4 months since the announcement, we are proud to launch ZuneTV.
ZuneTV is a YouTube-like site specialized for Zuners. All content uploaded are automatically converted into a Zune-friendly .wmv format, that is readily available for download to members. To start off, we have already uploaded a few hundred videos, but the rest is up to you. Have a video you love? Think something is so absolutely hilarious that you must share? You've come to the right place. ZuneTV's success is dependent on you, the member.
To get started, you'll first need a ZuneBoards account. For support and suggestions, we have set up a forum for that here.

Without further ado, say hello to ZuneTV. 

 

So, if your looking to load up your zune with some vidoes, or just browse video's, it's a pretty fun and easy method.

Many people have been happily enjoying the current zune game lineup, created by users themselves, but finally the Zune XNA team has taken it upon themselves to release a game. And the title they released is.... Alien Game! Many people may have seen this game in one of the CTP demonstration video's, but here it is to play.

Check out our first Mini Game for Zune, Alien Game. In Alien Game, you control a tank with the sole purpose of defending the earth from an alien invasion! It's a simple yet addictive game that is both fun and educational.

Alien Game has several features that you can learn about and integrate into your game such as:

• Media Integration, which enables you to start songs directly from the game!
• Support for both Zune input types (Zune Pad and Dpad)
• Menu and state management system

From the article over at XNA

Click here to download!

The XNA 3.0 CTP release was just 7 days ago, but already some cool applications are being created. The focal point of this release is of course gaming, but developers have also focused on making some simple, but useful applications for zune devices. Sure, zune gaming is fun, but it opens up many opportunity's when developers do not limit themselves to programs only for the purpose of entertainment. As of now, there are just a few simple applications(being that the release was just a week ago), and these include a clock, a calculator, and a simple calendar. Overall, it's great to see people taking it into their own hands to create applications that the zune does not ship with. As time goes on hopefully we shall see some more complex, and handy applications.

Clock

This is a slightly newer(Beta .5) version of the previously mentioned clock, created by TipTup over at zuneboards.

Calculator

This simple calculator was developed by Nurta at zuneboards, and although still in beta stages, is alright if you just need to complete some simple problems.

Calendar

This is a fully functioning calendar, with the one drawback being you cannot currently edit/add info to specific days. However, this has only been out for about 2 days now, so this is subject to change, just like the other applications.

Well, I can't say I didn't see this one coming. TipTup300(A ZuneBoards Programmer) already has a beta release of a zune clock out. If you have games set up on your zune, and you've been wanting a clock , check it out over at ZuneBoards. Granted, you do have to access it through games menu, but at least it's a start for  a zune clock.

As you know, the CPT release of XNA 3.0 is out, and free to download. The problem is, of course, finding games. For anyone looking to play games on there zune, here are a few helpful links:

Software

Windows Visual C# 2008 Express

XNA 3.0

Games

Alien Aggressor

Galactic Wars 3

Rock Rain

XNATetris

Collapse

Pong

Clock

MatchEm

Sir Tet(New version of tetris, very well made)

Pong 2

Breakout

Marblets

So, here's what I've found so far. If anyone finds any other games, please share!

The folks over at Zunited.net got there hands on some interesting info. It appears as though the zune software contains evidence of a Black-Backed Zune 80, and a black-backed red 4/8. On top of that, the 4/8 seems to have a black touch pad.  Could this be a developer exclusive like the citron zune? We can't be sure now, but no matter they are, they look great. Any thoughts?

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Just some quick news about XNA. A bit of info was released today, with one of the highlights being the fact that zune gaming will support up to 8 zune wireless networking. 8 people playing a first person shooter together, that's something to brag about. Also, just to clear things up, the said to be 16 MB of game storage is in fact the amount of zune ram a game can use. Overall, looks like zune gaming is really coming along, and for anyone interested below is a video demonstrating a first person shooter being played between two people over Wifi. Thanks WetWorker from zunecards.net for getting it on youtube.

Remember, The Community Tech Preview of Zune gaming is said to occur Early-Mid May.

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