Why doesn't the Zune Team through us a few parties?  Has anyone been to a Zune party or visited Zune L.A.? I'm sure market share will increase if we can drown the masses with product exposure instead of vague trippy music commercials that leave us wondering what exactly is being sold.  Or there is the Zune Pass commercial where the camera flies over a table of LP covers with messages... Huh?  "Keep it simple, clear, and concise!"

Check this video about Friday's launch in Canada:

In addition to the new Canadian artists in Zune Originals, now you can buy Zune accessories via Zune Originals - check it out!

Zune Insider

Yes, you read right, the Zune is coming to Canada! Our lucky neighbors to the north will be getting the Zune 4/8/80 models. The 4 and 8 will be available in red, black, and pink. The 80 gets red and black. Prices range from $140 to $250. Canadians can download the Zune Software from Zune.ca.

source: http://www.zuneboards.com/zune-news/zune-arriving-at-canada-on-june-13.html

Hey, I am off to work though, I thought I would have time to get it loaded up and play a bit before I left for work, but... I woke up to my office being quiet. That meant all my machines were powered down. We must of took a power hit last night.

So I get powered up and pop up the software, no problem. I SEE A VIDEO TAB!!! All of a sudden, Internet Explorer starts to start a new window over and over again. 20 new windows later, I had to do a restart to stop it. I left for work. I'll deal with it tonight. I am not sure what caused it, hope it's not Zune 2.5.

Talk to you all later. Work Calls.

So, tommorow you can try it all out, but just off reading all this info pouring in about tommorow's launch, what do you think? Come on, Gapless... Autoplaylists, cool features for the Social... you have to have some opinions, right?

I'll share more about my feelings tommorow after I get to see it on MY PC live.

In case you like reading all the goodies from a press release, I decided to throw you a bone here... Read on for the press release...

Zune Expands Beyond Music to Deliver Integrated All-in-One Entertainment Experience

New software updates bring popular television shows to online store, enhancements to online music community and subscription service.

REDMOND, Wash. — May 5, 2008 — Microsoft Corp. today announced that Zune, the company’s all-in-one digital entertainment brand, is adding new software features and content to the Zune online store, music community and Zune Pass monthly subscription service. Zune is expanding its video store to include downloads of popular television shows from COMEDY CENTRAL, FUNimation^® Entertainment, MTV, NBC Universal, Nickelodeon, Starz Media (including Magna Entertainment), Turner Broadcasting, Ultimate Fighting Championship^® (UFC) and VH1 that consumers can sync to their device and enjoy on the go. In addition, by further integrating the Zune music community into the core experience, the new software makes it easier for people to find and listen to the music they want, share it with friends, and take it with them wherever they go — whether they choose a Zune Pass or a la carte MP3 downloads. Zune Pass subscribers can now set up automatic, real-time feeds of the music their friends are listening to and add those songs to their collection or Zune device.

(more...)

This is one of the nicer additions to the Zune Social with Spring (Zune 2.5)...

We’ve created a new page designed to give a comprehensive overview
of the music your entire circle of friends is playing. This “My Social� page
acts as your new home page, displaying an animated mosaic of artists
and album pictures automatically refreshed by the selections your friends
are playing. This dynamic view includes great artist images along with the
ability to sample tracks on your friend’s cards. Just mouse over images to
see who’s been listening to what.

(more...)

This release that should go live tommorow morning will include a ton of new features, Fixes, etc... Most of the in the Social, but some big ones that you all have been asking for. Video Store, Gapless Playback, and Auto Playlists.

Here are some feature highlights...

• Auto playlists.
• Browsing videos.
• Editing album and track information.
• Organizing collections.
• Gapless playback.
• Syncing groups.
• Zune reminders.

There are tons of new Social Features today too...

• Syncing Zune Cards to a device.
• Enhanced friends search.
• Instant friends.
• Artist and album reviews.
• Reputation badges.
• Windows Live connections.

Hang tight, I have more info coming soon. I had a chance to see this in action last month and it's nice so far.

So, we've known for quite some time that the Canadians would get a Zune launch eventually. Now it seem that it's getting closer though. Engadget today posted a story about jobs that came up on craigslist Canada and a link to a promo page on Microsoft Canada. They are calling this launch potentially a "limited lineup". I don't really understand that considering that the Red Zune was just announced as going to retail and the Zune 30 is an old legacy gen 1 device. It's still a good Zune, but I don't think they are in production anymore.

 
Screen grab from Engadget of the Microsoft Canada Promo Page.

Just hold on a little while longer, Canadian Zune-lovers -- it seems that your wait is almost over. A job listing just popped up on the Vancouver Craigslist, looking for a "Microsoft Zune Program Coordinator" who will "represent our client Microsoft on their launch of Zune in the Canadian marketplace." The job calls for applicants to be available between May 12 and June 20, so if it's legit -- and we hope it is, just because we prefer to believe no one is sad enough to fake this -- it looks like the Zune will finally roll into Canada in just a few weeks.

Go Canada, at least you know they are coming!

From Zune.net:

Zune headed to Aspen for the Winter X Games to connect with consumers and athletes at one of action sports' largest competitions of the year. Zune took over a space in downtown Aspen for the week to create a pop-up shop that doubled as a temporary gallery and performance space, where custom Zune players designed via the Zune Originals Web site were showcased. In addition, ten customized Burton snowboards featuring Zune Originals artwork were created exclusively for Winter X. On Friday, Jan. 25, Zune hosted a private party for 550 people at the space which featured a live music performance by Trevor "Trouble" Andrew. The event reached capacity quickly and drew a crowd of pro athletes such as Shawn White, Gretchen Bleiler, Torah Bright, Jake Brown, and Piere Luc Gagnon, in addition to other notable attendees such as Lil' Jon. The previous night, Zune partnered with Roxy to offer an exclusive look at the film "Labor of Love," the first ever all women's ski and snowboard team film.

To download photos of the event and customized Burton snowboards featuring Zune Originals artwork, click here.

Source: Zune.net

Now it's about time. Earlier today at CES (which I am not at for the 1st time in while), Microsoft announced that the social will grow closer to the US for now. I am sure that this will lead the way for other launches in 2008.

Zune to Launch in Canada; Zune Social Grows Rapidly

Adding to the entertainment momentum, Bach announced that Zune will be available in Canada in spring 2008, the first time the family of digital music players will be available outside the U.S. Microsoft also announced that since the November launch of Zune Social, more than 1.5 million people have joined the music-focused social network, demonstrating how Zune is tapping into consumers desire to share their musical passions with their broader community.

Source : Mobilitysite