September 29th, 2009

Sony helping independent authors get books on the eBook Store

Posted by Matthew Miller @ 7:57 am

Categories: ebooks, mobile services

Tags: Sony Corp., Sony Reader, E-books, Personal Technology, Matthew Miller

As readers here know I am becoming more and more of a Sony Reader fan due to their continued support of open formats and public library checkout systems. I was reading some feeds this morning and stumbled upon some great news on Mobility Site that links to a new press release announcing even more support for ebook content. Independent authors and small publishers can now access the re-launched Sony Publisher Portal, powered by Smashwords, and get books out in EPUB format for Sony Reader owners to enjoy.

I love to write and have been thinking of writing science fiction books for years. This capability to get work out to the Sony eBook store may spur me to finally put pen to paper and create some original stories. Smashwords and Authors Solution will work with their existing authors to get their titles on the Sony store. Authors upload their manuscript to Smashwords in Word format, select a price, and then they manage the conversion and distribution. It will be interesting to see how discoverable these titles are, but I imagine this will greatly enhance the number of available titles for those with Sony Readers and other ebook devices that support the EPUB format.

September 23rd, 2009

Update: Microsoft responds to the Zune Originals issue

Posted by Matthew Miller @ 8:44 am

Categories: Microsoft, Zune

Tags: Microsoft Zune, Microsoft Corp., E-mail, Team Management, Blogging, Online Communications, Management, Internet, Matthew Miller

Over the past week I became quite frustrated with the Zune Originals order process and after reading the same story from many folks on the Zune forums I decided to write this blog post yesterday along with a Zune Forums post and was am EXTREMELY pleased (see UPDATE #2 below for the continuing saga) to tell you that the person from Microsoft who actually oversees the program responded in the forums with a sincere post.

The following is what JRaindrop (Zune tag) posted on the Zune Forums:

My apologies for the delays you are experiencing. We encountered several unforeseen glitches in the system last week which have caused this situation. Normally, you would have received a confirmation email just after you completed your purchase with a mechanism for tracking your order. Then you would have received a shipping notice with package tracking. For a number of customers, this obviously didn’t happen.

Later today (tomorrow morning at the latest) anyone affected by this delay will be getting an email from Zune Customer Support telling you that orders will start shipping tonight. We’re giving everyone affected a $15 Zune Marketplace token to make good on the expedited shipping you paid for. We’ve put on extra FEDEX trucks and brought more staff into the facility to clear the backlog as fast as possible. You’ll get a ship notice when your order leaves the barn.

My apologies - the ZO team has been working around the clock for the last week to get things fixed.

WOW, now this is a response I can sincerely appreciate. I really did not expect such a fast response from someone so closely related to the Zune Originals program and think they went above and beyond with the $15 Marketplace token (now how many Microsoft points is that?). As you can see, Read the rest of this entry »

September 22nd, 2009

UPDATE: Zune Originals order status & tracking system needs major work

Posted by Matthew Miller @ 4:58 am

Categories: MP3 players, Microsoft, Zune

Tags: Microsoft Zune, E-mail, Telecom & Utilities, Media Players, Online Communications, Consumer Electronics, Personal Technology, Matthew Miller

After I received the plain platinum 32GB Zune HD from Amazon and had used it for an hour or so I went to the Zune Originals site and ordered my custom blue Zune HD with the FC Sounders logo on the back. The ordering process was straightforward with steps to select the color device and capacity you want, the art you want etched on the back, and any custom engraving you want. I completed my order that also showed me exactly what my custom device would look like and received an order number on the display. I was then sent an order confirmation and everything seemed just fine. However, that was the last I have heard regarding my Zune Originals order since I placed my order last week.

As you can see on the Zune Forums the experience I described above is exactly what just about everyone else who ordered a custom Zune HD experienced. I understand that each of these is a custom job, but in today’s world it is just unacceptable for a high tech company like Microsoft to not provide any sort of status update to those paying $300+ for a media player. Like many others, I paid extra for the expedited shipping which stated we would receive the Zune HD within 5 to 7 business days of ordering. At this time, the only thing that appears on the Zune Originals order status page is that my order has been received (see the screenshot to the left). Why can’t Microsoft tell me more about my expensive order, such as if it has been engraved or not, when it is planned to ship out to me, when it is shipped (I am supposed to receive some kind of shipment notification), and if there are any issues with the order? I know they are trying to keep the costs down and there is no additional fees for customizing your Zune HD, but still it isn’t that difficult to add a few more details and keep the customer in the loop.

One glitch I have already experienced was that my confirmation email showed I ordered the standard 10-14 business day shipping, but as you can see in the details of the order the full price for expedited shipping was paid. Unfortunately, there is NO phone number you can use to actually speak to anyone about your Zune Originals order and it took some hunting in the Zune Forums to find the proper email address (zuneorders@css.one.microsoft.com) to contact customer service. I contacted them about the shipping issue and received a response that they were looking into my order and they would respond in 24 hours. It has now been over 48 hours and I never received any kind of response.

Microsoft needs to make some significant improvements to the Zune Originals ordering and tracking (or lack thereof) system. At this time, it feels a bit risky to throw your money out there and just hope everything works out in the end. You also better make sure you have the engraving all correct because I highly doubt you would ever be able to get a hold of anyone to correct a misspelling or change the text you ordered.

I understand that we are a society of immediate satisfaction, but I am not asking for next day engraving and shipping. I just want to be in the loop a bit more about what is going on and have some expectations about my order.

Have any readers yet received a Zune HD Originals shipping notification?

UPDATE: See my new blog post where Microsoft responded and is taking care of the situation immediately. IMHO, they responded quickly and went above and beyond to fix the issues.

September 21st, 2009

Review: iPod nano 5th generation gives you 16 video recording modes

Posted by Matthew Miller @ 5:17 am

Categories: Apple, Gadgets, MP3 players

Tags: Apple iPod, FM-radio, Apple iPod Nano, Video Camera, Video, Camera, Music, Corporate Communications, Digital Music, Digital Media

Apple recently rolled out their latest iPod lineup and IMHO the most interesting device announced was the new 5th generation iPod nano. I had no plans to purchase a new Apple product, but couldn’t pass up a few of the new key features of the nano, including the pedometer, FM radio, and video camera. The new nano is available in nine different colors and I went with the orange one since I wanted a color that stood out a bit from my other devices. You can check out my image gallery, along with a video walk around the device and a video that includes each of the modes in the video camera.

	Image Gallery:Check out some product photos and a comparison of the iPod nano 5th generation with the 2nd generation iPod and Zune 4GB.

Available options and box contents

The nano is available in nine colors in both 8GB and 16GB capacities. The 8GB model is available for $149 and the 16GB is $179 so for just $30 more you get double the capacity.

Inside the box you will find the nano, stereo earphones, USB 2.0 cable, dock adapter, and Quick Start guide. The box is clear plastic and is the minimum size needed to hold the nano and accessories.

Initial impressions

The iPod nano comes in polished anodized aluminum and feels great in your hand. It is lighter than I thought it would be and I like the tapered edges that make it feel smaller than it actually is. Before I loaded any music on the device I plugged in my headset and Read the rest of this entry »

September 18th, 2009

Zune HD review roundup: excellent hardware and UI, apps lacking

Posted by Matthew Miller @ 8:45 am

Categories: Gadgets, MP3 players, Microsoft, Zune

Tags: Microsoft Zune, Hardware, Zune Pass, Web Browsers, Media Players, Digital Music, Corporate Communications, Digital Media, Internet, Consumer Electronics

Some sites received Zune HD review units from Microsoft (I had to buy mine), but they were not able to post their reviews since Microsoft had to flip the Zune 4.0 server switch on the 15th. We are now seeing lots of detailed reviews coming in for the Zune HD and overall the impressions are that it is a fantastic media player that is the Zune we have all been wanting from the start. It is obvious it cannot compete with the iPod touch in terms of apps, but this is just the start and that may change in the future. The Zune Pass is the really defining feature that stands out from the iPods though and if you have a limited personal music collection the Zune HD can be a killer media player.

I posted my first impressions a couple of days ago and will post my thoughts after more usage when my FC Sounders customized blue Zune Original arrives, which should be next week. Some other reviews I recommend you check out as you try to figure out if the Zune HD is for you are the following:

• Mobile Tech Review
• CNET TV (video review)
• Engadget
• Gizmodo
• David Pogue
• Andy Ihnatko
• Michael Gartenberg
• SlashGear
• PC Magazine
• WM Experts
• Brighthand
• Zune Thoughts (There are several videos on this site too.)
• Mobility Minded

As I first pointed out, and others also later picked up on, there are pre-roll still and video ads in the 7 free games. I also compared the web browser to the latest Internet Explorer Mobile 6 browser and the browser limitations were pointed out in most of the reviews.

It seemed that even die-hard Apple fans appreciated the user interface and hardware of the Zune HD, but some still don’t see the value in the Zune device.

Do you know of any other Zune reviews I should include in my list?

September 17th, 2009

MobileTechRoundup show #182, Moto CLIQ, ZuneHD, iPod nano, HP Envy

Posted by Matthew Miller @ 8:21 am

Categories: Apple, BlackBerry, MP3 players, MoTR podcast, Mobile software, Zune

Tags: MobileTechRoundup, Apple iPod, Hewlett-Packard Co., Opera Software ASA, Apple iPod Nano, Opera Mini 5 Beta, Digital Music, Digital Media, Personal Technology, Consumer Electronics

Listen here (MP3, 35.2 MB, 38:20 minutes)

Subscribe to the show with this link (RSS)

We missed recording last week due to the Mobilize 2009 event so MobileTechRoundup show #182 is a bit longer than normal as James, Kevin, and I chatted about mobile tech products. James and Kevin had a chance to play with the upcoming T-Mobile Motorola CLIQ Google Android device that will be tough for me to resist. I talked about my new Zune HD and iPod nano and then I learned about Opera 10’s Turbo Mode on a PC. Opera Mini 5 beta is out for Java-enabled phones and adds some great new features, all for FREE. James also had a chance to swing by the HP offices and play with the new Envy notebooks that have features you may envy, but at a price you may not.

September 16th, 2009

Zune HD games, sponsored by the Kia Soul

Posted by Matthew Miller @ 6:32 am

Categories: Gadgets, MP3 players, Microsoft, Zune

Tags: Kia Motors Corp., Advertisement, Microsoft Zune, Weather Utility, Games, Personal Technology, Matthew Miller

Microsoft has stated that apps like Twitter and Facebook will be released for the Zune HD before the end of the year, but at launch you will find 2 apps and 7 games available for you to download from the Zune Marketplace. These apps are not preloaded on the Zune HD so you will have to load them from the Zune via WiFi or onto your PC and then sync to your Zune HD. Microsoft has stated that the apps are free and future apps are planned to stay free, but as you can see in my video below the games available so far are all ad sponsored. This may impact the user wanting to play the games to have to sit through an ad every single time it is launched and I think people would rather pay 99 cents for the game instead.

The two available apps are a calculator and weather utility. The calculator is basic in portrait mode and then switches into a basic scientific calculator in landscape mode and I am pleased with this application. The weather utility is pretty basic and just gives you the high, low, and an icon for the condition for the week. You can setup cities you want to follow and it can work as a very basic weather indicator, but that is it.

The seven available games are as follows:

• Chess
• Goo Splat
• Hexic
• Shell Game of the Future
• Space Battle
• Sudoku
• Texas Hold ‘Em

One thing you can see in my video is that ads play when you launch each game and some of the ads are actually rather long video ads while others are just a car image. Unfortunately, you cannot bypass these ads so you have to sit through them each and every time! I would rather just pay 99 cents for the game and avoid the ads.

I run quickly through each game in my video above and play a couple so you can see what they are like. I personally liked the Space Battle game best as it reminds me a bit of Galaga and has some nice graphics and sound. In the Shell Game of the Future you actually shake the Zune HD to start each phase of the game.

I am not sure if we can expect too many more apps since there is no public SDK and all games will come through Microsoft. Sorry, as you can see my readers are much smarter than me when it comes to Zune development and there is an SDK so let’s hope we see some great things for the Zune HD.

September 16th, 2009

Zune HD: No YouTube in the browser for you

Posted by Matthew Miller @ 6:02 am

Categories: Gadgets, Microsoft, Mobile software, Windows Mobile, Zune

Tags: Microsoft Zune, YouTube Inc., Web Browser, Web Browsers, Internet, Matthew Miller

I understand the core of the Zune HD browser is not webkit, but some kind of Internet Explorer base. That said, it was natural to want to compare the Zune HD web browser to the latest mobile browser from Microsoft, IE 6 Mobile, that is found in the T-Mobile Touch Pro2 and will be present in Windows Mobile 6.5 when it is released in October. I don’t expect my media player to browse the web, but since Apple supports this with the iPod touch it is expected that other high end models do the same. Unfortunately, the Zune HD browser is not going to compete with the iPod touch Safari browser or even the latest Windows Mobile default browser, but at least it is very quick.

Here is what I found on the Zune site regarding the browser usage:

You can surf the Internet on your Zune HD, as long as you’re able to connect to a wireless network.
Connect to a wireless network on your Zune HD
1. From the home menu, touch internet. The browser will automatically launch.
2. Follow the instructions to connect to a wireless network. After you connect, the browser will navigate to the last page you visited.
• To search, touch the search icon in the lower right. A keyboard will pop up. Type in your search terms and touch search.
• Touch the favorites icon to see your favorites, or add a site to your favorites list.
• To navigate to a specific web site, touch the three dots in the lower bar to display the URL input bar. Touch the current URL to bring up the keyboard and enter in the URL. Then touch go.
To exit and return to the main menu, press the home button.

There are only a couple of minor settings for the web browser (delete history, enable/disable cookies, and enable/disable Javascript) and you cannot control it any further. You will also find that the browser forces sites to load their mobile versions, if they have them, which actually makes for a fast and rather pleasant browsing experience. However, today’s mobile browsers are good at serving up the full internet and users are coming to expect this more and more, especially with the specs found on devices with these browsers. The Zune HD loads pages super fast and the multi-touch zoom is fluid when using the browser, but I really want a toggle to turn on or off the mobile formats. I don’t like that I cannot view my ZDNet blogs in full view like I can on most of my modern smartphones.

The QWERTY keyboard that appears helps you enter URLs by having a .COM and / button readily available and it is easier than using the keyboard on the PSP. There is no predictive text, but your history is filtered as you enter a URL in case you have been to the site before. You can also manage Favorites in the browser. As you can see in my video above, you cannot view YouTube videos in the browser and you will find it is limiting when trying to access all your favorite sites.

I think the browser is something that should be able to be updated via a firmware release and I do hope it is improved upon over time because the hardware supports a better browsing experience, even if most people just want to use their Zune HD for music and video enjoyment.

September 16th, 2009

Hands on: 32GB Zune HD walk around and first impressions

Posted by Matthew Miller @ 5:38 am

Categories: Gadgets, MP3 players, Microsoft, Zune

Tags: Microsoft Zune, Radio, Zune HD, Tegra, Display, Advertising & Promotion, Marketing, Matthew Miller

The Zune HD is now available online and in retail locations throughout the US. I received the platinum one from Amazon before I saw the Zune Original with FC Sounders etching that I ordered yesterday. I will be sending back this silver model and taking a deeper look at my blue Zune Original next week if it ships as planned. I’ve now spent several hours with the Zune HD and took several photos of the device and software that you can check out in my image gallery, along with a video walk around the device. There will be a couple of follow-up articles looking at the web browser and apps as well. Check out some of my initial thoughts to see if I am pleased with my $300 purchase and if the Zune HD is something you might want to consider.

	Image Gallery:Check out some product photos and UI screenshots of the Zune HD along with a comparison with some older Zune models.

Available options and box contents

You can buy the Zune HD in 16GB and 32GB capacities with the 32GB model coming in platinum and the 16GB in black. There are different colored Zune Originals (red, green, and blue) that you can choose from and customize as well.

The Zune HD comes in a very compact and sturdy box along with a pair of decent stereo headphones, USB cable, and Quick Start Guide. There is no case, cradle, or external charger.

Initial impressions

When the Zune HD arrived it was the first time I have seen the device in person and was immediately blown away by how compact and thin it actually was. It has the same thickness as the iPod touch, yet is narrower and feels better in your hand. The angles on the back make it feel even thinner in the palm of your hand.

The OLED display is beautiful, but I did expect it to have a bit higher resolution. My T-Mobile Touch Pro2 has a much higher resolution display and it is not even focused on multimedia like the Zune HD. Touch is picked up quite easily, making navigation slick and fast. This thing flies and zipping around it was a real pleasure.

Specifications

Specifications of the Zune HD include the following:

• 16:9 3.3 inch 480×272 OLED display
• Nvidia Tegra 2600 processor. Tegra includes an 800-MHz ARM CPU, a high-definition video processor, an imaging processor, an audio processor and an ultralow-power GeForce GPU in a single package. (As reported by Wired.com)
• 16GB or 32GB internal flash memory
• 802.11 b/g WiFi
• 660 mAh battery for a reported life of 33 hours music and 8.5 hours of movies with no WiFi
• Integrated FM/HD radio receiver
• 3.5mm headset jack

Walk around the hardware

The front is dominated by the 3.3 inch flush 480×272 OLED display. It looks great in most all lighting conditions and is Read the rest of this entry »

September 15th, 2009

What do you want to know about the Zune HD?

Posted by Matthew Miller @ 8:28 am

Categories: Gadgets, MP3 players, Microsoft, Zune

Tags: Microsoft Zune, Performance Management, E-books, Web Browsers, Human Resources, Workforce Management, Personal Technology, Internet, Matthew Miller

My plain silver Zune HD is on the truck for delivery right now and I will spend most of the evening checking it out and posting my first impressions, photos, and video(s). I will be returning this one though as soon as my FC Seattle Sounders Zune Original unit arrives, hopefully early next week, and will post more thoughts then regarding the design and one week of usage of the Zune HD. I have been assembling a list of specific functions, features, and issues I want to check out on the Zune HD to post about here and request that you post any other things you want to see in the Talkback section.

Here are my planned topics for my review:

• Walk around the hardware
• Software performance and features
• Viewability of the display in sunlight (it is OLED)
• How does the web browser compare to the iPhone and IE 6 mobile on the Touch Pro2?
• Thoughts on the mult-touch capability
• Are games included and how do they play with the touch interface?
• Can you get ebooks on the ZuneHD?
• How is the movie rental/purchase selection and how does it compare to iTunes?
• What can you do with the WiFi functionality?
• How well does the HD radio perform and compare to standard FM radio?

Again, please let me know what else you would like me to check out and I will address it in my full review after a week of playing.

UPDATE: Some of my mobile enthusiast friends have their Zune HD units and are started to post their thoughts so I thought I would share some links with you to enjoy until I get my thoughts and reviews up here on ZDNet.

• Geek.com
• Brighthand
• SlashGear