Media Zune 3 (PC Software)

Romani48

Power Member
Zune PC software

As with the Zune firmware, Microsoft will offer customers a major upgrade for its Zune PC software. (And, it should be noted that this software is free and could be used by any digital media enthusiast, not just Zune device owners.) The overall look and feel of Zune 3 is very similar to that of Zune 2, but with some refinements. The reddish default theme, called Phyta, has been replaced by a clean white theme that Farrell tells me will be replicated across all of Zune's Web-based services. (Phyta is still available, however, and Microsoft has increased the number of built-in themes as well.)
A major new feature called Channels combines the best features of podcasts and playlists, and becomes a top level menu item under Collection in the PC software. "Channels are constantly updated playlists made by partners that will be refreshed every Tuesday," Farrell said. "At launch we'll have Billboard charts, the Latin chart, College Music Journal, various radio stations, local favorites, the Grande Ole Opry, Funkmaster Flex, and others making their own channels. And we'll add more over time." The Zune team is creating subgenre channels for fitness (run, rock, sweat) and others.
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zune3_preview_02.jpg

While Zune 3 continues the attractive album art media library view from previous versions of the software, Microsoft has added a unique new Mix View, which is accessed via a small link in the lower left of the library. "In this graphical view, we re-sort the world with the currently-selected artist at the middle," Fallwell noted. Surrounding that graphic, hovering visually in the background like square planets circling a star, are related items you can click on to repivot the view and dig deeper. Some of the items are fairly obvious, like other albums by the same artist or related artists. But mouse around, and you'll see more, including information from top listeners and your friends. Suddenly, your music library is both more active and more interactive.
zune3_preview_03.jpg

Search has been dramatically improved in Zune 3. Microsoft has integrated IntelliSense into the Zune search box, so you'll get a drop-down with recommendations as you type. And where the search results in Zune 2 generated two panes of search results, one for your collection and one for the Zune Marketplace, Zune 3 adds a third pane, on the left, for filtering the search results by artists, albums, songs, playlists, or channels.
zune3_preview_04.jpg

The Now Playing screen has gotten a wonderful overhaul in Zune 3, though it's curiously still not available in a true full-screen mode. (The Windows taskbar stays onscreen.) A few seconds after you stop moving the cursor while on the Now Playing screen, a gorgeous animation begins, combining group imagery, panning effects, and group biography, playback, and other information. It's hard to describe, but easy enough to show. Check out this photo of the effect:
zune3_preview_05.jpg

The Zune Marketplace's already-excellent and graphical artists pages have been upgraded with more information. For example, you can see tour schedules if the current artist is on the road. There's a Mix View for digging deeper. And Microsoft has integrated Zune Social information as well, so you can see who the top listeners are for a particular group and so on. The Zune Marketplace related artist recommendations are also notably accurate and useful.

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Final thoughts

There are actually a few other things happening with the Zune on September 16, but I've agreed not to discuss that until the official announcement. Overall, the Zune 3 platform looks solid, though I'm surprised Microsoft's not doing more with the hardware and wonder what that means going forward. I'll be reviewing the new devices, software, and services once I've had some time to evaluate them thoroughly. But so far, Zune 3 is looking like a decent upgrade, more evolutionary than revolutionary. I'm just not sure this was the right time to scale back in this fashion.

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