Manufacturer Microsoft Release date November 14, 2006 | Type Portable media player Storage 30 GB Hard disk | |
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Operating system Input Circular directional pad | ||
The Zune 30 was the Second portable media player developed by Microsoft. It was released on November 14, 2006. It was simply named the Zune. After subsequent versions with different hard drive capacities, the original Zune was renamed Zune 30.
Contents
The consumer edition was initially offered in black, brown, and pearl white, which came with a "doubleshot," or translucent glow, in a different color, of blue, green, and clear, respectively. Cases are made from a silicone rubber. Controls include a circular controller with four buttons for direction, as well as a middle button to select a song album or menu, a back button to the left, a play/pause button to the right, and a hold switch atop the player next to the headphone port. The words "Hello from Seattle" are inscribed on the back of the case and it features several songs, videos, and images preloaded on the device. The Zune originally sold at a retail price of $249.99 with the cost being reduced to $199.99 on September 5, 2007.
The limited editions came in different colors and artwork and were offered in three consecutive months. Red Zunes were put up for auction in various stores in the Los Angeles area on October 2006. Pink and orange Zunes, in quantities of 100 each, were randomly inserted into Zune boxes along with a numbered certificate of authenticity. Devices in these same colors were given to the Zune team as gifts. They had "Welcome to the Social November 14, 2006" written on the back and came in white packaging featuring Zune artwork then were released on the very same month. "Ambassador" artwork Zunes were given to Microsoft's "Zune Master" college-student marketers on December 15, 2006.
Cesar Menendez from the Microsoft Zune team confirmed Pink Zune availability around mid-May for a limited edition production run of 100,000 units. In the same month, beginning April 13, 2007, the Pink Zune was first available on several online stores.
A Halo 3 inspired Zune developed in partnership with the game's creators Bungie was announced at a Halo 3 event in May 2007. The Halo 3 Zune comes in either dark brown or black, and features a Halo symbol on the back. Both versions are loaded with Halo content, including a custom episode of the popular series Red vs. Blue and were designed to feel like something that came from the game.
The black Halo 3 Zune is sold exclusively through GameStop since June 27, 2007, while the dark brown Halo 3 Zunes will be carried in the AAFES "PX" for the military. In early August, 2007, 300 of the dark brown Halo 3 Zunes were distributed free of charge by the USO to soldiers deployed to foreign soil. As of June 10, a special edition red Zune is for sale online at Amazon.com and also at Target stores all over the United States.
Released on October 29, 2007, a Wisin & Yandel custom Zune is available exclusively at Wal-Mart stores. This custom Zune was created for fans of the Latin music group Wisin & Yandel and is pre-loaded with the album Wisin vs. Yandel Los Extraterrestres. Live concert footage, videos, images and other music are also included. The Wisin & Yandel Zune is black with a custom graphic on the back.
Freescale Driver Issue
At approximately midnight Pacific Standard Time, on December 31, 2008, Zune 30s froze. The problem was caused by a 3rd-party driver written by Freescale for their MC13783 PMIC processor. The bug also froze up Toshiba Gigabeat S media players that share the same Freescale device and driver. The exact cause was first discovered by itsnotabigtruck of Zune Boards. What itsnotabigtruck found out was that there was an if statement inside a while loop that was written in such a way that on that particular day, because it was a leap year and the day count was 366, the loop was destined to continuously self-execute until the 24 hours of that day were up. People who experienced the problem gave the event many names, among them Z2K9, Y2K9, Z2K, the Zune Screen of Death, Zunepocalypse, and the December 31st, 2008 Zune Meltdown.
Microsoft posted a comment on the support front page stating the issue is because 2008 is a leap year, and a firmware clock driver used by the Zune 30 improperly handles the last day of a leap year, causing the player to freeze. The driver is for a part used only in the Zune 30 model, which is why the bug didn't affect the other Zune models. The official fix was to drain the device battery and then recharge after midday GMT on 1 January 2009.
Hardware
- Discharge: 13–14 hours music (on-off Wi-Fi), 4 hours video
- Charge: 2–3 hours (90%-full)