Transcript: Microsoft Zune in depth

This transcript is from a PodTech.net podcast at:
http://www.podtech.net/home/technology/1357/microsoft-zune-in-depth

Guest: Matt Jubelirer - Microsoft
Host: Robert Scoble - ScobleShow

Robert Scoble - ScobleShow
Okay, so thanks for inviting me out.

Matt Jubelirer - Microsoft
No problem.

Robert Scoble - ScobleShow
Where are we by the way?

Matt Jubelirer - Microsoft
We are in Zune Land, this is the building where all the Zune team lives and from development to marketing to operations. This is where we are developing Zune.

Robert Scoble - ScobleShow
And who are you?

Matt Jubelirer - Microsoft
I am Matt Jubelirer, I am the product manager for Zune, I'm working on a project for little over year now and very excited that we are almost at launch.

Robert Scoble - ScobleShow
Yeah.

Matt Jubelirer - Microsoft
Yeah.

Robert Scoble - ScobleShow
So, I guess -- what is Zune, why was the group formed and what is the mission, what's?

Matt Jubelirer - Microsoft
So, Zune is a big...

Robert Scoble - ScobleShow
Introduce me to Zune...

Matt Jubelirer - Microsoft
Zune is a big...

Robert Scoble - ScobleShow
I know a little bit about it but my parents probably don't, people watching here might not know.

Matt Jubelirer - Microsoft
So Zune is a big deal for Microsoft, that is our first entrance into the new market of connected entertainment. When we say connected entertainment, we are talking about broader than the device, broader than any one thing We're really talking about the future of digital entertainment and how we create new shared and social experiences around content that people are using today, so when we get toward this holiday, the Zune device and the Zune software and the Zune market place that are all coming out are really the first step of creating a new connection that consumers can begin to share entertainment in a new way that they can't today.

Robert Scoble - ScobleShow
Interesting and when you say entertainment I talk about movies.

Matt Jubelirer - Microsoft
Talking about TV, music, movies, these are all the part of the Zune vision in the way things will work together, some of the coolest new scenarios that we're bringing to market this holiday are focused on music, in a portable sense we think that's what really customers are involved in today and we think that that's a great solution for this holiday.

Robert Scoble - ScobleShow
Right, now of what I've seen of the Zune, it looks like something meant to compete with a little company cooped here right? Is that a fair assessment or do you have a different vision than that?

Matt Jubelirer - Microsoft
No, we have a lot of respect for what they have been able to do in the market place so far, they've had a lot of success around a product and they have been able to educate the market around the value of taking a lot of digital music with you in your pocket and as we look at the next five to ten years that baseline understanding that consumers have today, will be critical in helping them to understand the new scenarios that they can do in the future.

Robert Scoble - ScobleShow
Right.

Matt Jubelirer - Microsoft
So, now you can put a few thousand songs in your pocket and you can share with friends and promote and discover new favorites with friends and families, so its that understanding that helps us take the next leap in this category.

Robert Scoble - ScobleShow
Right. This is a process, its not one product, is it? Because you guys are obviously building out a whole team, I'd just like to hold here and, Microsoft doesn't do this for something that's just going to be a one of -- lets shift something and make some noise kind of thing. I would expect to see more other things after the first sale, right.

Matt Jubelirer - Microsoft
Absolutely, I think that we'll be in this business for a long time and there will be a number of devices and a number of different categories and it all focused on those shared entertainment experiences and whatever hardware and software combinations we need to innovate, create new connections and allow people to share and interact in new and in cool ways, that's what we'll look at in a road map.

Robert Scoble - ScobleShow
Now, in Microsoft's history, I have been a Microsoft fan for a long time, I worked here for three years too. I have learned to wait till version 3, because that's always the hot if you look at Excel, Excel 3 was the hot thing, even Flight Simulator the third version of Flight Simulator was hot and other products. Why should I buy version 1, why shouldn't I wait for Version 3?

Matt Jubelirer - Microsoft
I don't think you are going to have that with this product. We have put a lot of research and development and find tuning into this product, prepare some of the expertise that the team has had in shipping the Xbox and some of the quality that they have had in initial releases and then innovating quickly over time as they went forward and we have a lot of the same smart people working on this team that are going to bring together an amazing product, ready for everyone to have this holiday.

Robert Scoble - ScobleShow
This should be noted that we're not on Microsoft's main campus, are we?

Matt Jubelirer - Microsoft
We off Microsoft's main campus right now.

Robert Scoble - ScobleShow
And we are just down the street from the Xbox team.

Matt Jubelirer - Microsoft
We are just down the street...

Robert Scoble - ScobleShow
But you are closer to the Xbox team, than you are closer to Bill Gates (Inaudible) interesting to see where all the assets are like the bungee team, is in a completely different part of the world, they are ten miles away from the main campus and I...

Matt Jubelirer - Microsoft
You know there is a lot of people at the company and we do need room to
spread out and put people in one place and the cool part about coming off campus here is that as a team we have been able to be together in one place, everyone can talk, we can interact on a daily basis and a lot of this building is really designed around open spaces so, I mean you'll see it throughout the day, even as we are talking for the next hour. A huge amount of people just congregate in the open spaces and work together and that's really the flavor and its infused in the product, we're building a social product and the development team and all the groups that have put it together have to be social while we are building it. You'll also probably hear a lot of music playing in the background as you walk around, everyone here loves art and loves entertainment and that's all part of the core DNA that makes up this product.

Robert Scoble - ScobleShow
Right. So, what's cool about it, why should I buy one this Christmas?

Matt Jubelirer - Microsoft
Alright, there are number of cool things about it, you might want to take one out and actually...

Robert Scoble - ScobleShow
(Inaudible) I'll do the camera and you are behind the camera here so I can show off what these things are. So, first thing I noticed that, it doesn't have the same color that the other companies stuff has, right?

Matt Jubelirer - Microsoft
Yeah, we have a black device, a brown device and a white device.

Robert Scoble - ScobleShow
Okay.

Matt Jubelirer - Microsoft
And our white device will be coming back momentarily.

Robert Scoble - ScobleShow
Alright.

Matt Jubelirer - Microsoft
also I'll take mine and walk you through it.

Robert Scoble - ScobleShow
Okay.

Matt Jubelirer - Microsoft
That's a 30 Giga Byte digital media player coming out this holiday. My launch date is November 14th and it will be available for 249 as a price and it plays music, video, lets you view photo slide shows, also has a built in FM tuner and introduces a new feature called Zune to Zune wireless sharing that's really the core differentiator in the way that we are going to start to create a community around portable digital music where today it's a more isolated experience.

Robert Scoble - ScobleShow
Yeah. Now, one thing I noticed is that the screen is dramatically bigger than the other guy's player. Does that help to see video, tell a little bit about the screen and why you guys...

Matt Jubelirer - Microsoft
So, it's a three inch screen and when we think about the overall design of a product and how these things are going to work together, we do believe that your content is the center of your experience, in anyway that we can put more of your content, your digital music, the album or the rich photo experience on to the screen and really make the hardware kind of disappear around the outside of it so that we get a great interaction and it feels like you are just living with your content directly through the interface, so from that perspective, we knew from the very beginning that we wanted to invest in a large screen and some of the other things that we have been able to do along personalization and bringing some cool ways to view content, have also been possible because of that investment. So, to start with music, you'll notice that I can flip through, similar to other products in the category, genres, albums, artists. It is a more visual experience than anything you'll find today, rich colors, the ability to see album art, as you're going through when I bring something up -- actually I'll go and start up a play list for us.

Robert Scoble - ScobleShow
Hold on a second, I have got to move just back a little bit.

Matt Jubelirer - Microsoft
As I bring up a play list and start to play music, I get full album art as I'm going through and as I flip between songs, you'll notice that that's really a core part of the experience. In any given song I have the ability to show the now playing list, shuffle, repeat, depending on anything I am playing about, I can also flag these songs for later. I mean Fly D is one of the important features around discovery that we have invested in, there are a number of ways to discover content, whether its recommendations from friends and family or even I put my device on shuffle and I found some songs that are in my collection that I didn't know that I had before, so...

Robert Scoble - ScobleShow
Tell me little bit about the control, it's a round control, do you spin your finger across it or you just push on it?

Matt Jubelirer - Microsoft
It's a four directional pad, the ability to get there out before interface is designed with this control in mind so, when I put one in your hand in a moment you see how natural it feels to go through the interface with this control and the shape of it is really designed as we get into the photo features, you'll see where that design comes from, so I'll go back here and bring up some pictures and start a slide show and you'll notice that it flips through the side.

Robert Scoble - ScobleShow
Yeah.

Matt Jubelirer - Microsoft
And that gives us the ability to take full advantage of the large screen when we talk about photo and video content and because you have actually flipped the device through the side when you have that motion, there is a little concave portion on the back of the device as well as the circular design of the front that allows that flip motion and could be (Inaudible). That allows the flip motion to be very comfortable in your hand and give you a good resting point on both the back and the front of the product.

Robert Scoble - ScobleShow
Have you guys done draft testing on these things by the way?

Matt Jubelirer - Microsoft
We have done (Inaudible) testing.

Robert Scoble - ScobleShow
How far can it survive?

Matt Jubelirer - Microsoft
I am not sure, the specific (Inaudible) is but it's a pretty durable product and right down to the finish that we put on the outside of it it's designed to resist scratches and really feel like its part of your life and it fits in your pocket and you don't have to worry about it as much as you worried with other things.

Robert Scoble - ScobleShow
Did you guys work with that, because when I was at -- working at Microsoft, I got a really cool tour of the hardware team and they showed me some of the testing equipment that they used to test mics and keyboards that you guys worked with them at all or...

Matt Jubelirer - Microsoft
I would certainly have some people here from the Microsoft hardware team, we use a lot of same manufacturing processes as Microsoft the quality assurance product processes to make sure that everything is tested, works great and is ready for consumers, are consistent across all product groups so...

Robert Scoble - ScobleShow
Okay, so yeah keep going. I am sorry about that.

Matt Jubelirer - Microsoft
That's okay. One of the things that is interesting is as you flip the device through the side and get to see the photos in this landscape viewing mode, now when you want to go to the next, when you still expect that it would be right button, so will actually rotate all the controls and make it feel very natural, so now when you are looking at the product side ways, clicking right still goes to the next and up and down still control volume just as they would and when you get back out of these pictures that goes back to the way you would expect it to work. Within the context of these menus any of the photos that come up, I can apply as a background so I can completely personalize the device if I go in and apply this particular photo as a background, now when I go back up to the main menu, you'll notice that, that becomes the backdrop for my entire experience because so much of the device is the screen you can put four brown devices on a table and they all feel very personalized and people will know exactly which one is theirs.

Robert Scoble - ScobleShow
Interesting.

Matt Jubelirer - Microsoft
So, with video we have a similar mechanism, if I go in and play a music video, I also rotate the device through the side and get that full screen viewing experience.

Robert Scoble - ScobleShow
What's the resolution on the screen?

Matt Jubelirer - Microsoft
It's 320/240.

Robert Scoble - ScobleShow
I believe higher than that?

Matt Jubelirer - Microsoft
Got to double check on the exact spec for you I will get back to you on that but you do get crystal clear video quality on the full screen...

Robert Scoble - ScobleShow
Keep tilted a little bit because I am getting a...

Matt Jubelirer - Microsoft
Yeah, okay.

Robert Scoble - ScobleShow
I'm getting a reflection on the screen.

Matt Jubelirer - Microsoft
And I can go up and down, put volume again and fast forward or rewind by clicking right and left.

Robert Scoble - ScobleShow
Right. Now can you play games on this, since this came from the Xbox team?

Matt Jubelirer - Microsoft
This didn't come from the Xbox team, we are the Zune team and when we think about the experience that people want to have on these portable devices, it is centered around music, video and entertainment content.

Robert Scoble - ScobleShow
Okay.

Matt Jubelirer - Microsoft
So, there are no games on Zune but certainly as Microsoft -- if that becomes an interesting scenario for customers in future, we can look at it. But cool part about Zune and where we are today and what we can do in the future is that many of their products, technologies and expertise we have as a company will allow us to do a number of innovative things in the future and since we have designed an end to end system including hardware, software and also invested in hardware inside the device like Wi-Fi, a number of interesting scenarios can become possible in the future that we can update from customer one to over time make sure that that first customer is part of all the evolving scenarios that we create in a seamless update process.

Robert Scoble - ScobleShow
So that's an interesting point because the first device doesn't do some things I would like to see happen, I'd rather bound by my blog, I'd like to see podcasting or the ability to download stuff from my cache rather than having to hook it up but you guys can update the system to enable features like that in the future?

Matt Jubelirer - Microsoft
Absolutely.

Robert Scoble - ScobleShow
But, you are not making any commitments yet to do that.

Matt Jubelirer - Microsoft
No, I mean we will be doing updates to the product over time, in between released cycles of hardware and all that as far as dates and which features, we are still looking at it, we are still working with customers and when it comes down to what comes out and when, its really a matter of actually putting the product in people's hands and seeing what they want next and how we can keep up with the pace at which they understand the market and when you introduce a feature like Zune to Zune wireless sharing, there are a number of scenarios that will come to a customers mind around wow! this is amazing, I'd love to do this more and this and its really about that customer interaction that will define our future road map and we need to get this in people's hands before we know exactly what comes when.

Robert Scoble - ScobleShow
But you mentioned Zune to Zune sharing several times, what is that and how does that work?

Matt Jubelirer - Microsoft
So, every Zune has wireless connection inside of it and it's automatically wirelessly connected to any other Zune within wireless range.

Robert Scoble - ScobleShow
So, if I walk into a Starbuck saying you're playing with a Zune and Starbucks and I have a Zune, what happens, does my Zune see that there is another Zune nearby, does it warn me hey, there is another Zune user within wireless range?

Matt Jubelirer - Microsoft
Its not so much a warning, its more of an interaction, so if you were to go into music and open up lets say, a song, or an album here, so lets open up an album, you have the option to send any music that's in your library or any photos that are in your library.

Robert Scoble - ScobleShow
Right.

Matt Jubelirer - Microsoft
So, if I click on send, its going to bring up a list of all nearby Zune devices and actually our other Zune device demo, I think go grab if, if we have a sack here.

Robert Scoble - ScobleShow
Okay.

Matt Jubelirer - Microsoft
And then you get that list of new products, you can physically or wirelessly send the song from one Zune to the other Zune.

Robert Scoble - ScobleShow
How many other Zunes can I -- if -- let's say in my family its five people and they all have Zunes, can I send them all the five people at once or do I have to send it serially?

Matt Jubelirer - Microsoft
It's a one to one kind of thing, you interact with one person at a time, you can share songs with them, those songs are good for three days or three plays whichever happens first.

Robert Scoble - ScobleShow
So, I couldn't be a rock musician and stand up at the front of the stage and say everybody turn on your Zune and then I can send it to everybody, I'd have to pick them one at a time to send it to.

Matt Jubelirer - Microsoft
Right, that's correct.

Robert Scoble - ScobleShow
Okay.

Matt Jubelirer - Microsoft
And its definitely that personal experience that we are looking to promote at this point, if that's a cool feature that we look into in the future, sky is the limit on things that we can do in terms of interacting with the community around these cool scenarios that really make entertainment social.

Robert Scoble - ScobleShow
Right. Are they average five minute long MP3 file or -- that's a good question, what file formats does this thing play?

Matt Jubelirer - Microsoft
This thing plays MP3, WMA and AAC.

Robert Scoble - ScobleShow
AAC is the Apple one.

Matt Jubelirer - Microsoft
AAC is a format that's used by iTunes, its also used in a number of other applications and any content that's unprotected in any of those formats can be imported by Zune software.

Robert Scoble - ScobleShow
So, if my son has bought some iTune songs those are protected, those can't be played on...

Matt Jubelirer - Microsoft
Those, yeah those won't be imported in by the Zune software.

Robert Scoble - ScobleShow
Okay.

Matt Jubelirer - Microsoft
It's one of those unfortunate things where business rules prevent us from having access to all of that content, so...

Robert Scoble - ScobleShow
Right, now if I buy a song, we'll get into the buying of songs here, can I share it with my son's iPod?

Matt Jubelirer - Microsoft
No, you can share between Zune devices and they all have the Wi-Fi connection and this is one of those things where we are starting to build a community of connected products and where all the products today aren't connected and aren't interacting with each other, from the first Zune sold we're beginning to build that echo system and that group of folks who can all be connected and share these entertainment experiences.

Robert Scoble - ScobleShow
Right. Back to the MP3 or the -- lets say I have a five minute long song, how long does it take to transfer to another Zune?

Matt Jubelirer - Microsoft
It takes about 10 to 15 seconds for a song to transfer between Zunes, and that's, so if you transfer to playlist, you are talking about a minute to two minutes, it's a pretty quick interaction when we talk about sharing photos that happens even more quickly and those take a second or two seconds, and with photos when you transfer those over to another Zune, you get to keep those, so they are part of the library, they automatically sync back to your PC when you plugin and go that way.

Robert Scoble - ScobleShow
Now, if I had a Zune here in my pocket, could you send me music, piece of music without my knowing it or do I have to accept it on my side?

Matt Jubelirer - Microsoft
You have to accept it. Actually let me go over and grab some of the device and I'll show you how they work together.

Robert Scoble - ScobleShow
Great. Do we have some charge on this?

Matt Jubelirer - Microsoft
Probably don't unfortunately have our other Zune to show you but I can show you on the other side of the interaction, how this works, this is the device that I carry around with me, so I have a few other songs and pictures that have been sent, so if I go in here to my inbox which has all of the songs that have been sent, and before I show you this, to answer your first question, if you do send the song to another person it prompts them if they'd like to accept it. If they accept it, the transfer begins, if they deny it, doesn't begin and every user has the ability to block another person from sending them prompts in the future.

Robert Scoble - ScobleShow
As a parent do I have any parental control of this because if I don't want my son listening to Eminem for instance and his friends all have Zunes and they all listen to Eminem, they could keep passing Eminem without my permission, right?

Matt Jubelirer - Microsoft
So, in a way, we do have parental controls built into the system, they're built into the software that lives on the PC and they really apply to the market place and purchasing behaviors, when it comes to sending. If you do want to turn off wireless on the device, that's something you have the option to do.

Robert Scoble - ScobleShow
Okay, so I can lock my son's Zune down so he can't get Eminem songs from his friends.

Matt Jubelirer - Microsoft
You can turn off wireless, it is something that's just an on and off switch but if you do want wireless on or off, that's an option you have in the settings of the device.

Robert Scoble - ScobleShow
Can I as a parent, can I see on to the Zune device and see what kind of music he's put on it?

Matt Jubelirer - Microsoft
No, its not one of those systems where there's looking into it. Zunes that are out in open spaces where people are connected see each other and have the ability to interact there. There's no system that's looking over, how those things interact. So, that is something where any Zune, that has wireless on will be able to interact with other Zune devices.

Robert Scoble - ScobleShow
Okay.

Matt Jubelirer - Microsoft
So, as that content comes into my device I can look at -- here's the song I received yesterday and as I go to play for example, The Small Sins here, you will see that I get the full album art experience, I get all the Medidata, I have all the information and I can play that song for up to three days or at three plays. If it's a song I like and I want to go back and purchase later, I can go and hear and flag that song and once that song is flagged when I get back to my PC and sync out all those flagged songs from right to the top and I'm able to with one click, purchase that content.

Robert Scoble - ScobleShow
Okay and where do you purchase them from? What kind of service -- do you get like in iTunes or (Inaudible).

Matt Jubelirer - Microsoft
We have the Zune market place where we're coming out with Zune. The Zune market place has over two million tracks (Inaudible). We are not shortening out to ZM (Inaudible) -- We're not shortening it, Zune is a one syllable word, its kind of fun to say it, you find that it pretty well into the common vernacular so the Zune market place will have music both for sale for 79 points per song and those are Microsoft points, which is compatible with the Xbox live systems as well and will also offer subscription offerings, so if you do want to go out and subscribe to that music and be able to download anything (Inaudible)

Robert Scoble - ScobleShow
Now that's a key feature that the other guys don't have, subscription lets me listen to an infinite amount of music, right? How does that work, do I pay ten bucks a month and then I can listen to all the songs on the Zune market place?

Matt Jubelirer - Microsoft
You pay a monthly fee and you have access to the entire Zune market place where you can download as many songs as you want to your PC. You can listen to them as many times as you want while you are paying on that account. You can also sync that content to a Zune device and listen to it there.

Robert Scoble - ScobleShow
That alone is probably why I am going to buy one of these because on the other guy's player I have to buy each songs and costs a buck. And you buy ten songs a month, that's ten bucks, here I get to listen to anything I want, how much is this subscription fee again, I'm sorry?

Matt Jubelirer - Microsoft
$14.99

Robert Scoble - ScobleShow
So for the cost of 14 songs I get to listen to infinite amount of music and obviously I can buy its... you said 79 Microsoft points, what does that translate into dollars?

Matt Jubelirer - Microsoft
Ah! It's about $0.99.

Robert Scoble - ScobleShow
Ninety-nine cents, very close cool.

Matt Jubelirer - Microsoft
So, that's the way those two things interact and if I had photos in my inbox I can use all those photo's to set a new personal background for the entire experience.

Robert Scoble - ScobleShow
Can I also share photos and videos with my friends who have Zunes?

Matt Jubelirer - Microsoft
Video are not part of the sharing scenario at this point.

Robert Scoble - ScobleShow
Why not? I want to sell Z Frank (ph)...

Matt Jubelirer - Microsoft
You know most of the scenario is around sharing when we did our initial testing and when we started playing with the product, I really sent it around music discovery and saying hey! I have this great new band I'm listening to, do you want to check it out for a couple of days. I send it to you, if you love it you can go back and buy it, if you don't love it you just let it go and it expires, and with photos, the ability to give someone some photos they can personalize their device, it's a really powerful scenario. If video becomes something that's very important to people in the future there's not really a limitation that prevents us from looking into that.

Robert Scoble - ScobleShow
No, I listen to a lot of podcasts on my portable music device. Can I share podcast as well or do they have to be stuff that you got from the Zune music market place?

Matt Jubelirer - Microsoft
So, if they are music files that you get out here that are unprotected WMA, ACC or MP3 files, you can certainly import them in the Zune software, load them on to the device and share them as you were a normal music file.

Robert Scoble - ScobleShow
Okay, great.

Matt Jubelirer - Microsoft
(Inaudible) one reason why we shouldn't call them Podcasts anymore because they are coming after people with... Leo Laporte calls them Netcasts now, but...

Robert Scoble - ScobleShow
Alright.

Matt Jubelirer - Microsoft
So, you can share any mp3 based file basically, you can import that into the software and share it around. And the import process for the software is a really nice experience, we recognize that people have made investments both in the music that they own but also in the amount of time it takes to set up a media library and album art right, set up all your playlists, maintain star ratings and play counts. All of those things are investments that you make in your media collection and although we won't be able to import purchased content from other stores, we will import things like playlists, star ratings play count, as well as the all the information and metadata you have about the song and if we can find album art things that you don't yet have a (Inaudible) for, we will make that pair all during the import process. Networks both from iTunes or Windows Media Player so that's something that you really won't find today in the market and we have invested heavily in making sure that that import experience is a smooth one for customers.

Robert Scoble - ScobleShow
Do I get any music included with the device from the open box experience? And tell me do I get five songs I can download for free when I get the device?

Matt Jubelirer - Microsoft
Yes. So, the Zune device comes preloaded with some content that we've gone out and worked with some emerging artists and really cool bands and some video content publishers to make sure that your first Zune experience has content in it. We are all about the music and all about what's in the device so when you open this up for the first time and you flip through and you have The Adored, Band of Horses, Bitter:Sweet, CSS, all of these cool bands are something that you can just flip through and really discover some new music that we think a lot of our customers will enjoy. Similarly, if I go up and look in pictures, we throw in some cool pictures that can become the backdrop for your product. So, if I go and pick a cool background and say wow! I would love to have that one as the background for my device, I can go in and immediately start to customize my product even before I have synced it for the first time. So, same from a video perspective, we want to make sure that you get that first experience and can play video and really check out the cool screen and what you've purchased and ...

Robert Scoble - ScobleShow
Tell me about how do I get video in here, what format because like rocketboom is a web link, quick time format, can I convert that to play on this or ...

Matt Jubelirer - Microsoft
So, we do want customers who have content in their library today to be able to take as much of it as they can into the Zune experience. So, we've gone out and invested in a number of video codec technologies to make sure that the import process there works great as well. So, we support content in WMV, MPEG4 as well as H.264, anything that's in one of those contents as an unprotected file, can be imported into Zune software and transported to the device.

Robert Scoble - ScobleShow
Okay, tell me about the FM transmitter on the device, can I record tuner, I am sorry tuner -- not transmitter -- can I record, lets say I listen to MPR early Saturday morning for Click and Clack, can I record that and keep it on my device, or is there any capability to do that?

Matt Jubelirer - Microsoft
So, FM it doesn't have a recorder built in, it does have the ability to flip through stations, do everything you would with an FM transmitter. We have also built in a technology called RBDS, which is really a technical term for the ability for a radio station, to broadcast other facts about the station that we can pick up. So, if I go in here and scan over, you'll notice that I can check out the name of the station as well as the genre or in this case what the show is that's going on at the moment. So, as you flip through, you can check out whether it's a country station or a rock station, in many cases find out what's now playing and pretty much whatever the radio station wants to put out there for its customer base to look at.

Robert Scoble - ScobleShow
Is there a microphone input, can I record, if I go to a class and I want to record the professor, can I attach a microphone or record straight on to the device?

Matt Jubelirer - Microsoft
There is no microphone built into the product. This is primarily listening experience and we do give you that ability to interact and have that new discovery experience without the ability to record.

Robert Scoble - ScobleShow
Interesting, there's no way to add that on as a third party product either?

Matt Jubelirer - Microsoft
We can certainly look at it in the future. We won't be putting out our first party accessory, that fills that role but we are working with a number of third party accessory manufactures, who can look in to that system.

Robert Scoble - ScobleShow
And is there -- since this -- lets me look at further, so is there any way to attach a camera, to take -- like my cell phone has a camera is there any way to put a camera on this or do I have to take photo's with another device and plug the device in my PC and then convert them (Inaudible).

Matt Jubelirer - Microsoft
The customer scenario that we've seen most people engaging in is, going out with the digital camera, taking a number of pictures of friends, families, places, all the different things that people are engaged in today and they have that photo collection on their PC and we're just going to make it easy to sync that with the device and use those images as the backdrop for the entire experience.

Robert Scoble - ScobleShow
Okay, and there is no slots to put cards in here, like...

Matt Jubelirer - Microsoft
Oh no it's not an expensive...

Robert Scoble - ScobleShow
So, I have to hook all that stuff up to my PC, transfer it over my...

Matt Jubelirer - Microsoft
Which is really the common customer scenario that we observe people engaging in today. People do build up a media collection on the PC in a big way have a ton of music content, a ton of video content, a ton of photos all on the PC and Zune software is going to be designed to import all of that, organize it in an easy to use manner and automatically sync that up with your Zune device.

Robert Scoble - ScobleShow
Now at home I have a new brand new HDTV with an AV system and a Xbox 360, is there any way for me to send music from that device on my couch into that AV system.

Matt Jubelirer - Microsoft
Yeah.

Robert Scoble - ScobleShow
Via the Xbox, can I send music to my Xbox and play it from Xbox...

Matt Jubelirer - Microsoft
Absolutely, we made sure that that interaction ...

Robert Scoble - ScobleShow
Through the wireless, or do I have to hook up with a cord?

Matt Jubelirer - Microsoft
It's a cord thing; it will actually charge your Zune, you plug in through the USB system on the Xbox 360.

Robert Scoble - ScobleShow
Okay.

Matt Jubelirer - Microsoft
It will allow you to browse both the music and the photos as well as for the first time on the Xbox 360, browse the video's and play those as well through the console, through their different played interactions systems which I'm sure you are familiar with.

Robert Scoble - ScobleShow
Yeah, and what's the resolution -- is there a different resolution for playing on the Xbox, than on the screen here because this screen is a 320/240. Lets say I'm shooting much higher resolution stuff here, can I store an HD video on there and play it on my Xbox with all that HD glory (Inaudible) 320/240 even through the Xbox?

Matt Jubelirer - Microsoft
It's not so much a limitation, it's just around optimizing for the common customer experience and when people put video on these products, the primary experience is for looking at those short clips, videos on the go, and also keeping enough storage base for all the other files you have on there. So the files do stay at their native resolution, it can be broadcast that way, it's a flexible option for customers but the real core customer scenario that we want to optimize for people is making sure they are going to store all their content on the Zune and that they have a great viewing experience on the device itself.

Robert Scoble - ScobleShow
Okay, anything else I need to know about? I think I've run through a lot of my stupid questions now. What's the weight like on this -- well the video -- can you see how heavy that is -- its well over five ounces, its lighter than the competitive products isn't it?

Matt Jubelirer - Microsoft
There is a lot of products in the market today.

Robert Scoble - ScobleShow
But it is lighter than the ones I have seen before.

Matt Jubelirer - Microsoft
Yeah it has a great feel to it, we did make sure that all the different ounces that are actually in the product are balanced in a great way so when you hold a new product it feels solid, it feels sturdy, its doesn't like its going to fall off your hand and it does kind of have that great feel as you're playing with it. So I encourage folks to go out and get their hands on one this holiday.

Robert Scoble - ScobleShow
Is it available world wide or only in the United States?

Matt Jubelirer - Microsoft
It will be only available in the United States this holiday and you can go to any number of major retailers to find one, starting on November 14. So I encourage you all to go out and get your hands on one and try it out for yourself.

Robert Scoble - ScobleShow
My friends are passing me notes, asking me questions which...

Matt Jubelirer - Microsoft
Ah! No it's not something that we think is a primary customer scenario. This is an entertainment focused device and people are really going out with using want that rich music video.

Robert Scoble - ScobleShow
Big question was could you put calendar info on the screen here, well its not meant for that.

Matt Jubelirer - Microsoft
Yeah it's totally centered around that entertainment experience.

Robert Scoble - ScobleShow
We haven't seen the software that sits on your PC, what do you have to load on that, on your PC...

Matt Jubelirer - Microsoft
Oh, there's an application, we call it Zune software.

Robert Scoble - ScobleShow
Okay.

Matt Jubelirer - Microsoft
It uploads, you know you load it on to your PC, it comes on a CD in the packaging and when you load that up it will automatically take you through the import process that supports a full array of music, video, photos and it also keeps up the sync relationship with Zune and its designed to look and feel like the product, have a similar method for interaction and its also going to go out there and make sure that we get all the round trip information back from Zune when you sync backup. So, if you send me some songs and I want to look at those when I'm back on my PC to browse around the Zune market place and see what other artists are similar or maybe even buy a song, there will be a journal in the Zune software, which keeps track of all the different interactions you've had so you can go back and look at them later.

Robert Scoble - ScobleShow
And let's say I want to listen to Leo Laporte's show, then which is a Netcast, an audio Netcast, is there an RSS aggregator in that software or do I have to use another RSS aggregator to download his shows on a regular basis and how would I use Podcasting or Netcasting?

Matt Jubelirer - Microsoft
We would go out and I use the RSS aggregator that you're using today and make sure that those files are downloaded into the my music folder and which is a place that the Zune software automatically looks for content and if the content comes down and appears in that folder, we'll import it automatically in the Zune software and make sure its always synced with the device.

Robert Scoble - ScobleShow
Well okay. So, if he releases a new show at one in the morning and I have my Zune player hooked up to my PC and that audio file shows up in my document, my documents folder, right, it will automatically get put on I don't have to touch it...

Matt Jubelirer - Microsoft
Yeah depending on...

Robert Scoble - ScobleShow
So, when I go to work I just have to grab my Zune device and I have the Podcast.

Matt Jubelirer - Microsoft
Yes the process of Zune software are looking at folders and making sure that it's always up-to-date with content is an automatic one and when new content comes into the Zune software, it automatically syncs with the device that's plugged in and has a sync relationship so that will happen automatically for you.

Robert Scoble - ScobleShow
Okay. What else do I need to know, it's available when?

Matt Jubelirer - Microsoft
November 14th.

Robert Scoble - ScobleShow
November 14th.

Matt Jubelirer - Microsoft
At $249

Robert Scoble - ScobleShow
United States stores, $249. There's three colors, are there going to be any accessories available, for it cases or anything else?

Matt Jubelirer - Microsoft
There will a number of first party accessories as well as third party accessories. Our first party accessories are designed around a scenario so there's a travel pack, a home AV pack, and also a car pack which give us the ability to go out and let someone buy something to have it work in the car, or have it work in their home scenario or even when they are on the go, have a case to take everything with them.

Robert Scoble - ScobleShow
No I can use, I have some third party headphones from -- who makes these things Etymonix (ph) I love these headphones. On thing I hated about the other products from the competitor, is their headphones suck. Even the new ones that are updated, my son just got a new iPod and the headphones really suck. How bad are these headphones and then I can use any third party headphones like those Etymonix which are a lot better than the other. I haven't listened to this so I don't know how good the headphones are yet.

Matt Jubelirer - Microsoft
So, there's a wide range of headphones that are available in the market place today and consumers range from basic music quality taste all the way upto audio file quality taste and what we really need to make sure is that everyone has an option to consume music in the way they want it so that they have that real enjoyment around the content so the head phones that come with Zune are going to be great for a large number of the customers that go out there and buy the device, at the same time, if there are audio files who really do desire more of an investment around the speakers in the way they listen to that content, and we do utilize a standard headphone jack, which gives us in sync compatibility with the headphones that are in the market today.

Robert Scoble - ScobleShow
That's the marketing guys (Inaudible) any colors on the headphones, I noticed you guys are all black, right?

Matt Jubelirer - Microsoft
Ah! The headphones actually have some cool, metallic element to them. It's similar to the element that goes around the screen. They also -- people tangle these things all the time so ours will stick together like this and makes it really easy to wrap them up and put them in your pocket and make sure they are not all tangled around.

Robert Scoble - ScobleShow
Okay, very nice. And what does the box look like? I don't think we've seen the box yet, right?

Matt Jubelirer - Microsoft
So, we'll show you the outside of the packaging here.

Robert Scoble - ScobleShow
I noticed that you didn't let Microsoft marketing anywhere close to this box. There was fun video like an inside joke.

Matt Jubelirer - Microsoft
We've seen the video as well and there was a fun video that was around the YouTube and other places; that was a fun video that the Microsoft marketing team actually did (Inaudible) because they don't always design cool boxes. There's a number of funny videos to play out there on the internet and when it came down to designing the packaging for us and this is really an extension of the product and we need to make sure that from the moment you see this in a retail store, till you get it home and open it up till the first time, that all of these things are seamless and have a consistent brand look and feel and that we really designed every little piece of this to make sure that you have a great experience and that, you feel proud of the investment you have and you want to continue to use the product. So, very simple packaging as you can see, this is what you can expect to see at retail this holiday.

Robert Scoble - ScobleShow
Well cool dude, I'm really happy to get a good look at the Zune.

Matt Jubelirer - Microsoft
Great! We were happy to have you. It's good to see you around.

Robert Scoble - ScobleShow
Thanks, for spending some time with me today.