Microsoft’s Zune player is no more. Again. Last week, Microsoft put up a support page announcing that it would no longer build or sell Zune hardware, choosing to instead focus on Zune software for Windows Phone and other platforms. ”We recently announced that, going forward, Windows Phone will be the focus of our mobile music and video strategy, and that we will no longer be producing Zune players,” the company said in a statement on the Zune website. Shortly after the page went live, Microsoft said it was a mistake and pulled the note. Now, the page is live again and Zune devices are dead again — presumably for the last time. Zune player, we hardly knew ye.

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Dead or alive? Reports surfaced on Monday suggesting that Microsoft had pulled the plug on its Zune media player, but those were quickly written off as a mistake. On Tuesday, Microsoft did pull the plug and and said in an official death certificate that Windows Phone would be the “focus of [its] video and music strategy moving forward.” However, as of Wednesday, Microsoft’s support team suggests the statements published yesterday were in error as well, and the original statements have since been pulled. “We are still supporting the Zune HD hardware,” Microsoft posted on Twitter. “No official info has been released stating hardware is being discontinued.” Official information was posted, however, and it is likely that this is just a case of one arm not talking to the other.

[Via WinRumors]

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Following a premature 21-gun salute on Monday afternoon when Microsoft accidentally erased the Zune player from its Zune webpage a bit early, the Redmond-based company has now confirmed that the Zune player has been laid to rest. First released just ahead of the holidays in 2006, Microsoft’s Zune player was a clear attempt to divert dollars from Apple’s iPod line and in that respect, it failed somewhat epically. The Zune player is survived by Zune software, however — a multimedia experience that will live on in Windows Phones, on the Xbox 360 and on personal computers around the world. Rest in peace, little buddy. Microsoft’s statement follows below.

We recently announced that, going forward, Windows Phone will be the focus of our mobile music and video strategy, and that we will no longer be producing Zune players. So what does this mean for our current Zune users? Absolutely nothing. Your device will continue to work with Zune services just as it does today. And we will continue to honor the warranties of all devices for both current owners and those who buy our very last devices. Customer service has been, and will remain a top priority for us.

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Microsoft will lower its Zune Music Pass from $14.99 per month to $9.99 per month beginning on October 3rd alongside the service’s launch in Canada. The service will now be priced in line with Spotify and similar services. Microsoft’s Zune Marketplace is home to 14 million songs and a Zune Music Pass subscription provides unlimited streaming access to the music. Unlike other services, Zune Music Pass allows subscribers to keep 10 songs per month. Microsoft’s move is no doubt an effort to attract customers who might otherwise but attempted to join a number of competing music subscription options including Spotify, Rdio, Rhapsody and even Apple’s upcoming iCloud service. Zune Music Pass subscribers can access their playlists and library from any Windows Phone, a PC or from an Xbox 360 console.

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Microsoft’s Zune senior business development manager Dave McLauchlan recently said he is leaving the company to create his own startup. McLauchlan announced his resignation to the public on Twitter. “I have some news to share,” he tweeted. “Last week I offered my resignation to [Microsoft] and my last day is [Friday].” McLauchlan will work on a startup called “Buddy.” The website, located at http://Buddy.com, says the company will help developers “build mobile apps cheaper, faster and easier.” McLauchlan also tweeted that he will still be around in the mobile space. Microsoft killed its Zune mobile media player earlier this year, but Microsoft confirmed it will continue to offer music and video services on Xbox LIVE, Windows PCs and Windows Phone devices.

[Via WinRumors]

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Popular European streaming music service Spotify could launch in the U.S. as soon as next week, AllThingsD’s Peter Kafka speculates. Spotify announced earlier this week that it would be taking its talents to the U.S., but it gave no indication as to how soon the launch might occur. AllThingsD says the smart money is on a launch next week, and the blog has historically been accurate with its coverage of the Stockholm-based music start-up. Kafka reaffirms that Spotify only has deals inked with three of the four major U.S. record labels, but he says a deal with Warner Music Group is close enough to being signed that it should be completed ahead of a launch next week. Like Microsoft’s Zune service or Rhapsody, Spotify allows users to stream music on demand, create playlists and more. The service uses a freemium model that permits ad-supported content to be streamed to desktop computers for free, and then offers mobile streaming, playlist sharing and sheds the ads for paid subscribers. Spotify has not yet revealed pricing for the U.S. market.

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Microsoft’s senior director of the Windows Phone Marketplace, Todd Brix, has announced that Microsoft will launch a new web-based Windows Phone Marketplace for Mango phones. Brix explained that customers will be able to read reviews, view screen shots, and even promote applications on social networks. Purchases can be made with any credit card associated with your Windows Live ID, and you can choose to download the applications over-the-air to your phone. We’ve seen similar interfaces before: Google’s http://market.android.com website already allows Android users to install apps over the air, search for new apps, and more. The Windows Phone Marketplace web store is expected to launch in tandem with Mango, which Microsoft has confirmed will happen this fall.

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Moments ago Amazon announced that its Trade-In program will now accept consumer electronics. That means anyone who wants to trade-in consumer electronics, along with other goods, can send a box to Amazon and receive an Amazon gift card in exchange. Amazon originally launched its trade-in program in 2009, and until now it only accepted games, text books, and movies. “We want to give customers the opportunity to get great value from their used electronics,” said Paul Ryder, vice president of electronics at Amazon. “Hundreds of thousands of customers have already received millions of dollars in gift cards from the other products in our program.  The Electronics category is a natural extension and we are delighted to offer our customers more trade-in options.” We gave the service a quick test and noticed that a 16GB black iPhone 4 on AT&T could bring in as much as $314.50. An original 30GB Microsoft Zune? Just $25. Hit the jump for the full release.

Amazon Trade-In Program Expands With Thousands of Electronics

Great Trade-In Values on Used Textbooks, Video Games, Movies and now Electronics

Ship For Free, All in One Box

SEATTLE, May 18, 2011 — Amazon.com, Inc. (NASDAQ:AMZN) today announced the Electronics Trade-In Store, offering customers a new way to conveniently trade in used electronics for Amazon.com Gift Cards.  The Electronics Trade-In Store enhances Amazon’s existing Trade-In program, giving customers great value on everything from video games and DVDs to textbooks and now electronics, without visiting multiple stores.  Starting today, customers can trade in electronics, including tablets, cell phones, MP3 players, cameras, GPS devices and more.  With Amazon Trade-In, only one box is needed to ship multiple items and shipping is free.  Simply visit http://www.amazon.com/tradein and start searching for items to trade in.

“Technology is constantly evolving and newer, better versions of consumer electronics are introduced all the time,” says Paul Ryder, vice president of Electronics for Amazon.com.  “We want to give customers the opportunity to get great value from their used electronics.  Hundreds of thousands of customers have already received millions of dollars in gift cards from the other products in our program.  The Electronics category is a natural extension and we are delighted to offer our customers more trade-in options.”

Regardless of where electronics and other products may have been purchased, customers start by simply searching for items to trade in.  If the product is listed as eligible for trade-in, then customers can click the Trade-In button to add items to their trade-in shipment.  Amazon’s Trade-In program offers a variety of condition types including “Like New,” “Good” and “Acceptable,” giving customers an easy way to view multiple trade-in values.  Once customers have added all the items they would like to trade in to their trade-in shipment, they can print a pre-paid shipping label and ship everything for free.  After the product is received and inspected, an Amazon.com Gift Card will be deposited into the customer’s Amazon.com account, generally in less than 48 hours.  There are no claim codes or waiting for a check in the mail.  Amazon.com Gift Cards can be used on purchases towards millions of items on Amazon.com.

Amazon’s Trade-In program (http://www.amazon.com/tradein) offers great value on used products, and starting today, customers can now trade in used electronics.

Amazon.com Gift Cards are issued by ACI Gift Cards, Inc., a Washington company.

On Tuesday Slacker introduced a new subscription service called “Slacker Premium Radio.” Slacker Premium allows you to search for artists and play songs, or even full albums, on demand. Similar to Rhapsody, you can also cache songs for offline playback on your phone where a 3G or Wi-Fi signal isn’t available. The streaming radio service said that it offers 6 times the amount of music that Pandora offers, although it remains unclear how its library stacks up against Rhapsody or Microsoft’s Zune service. Slacker Premium Radio is available for the web, Android, iOS, and BlackBerry now for $10 per month.

[Via Phone Scoop]

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According to several, leaked internal screen shots obtained by TmoNews, the highly-anticipated NoDo Windows Phone 7 update could begin rolling out to owners of the T-Mobile HTC HD7 smartphone as soon as Today. Users should start seeing a pop-up notification alerting them of the update, at which point they’ll need to connect their phones to a computer and install the update through Microsoft’s Zune Player software. NoDo will bring copy/paste functionality, improvements to Wi-Fi and the camera, along with several speed and performance enhancements. For now this is just a rumor, but it’s entirely possible given that Microsoft began pushing out the NoDo update in Europe last week. We’ll be sure to keep you updated if we hear more on NoDo being deployed to the HD7 today.

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According to Bloomberg’s Dina Bass, Microsoft will discontinue selling its Zune music player sometime this year. Launched in 2006, the Zune was Microsoft’s response to Apple’s iPod music player and offered us our first look at the Metro UI — the user interface now present on Windows Phone devices. According to Bass, the company will refocus its efforts on the Zune software; working to improve its functionality and usefulness on devices running Microsoft’s new mobile operating system. Microsoft declined to directly comment on the device’s future. “We have nothing to announce about another Zune device,” said a company spokesperson. “Our long-term strategy focuses on the strength of the entire Zune ecosystem across Microsoft platforms.” Zune hardware — the Zune HD — was last refreshed in September of 2009.

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Following recent reports that Microsoft will soon be killing off its Zune suite of entertainment services and replacing them with a new offering, All About Microsoft has uncovered what may end up being Microsoft’s Zune successor. The blog’s tipsters claim knowledge of a new set of services currently being developed by Microsoft’s Entertainment and Devices division. These services, codenamed “Ventura,” are said to be focused on media discovery and consumption — much like Zune. To help firm up the report, All About Microsoft also reveals a Microsoft job posting that references Ventura. ”The Ventura Media Services team is looking for a highly motivated Software Development Engineer to help drive some great new service innovation,” the job description reads. It goes on to say, “In this position you will have the chance to help choose direction and drive innovation on some of the most cutting edge media services. Think large scale. Think Azure. Being a web and services group, our goal is to release early and often while maintaining high quality.”

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Who would have ever thought getting a Zune tattoo might be a bad idea? Microsoft is killing Zune, reports Windows watcher Paul Thurrott. Not the services, of course — they’ll live on in some way, shape or form. But the Zune brand and logo are not long for this world, Thurrott claims. The Microsoft expert thinks the brand will be phased out over a period of time, with the related services possibly rolling into the Windows Live brand, and he says the process has already begun. When confronted with this rumor, Microsoft’s response was anything but a denial: “We’re not ‘killing’ any of the Zune services/features in any way. Microsoft remains committed to providing a great music and video experience from Zune on platforms such as Xbox LIVE, Windows-based PCs, Zune devices and Windows Phone 7, as well as integration with Bing and MSN.”

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Following reports last week stating that Windows Phone 7 Connector for Mac was nearing release, Microsoft today made its OS X connector software available to the public. The software, currently available as a beta, allows users to connect their Windows Phone 7-powered devices to Mac computers and synchronize multimedia content. To make the process as familiar as possible, Microsoft’s Connector syncs phones with music, videos and photos already present in users’ iTunes and iPhoto libraries, so no additional cataloging is necessary. Windows Phone 7 Connector for Mac requires OS X 10.5 or higher and is available directly from Microsoft’s website.

[Via Mac Rumors]

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Microsoft announced last week that it would be giving away free 3-month Zune Passes to customers who sign up for Windows Phone 7 pre-order notifications and then go on to place pre-orders. AT&T apparently wants in on the action as well, as the carrier plans to give away a free “Entertainment Pack” with each Windows Phone 7 device purchase. The pack consists of a 1-month Zune Pass with 10 free song downloads, a month of U-verse Mobile service and a free copy of the 3-D puzzle game ilomilo. The deal sounds pretty sweet, though takers should note that unless the service is canceled, they will automatically get charged a $10 monthly subscription fee after their free 30-day U-verse Mobile trials expire. Ahhh… nothing like a good old fashioned Columbia House scam to welcome people to the new Windows Phone 7 family.

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