Microsoft to construct Zune 2.0 versions
Written by Kostas Tzounopoulos   
Wednesday, 11 April 2007
According to ZuneScene who talked accidentally to a Microsoft employ working with Zune, we should expect 2.4 million generation-2 Zune players to be ready for the 2007 holiday season. The 1/3 will be hard disk models and the rest Flash memory players. We should also expect Microsoft to construct/assemble by itself the Zune 2 hardware in China...
Both devices have completed the design phase but there are some hardware details left. The memory/disk capacity will have to be big enough to "beat" the competition. About colors, the dualshot is here to stay and will be several colors available, but no more details. Also the clamshells will be harder to open compared to the current Zune's where only two screws hold it together.

A more interesting detail is that Microsoft may not use Toshiba hardware anymore but move to a newly constructed factory next to the one in Dao Min, China, where the Xbox 360 one is. And it should be big enough to construct 2.4 million players (1/3 disk version, 2/3 flash version) by the 2007 holiday season.

By the way do we know for sure where the Xbox 360 plant is? Or where Dao-Min is?
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EDIT: Doumen is located in Zhuhai on the southern coast of Guangdong province, west of Macau. Search Googleearth for: Flextronics
Thanks for the help Elmer.
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The Zune Gen 2 hard disk version

  • About the same but thinner than Gen 1.
  • Bigger hard drive (there are 40, 60, 80, 100 and 120GB disks available).
  • Doubleshot is here to stay.

The Zune Gen 2 flash memory version

  • Video capable.
  • Wifi available.
  • Size: 3 x 1.25 x 0.25 inches |  7.6 x 3.2 x 0.6 cm
  • Screen covers the 75% of the front 
  • Memory will fill the device from top to bottom

Read more on ZuneScene

[via Gizmodo]

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Last Updated ( Wednesday, 11 April 2007 )