One of the top complains about the Zune has been the lack of Unicode support. For those that don’t know Unicode support will allow you to properly view foreign music with showing characters instead of those random boxes. So does this confirm that the Zune is coming to markets outside of the US? No, not necessarily, because there are legitimate reasons for the US- I mean we do listen to foreign music here. Its such a simple thing yet one of those make or break features for a lot of people. Kind of like the EQ.

This news broke on the Zune Insider Podcast #22. If you are at all interested in the Zune this is a must check out podcast. Jessica interviews Progressive DJ, DJ Dan and Matt has a chance to sit down with Hip-Hop star Wale.

[Listen from your browser] [Subscribe with the Zune Software]

Not too long ago we saw leaked images of the next generation Zune- today Microsoft has spoken on the details. The Zune HD will sport a 480x272 OLED multi-touch screen with a web browser over wi-fi. We do know that the browser it up and running since Skipdeez lays claim to the first Tweet from the Zune HD.

It will embrace the HD badge with HD radio and 720p HDMI out with an optional dock. As far as features that is about all that has been said in the press release. We are still missing quite a few details such as capacities, pricing, games, additional features, ect. The official release is still fuzzy and is said to be “this fall”.

In addition to the new hardware there are a few details on how the Zune will play into Xbox. Next week at E3 we will have a chance to see how the Zune brand integrates into the Xbox Live.

[Zune HD | ABI Zune HD Forum Discussion]

Zune has been working towards getting exclusive TV-like content for the marketplace for a few months now and a few days ago a press release announced the first of these series: a animated series called City Council 3050 AD. The series will be produced by the Seattle-based company Worktank and the show will only be available on the Zune.

"City Council 3050 AD," an original comedy conceived by Worktank, is based on local government C-SPAN channels that broadcast the mundane proceedings of city business. The show, set in the future, uses this dry backdrop to offer humor and absurdity, taking modern local and national political issues and recasting them in the future.

If Microsoft can get more of this going for their Zune, that might be a reason for people to seriously consider the device as a media device. There's also the Zune HD rumours going around and if they turn out to be true it's another sign that the Zune is far from dead. Hit the link below for a video preview of City Council 3050 AD.

[Press Release]

Browsing around the forums I see a few people purchasing screen protectors for their MP3 players that have glass screens. Some might say better safe than sorry but these screens are much more durable than one would think. Below I put a few of these glass screen players though some rather harsh scratch tests, well beyond what the vast majority of users might experience.

An "Anonymous tipster" sent some photos into Engadget claiming to be the new Zune, dubbed the Zune HD. Gizmodo says they have reason to believe its legit and other sites have confirmed it. What say you? Legit or fake? Specs? Your wish list? Update: New photos from WMPowerusers.

Sony today announced (translated) the release of the X-1000 for the Japanese market on April 25th. One of the less touted and more interesting aspects in this announcement is the use of Microsoft’s Live search as the main search for the built in NetFront browser (same browser found on the PSP). MS may have landed the search contract but Google can be found on the player in the form of YouTube.

Microsoft is working hard to improve search and the hardest part is just getting people to use it as default or at all for that matter. They have already struck deals with laptop makers such as Lenovo for Live as default, so it makes a lot of sense to make some inroads on portable devices.

The release dates pricing for the US is still to be announced. In Japan however, the 16GB NWZ-X1050 and the 32GB NWZ-X1060 are selling for 40,000 and 50,000 Yen respectively. Converting this puts the player at $400 and $500! Ouch! Though I highly doubt that this will be the US MSRP since the Japanese version includes a 1-seg digital TV tuner, a TV standard we don’t have in the US and will be stripped when it makes it stateside.

Embedded below is the Sony's own promotional video showing the X-1000 in action. PC World also got a chance to take a look at at this new player if you are looking for some initial opinions.

Zune has really be taking a beating lately in the press with the 2K9 Zune bug, 54% drop in sales, and all the Microsoft layoffs. With this many Zune fans have had concerns about the future of this device going as far as worrying about total abandonment. What I have learned from a conference call yesterday is that this is far from the truth and that new hardware and software is on the horizon.

Sure it may seem like a given that there will be new hardware, but I wanted to put aside the concerns by letting you know that there still is genuine excitement coming from the Zune team, especially when speaking about the new hardware. Owners can rest assured; the Zune is here to stay.

The above photos is a mock up I did for the Zune Touch article, it is not the new hardware, sorry. There are more photos in that article if you want some more tease.

Props go to Mike at IHaveAZune.com for putting these pieces together in an email conversation we were having.

Earlier the code for this infamous Zune bug showed up on Digg. This code is actually code written for Freescale’s MC13783 PMIC (PDF Whitepaper) and it seems like its affecting other players that have this PMIC like the Gigabeat S Series. This makes a lot of sense since the Zune 30 was heavily bases off of the Toshiba S series. So far it looks like the Gigabeat owners are trying the fix as the Zune 30 owners, letting it fully discharge. So far one user has been successful using this method and changing the date on his PC.

[Gigabeat Thread]

Nothing happened when we hit year 2000 - no computers broke down, no armageddon. Just when everyone thought we were in the clear, Y2K9 comes along and brings doom to 30GB Zunes - a day early.

Just as we hit December 31th, 30GB Zunes all across the board went dead and are now stuck on the loading screen. Microsoft is working on the problem but no-one knows what the problem actually is. No reports on this happening to other Zunes and no solution has been posted yet.

[Engadget|Victim list @ ABi forums]

Zune made an awesome addition to the Marketplace subscription today. In addition to the all you can download subscription, you are now able to download and keep 10 tracks per month even if you cancel your subscription. The way I see it is kind of like buying a album every month and getting a free subscription.

As Ina Fried at CNet points out, this is a move by the Microsoft and the labels to drum up subscription rates since they are lower than what they hoped. But subscription is not the only thing hurting in terms of music sales, physical sales are declining faster than digital downloads can keep up.

Today the Zune is getting a small update to version 3.1. Official Zune blogger Cesar tells us that Zune users will get a few more games added to the default firmware (Checkers, Sudoku, Space Battle, and an updated version of Texas Hold’em). There will also be a new music discovery feature called “like minded listeners” and additional back end updates.

I can’t help but point out the coincidence that this update is a day before the Xbox 360’s major refresh, Next Xbox Experience (NXE). Likely, I’m reading into this a bit too much and is purely speculation, but it triggered one of those “hey waaaint a minute” moments.

The Xbox 360 players among us (which just got organized) should be aware that Gears of War 2 is due out in November. This is one of the big game titles for Xbox 360 and is highly anticipated. Microsoft knows this game is big and have now announced that they are releasing a special edition Gears of War 2 120GB Zune when the game launches on November 7.

The player won't just have a special design, it will also come packed with a lot of special features; 244 files made up of soundtrack, concept art and other goodies. The player looks awesome and should turn a few heads in the Xbox 360 community. It's up for preorder now on Amazon for $279.99.

[Zunerama | Got Zune]

Ever wanted to know what is inside the Zune Pad? You are in luck- my compulsion to take things apart kicked in the other day after a bout of boredom. The pics may not be for the feint hearted, but I can assure you that no functional Zunes were harmed in the making of this disassembly. This one was already on its death bed. I would also like to mention that opening up the Zune Pad will render it useless.

Please read on for some great pics and a bit about the tech behind the touchpad.

One of the things I really appreciate about the Zune is every time the Zune gets a firmware update, its like a brand new device. Even the old school Zune 30's function just as any of the new hardware after the 3.0 firmware update. Like I mentioned way back in the very first Zune 1.0 review, the Zune development shares a lot of characteristics of the Xbox 360 where the software drastically improves the functionality extending the life of the device. If you think about it this make sense since Microsoft has always taken the position of being a software company, not a hardware company.

While I will get into the 3.0 software when it is released in a few days, this review is aimed to show off the new hardware in a lot of great pictures as well as point out the subtle differences in finishes and accessories with the new hardware.

This Monday I was in Redmond checking out the updates with a few of my fellow bloggers so this news is a day or so late. Overall, the update is pretty impressive especially the music discovery features, which was something I really liked about my Rhapsody subscription. I’m anxious get it running on my own music library to see how it stacks up.

The wireless features are also slowly developing now with the ability to download directly from the device. More interestingly this feature ties into the FM radio. Since the Zune has RDS (Radio Data Services) and RT+ (Radio Text Plus) knows what track it being played on the radio and since identifiable, you will be able to download most songs you hear on the radio with one click.