Zune not compatible with Windows Vista

Vista's so long coming even the Zune team forgot about it

17 November 2006 20:18 GMT / By Amber Maitland

It's the company's answer to Apple iPod, supposed to take back the music download ground lost, but unfortunately someone at Microsoft didn’t expect to tell the developers of Zune, Microsoft's new digital music player, that the company was about to roll out a new operating system.

Buried deep in the Zune website, Microsoft admits that the player is not only not compatible with its latest operating system, Windows Vista, but that users are expected to "check back soon for updates".

According to The Register who found the problem, "Microsoft is set to launch Vista for business customers later this month, although a spokesman for Microsoft told ENN, however, that a new 'Zune client' or patch to make Vista compatible with the MP3 player will be released at the end of January to coincide with the consumer launch of the Vista operating system".

The digital media player, which received a lukewarm launch this week in America is expected to be launched in the UK sometime next year, although Microsoft has yet to set a date.

Coming in black, brown, and white, the player retails for $250, holds 30GB worth of data, and displays photos and videos on a 3-inch screen. Unlike the world’s most popular digital audio player, the iPod, the Zune features an FM tuner, and wireless capabilities, although critics say that Microsoft failed to exploit its wifi potential as it should have.

Analysts have been cautious with predictions on how well it will sell, as many people with large libraries of songs purchased from iTunes won’t be able to transfer their songs to it. However, Microsoft has said that it’s in it for the long run, and has even predicted it may take 5 years before it does really well in the market.

Full tags

Audio, MP3 players, Microsoft, Zune, Vista