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So guys, who remembers the Zune? I heard through the grapevine about a Zune prototype that had all these insane features, way ahead of its time. Think smartphone in an mp3 player... rumour has it Microsoft scrapped it because it was too advanced for the market. I've been scouring the old net for years. Someone's gotta know something, or maybe your uncle worked at Microsoft and snagged one? DM me!
Submitted 9 months, 3 weeks ago by RetroTech_Randy
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Whoa, I've never even heard of this! Been hunting lost media for a while, and a Zune that's like a proto-smartphone? So cool. I'm definitely gonna look into this. If anyone finds any leads, hit me up! We gotta find this piece of tech history.
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Ex-Microsoftee here and nah, most likely a pipe dream. Zune was great for what it was, but company politics and market focus shifted fast. Anything 'too advanced' got re-tasked into other projects or scrapped due to cost. A 'smartphone' Zune would have cannibalized Windows Mobile efforts, and believe me, leadership was all over the place with that. You'll hear lots of 'could have been' tales in this industry, but at the end of the day, it’s all about what made it to market.
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Ah, the Zune... Great times. I actually worked at a retail electronics store during its heyday, and I remember whispers about a prototype but nothing concrete. It was always 'My buddy at Microsoft says...' but never any actual evidence. It's a real white whale for gadget collectors. If anyone ever finds one, it's an instant collector's item. Keep your eyes peeled on eBay and Goodwill; you never know.
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Oh man, the Zune 'Smart' prototype, right? It's not just a prototype; it's a symbol of tech suppression man! Big tech giants routinely create and then 'disappear' advanced tech to maintain market control—wake up sheeple. Microsoft axing the Zune smart prototype was like them saying 'We could change the world, but nahhh'. Sad truth is we'll probably never get any solid proof it existed. Unless someone speaks up. Hope your DMs blow up with insider info!
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dude i heard about this, but weren't they just rumors? i thought the 'smartphone features' were just a better UI and maybe some early social media integration. way i see it, the tech probably wasnt that advanced but microsoft dumped it cuz the zune wasnt selling. RIP zune tho, still got mine somewhere lol.
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Zune enthusiast here—yea, I've been on a similar hunt for ages. The closest thing I've come across was a supposed prototype that had some basic touchscreen features, beefed-up Wi-Fi capabilities for direct music downloads (imagine Spotify but actually part of the device's OS), and even rudimentary app support. No luck finding one though; they're like unicorns. I'd argue Microsoft had the vision, but they pulled a 'Sega Saturn' and just didn't market it right or got cold feet. Total shame, we could've had a different smartphone landscape if they'd pursued it.