Microsoft Corp. today announced the launch of ZenZui, an independent company focusing on the ways people engage, consume and interact with Web content through mobile user experiences. ZenZui’s Zooming User Interface, a patented Microsoft technology, was initially developed by the Microsoft Redmond Research lab. Microsoft IP Ventures helps startups and growing companies speed their time to market. ZenZui worked with IP Ventures to acquire the technology and prodide assistance in securing venture capital funding to help launch their company.
“ZenZui is an exciting proposition for us and demonstrates how Microsoft is turning intellectual property into valuable business opportunities,” said Dan’l Lewin, corporate vice president of Strategic and Emerging Business Development at Microsoft, in the press release. “Our IP Ventures program opens the door for entrepreneurs to have access to the work of world-class research teams. Ultimately, this access allows them to rapidly bring new products to market based on those technologies.”
ZenZui’s core technology brings information visualization techniques out of the research lab and onto mobile phones and into the hands of mobile device operators, marketers and consumers. ZenZui’s zooming user interface employs up to 36 individual “Tiles” that are selected and customized by the user. This modular tile interface lets users sync, surf, and share digital content.
“This innovative technology developed with the help of Microsoft Research has provided a strong foundation from which ZenZui has developed a unique user experience,” said Eric Hertz, chief executive officer of ZenZui, in the press release. “ZenZui’s compelling platform is already creating excitement among carriers, content providers, interactive agencies and major marketers.”
Companies onboard for the initial trial include Kayak.com, OTOlabs, Avenue A | Razorfish and Traffic.com Inc.
ZenZui demo video:
CBS News looks at Apple’s iPhone:
More information on ZenZui is available at http://www.ZenZui.com
Microsoft redefines derivative sucking yet again.
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looks slow and bloated
But wait. I thought Ballmer said that no one would consider the iPhone because it didn’t have a keyboard…
MDN Magic Word “better” as in, “Oh, but this is better.”
LOL, they arent even holding the phones, its on a stick. shows you how easy that UI is
There is nothing Zen about Microsoft.
No multitouch, no fun.
ZenZui = Iz Zune!
‘Dan’l Lewin’
?
Haven’t heard that name since Dan’l Boone.
So when is Creative going to sue Mafiasoft for trademark violations on the Zen name?
At least the interface is better than Windows Mobile (and the Palm OS)… If it wasn’t Microsoft, you wouldn’t think it was all that terrible.
But it ain’t no iPhone.
Cynic821: you’re right, the phones are on a stick. thanks for pointing that out. i went back and rewatched the video and it makes it obvious. how crappy is the phone if you gotta hold it up like that just for user input.
wow. how counter-intuitive.
iphone is gonna bury this thing.
Can you just imagine how personally upset the mobile carriers (except cingular), handset makers are.
Just imagine the onslaught of board meetings aka disaster recovery.
Apple pushes the envelope everyone else follows
Gasp, Microsoft is behaving in a matter just waiting for Apples next move so they can copy it.
They are just desperate for innovation since there is none in their world. All they can do is quickly copy.
This product is clumsy, ugly, and pure ***t
ZenZui? Zune? ZZZzzzzzz. Makes me sleepy.
wow…..what it take them 2 weeks to come out with this iPhone KILLER!!!
poor poor microsoft, they just don’t know what to do with themselves lately
Why was some of the navigation done by touching the screen and some of it by touching keys? Oh yeah, ‘cos the thing is crap.
Is there no limit to their tackiness?
Do they have no dignity?
God, morale must be really low among MS employees.
“This innovative technology developed with the help of Microsoft Research…” I love how they keep throwing the word “innovative” around whenever they release something. Remember, sane people don’t run around telling people that they’re sane. It should just show. Innovation is the same way. Show consumers and we’ll tell you if it’s innovative or not. It looks a lot of expose and spaces to me.
Remember, you’re ‘sane’ Microsoft.
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You have to be kidding – just watch at how sluggish the UI is, not that I’m surprised given the OS running on it.
Laughable.
HAB
Hmmmm, I am so confused!! “ZenZui’s Zooming User Interface, a patented Microsoft technology, was initially developed by the Microsoft Redmond Research lab. …. ZenZui worked with IP Ventures to acquire the technology …
So, ZenZui was developed by MS labs but ZenZui acquired the technology????? So, did MS buy it or develop it?? Maybe the found a company, bought it, stuck a MS LAB sticker on the door, and then suddenly developed a —— wait for it——- touch screen. I saw it scrool once and only once, no pinch and zoom so is this just a regular touch screen??????
OH MS Innovation, the humanity of it all!! LOL
PS. so is MS coming out with a product, selling the technology to someone else, helping someone else develop technology then stealing it — er acquiring it, or are they just producing more FUD to try and slow down the Apple steam roller??
Wait, I have it, — A ZUNE with a touch screen that freezes evertime you touch it cause it things you are not you!!! LOL
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ne
ZenZui?
WTF? – Who the hell comes up with these farked-up names? Kinda reminds me of – oh, I dunno, Titty Twister?
Watch it bud, I’m gonna lay a serious ZenZuion you! Sounds like some kind of pro wrestling move.
LOL!
Here Microsoft, come here. *Hug* feel better now? We know you are trying. Really. Steve is just out of your league. He has been, and always will be.
This a joke right?
For their next trick– the ClenClunky. A user interface made of popsicle sticks.
Looks clunky. Typical MS.
BTW, what’s up with all these ZZZ names? ZenZui? Zune? Next up: Microzoft?
MW: ‘freedom’ as in ‘fries’.
Touchscreen does not an iPhone make.
Plus, their phones still had buttons. How 20th century!
more vapourware that will never see the light of day. like so many things MS announces just to put a chill on a competitor’s plans. Sadly, won’t work anymore. The scales are gradually falling from people’s eyes and the emperor has no clothes. The list of announced, demo’d and never shipped products goes on and on.
Good name!”Hold on a minute, I got a call on my zenzui.” or “Can I use your zenzui to make a call?” Or maybe your in an important meeting and you pull out the zenzui. Please!!
Get some creativity. Microsoft is pathetic> Period.
I saw this crap in the WSJ this morning. All I could do was laugh. My wife what was so funny, I told her that Microsoft is busy copying Apple again.
stick is needed to imply one handed operation. altho that thumb looks to be a candidate for RSI. they can’t compete on real features so they need to trick you into thinking they have something the iPhone doesn’t. Typical!
Zen-Foohy
yes, i will sue thems for misappropriating my words of greeting. hi-5!
CHENCUI! YESKHAMESH, MY NAME BORAT!
Do I hear a ZenZui Tang? Calling ZenZui Tang!
“Microsoft Research”, AKA Microsoft copy center.
keep reminding me of the sen sui bean from dbz
Only Microshaft can design something that looks like a total shithole.
I suspect the reason the phones are on sticks is because they are not running the software onboard. Instead they are just using the phone as a display and input device while the processing is happening on a computer. The stick has a cable in it and keeps the phone steadily oriented in the frame to keep the top and bottom edge of the phone cut from view.
http://www.zendows.com/
This site has been temporarily disabled. If you are the owner of the site, please contact customer care.
http://www.google.com/search?q=zendows
Did you mean: windows
Hmmm, I dropped by the sight and saw this:
“ZenZui now puts you in control of your Zoomspace, and the ads that support the content you see on your Tiles are only from brands related to them.”— New ways to send you adverts while you pay for the minutes. Sounds like MS thinking to me. — “How can we get more money from the stooge, er customer”.
Also listening to the “podcast” (don’t you just love that term) the guys talked about a “great shared client server experience”. Sounds like tons of geek speak to me, just what Bill Gates loves. Tons of techno instead of easy to use.
” width=”19″ height=”19″ alt=”grin” style=”border:0;” /> Lets see:
“Vista”
“Windows”
“Word”
“XP”
“ZenZui”
“Zune”
At least alphabetically, Microsoft is running out of alphabits and I think out of ideas. LOL
ne
Looks like patent infringement to me
sigh, the reason that these are filmed on “a stick” is that this was thrown together in after effects (it’s easier to digitally “place” content in the screen area that way) , this stuff in no way exists, it’s just microsoft “responding” to the iPhone i.e…copying. These people truly have no soul or talent, they should be banned from using the word “innovation”
pathetic
Most of the actions were comprised of a thumb touch and then waiting. Now I don’t know much about mobile phones, but the delays seemed long to me. Also, one navigation sequence required the user to hit the screen four or five times to get to where he was going. I didn’t get any feel that the user’s needs were important, but rather this was another technology to shove into more gadgets. Apparently it’s just another “new thing” that Microsoft feels it has to do to remain relevant. You could see the good ol’ M$ business model at work in the ad — many devices, one joke OS, zero concern for the experience.
Well, Microsoft has always had the function. Now they’re just wrapping it in a different UI.
Apple may as well drop the whole iPhone joke now. It’s not fooling anybody.
ZenZui looks shit shitty
MICROSOFT ADOPTS A NEW IMPROVED APPROACH TO INNOVATION..
It will put copying of Apple on a revised fastrack priority schedule.
@ Slimp Pickens:
“Or maybe your in an important meeting and you pull out the zenzui.”
I don’t know about where you are, but in these here parts that can get you arrested, or at least slapped.
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ZenZui… my GAWD! Icons you can click on… and you can scroll them side to side and up and down. [sarcasm]That’s the most innovative thing EVAR! And it’s so SMOOTH and FLUID![/sarcasm]
Looks like the fruity little tech company aint getting away with another image-is-everything POS again.
Congrats on Microsoft seizing an opportunity, with Apple seriously disappointing with there iPhone.
ZenZui? I suspect Japanese electronics vendor Sansui might have a case of trademark infringement given the similarity in names. As to why all the Z-names? Well, to paraphrase comic Craig Ferguson, because they all ZUCK!
This latest missive from Microsoft does raise a question… Given the Billions expended by Microsoft Research in recent years, just what have they produced? I think back to the work of pioneers like AT&T’s Bell Labs, Xerox PARC, even HP Labs. But frankly, I don’t know of any breakthrough products from Microsoft’s efforts. Did I miss something?
GOOD GOD!
That is totally hideous. Does ease of use mean nothing to these people?
POSTERS FOR THE NEXT EVENT:
Lawyers. Start Your Engines.
Redmond photocopiers clearly need servicing. Their output quality is crap.
Zen Zui – Japanese for the word PANTS
Ok, so…
What I see is an Ultima-like UI and some dude clicking around on the screen AND the buttons, pulling up all sorts of windows and widgets, none of which are immediately obvious as anything but extremely ugly, cheesy graphics.
Um, yeah. Watch out, iPhone.
Behold- Zune Tang now appears as Jedi Master.
Actually, good ol’ Jef Raskin did a lot of work on Zooming User Interfaces for Canon. So in a way, Microsoft is still lifting ideas from Apple’s best and brightest (albeit indirectly this time).
Don’t ya love it that a Flash movie won’t let you go to a specific frame, or do live scrolling, or to even start playing at a particular point?
How do people think that a Flash movie is a good offering? mmmm… maybe it’s from folks who are so used to “good enough” that they think it’s good enough.
Hey All-
Just wanted to let you know I watched some footage from an iPhone commercial that was shot in January/February. All that I saw were shots of a hand model using the different capabilities of the iPhone. Also, there were shots of the iPhone lying down, face up, with the camera starting at a profile then panning up to look down on the face of the iPhone, then the hand model would “scroll” through whatever app he was using. I was told that when the phone was being brought out, the crew had to leave the set, save the director, DP, Ist AC, etc. and it was accompanied by security guards. Not sure if this will ever see the light of day, or, if this was for in-house usage, but, either way I thought I’d share this info with MDN and you guys. Man, I tell you, June is gonna be a very expensive month for me. iPhone, Leopard, iLife ’07……already have the TV and I love that lil thing!
You really are jesting, right? It cannot be the name of something; a product… BTW, I speak Japanese. No meaning that I know of.
So, pull down your Zenzui and put your ass on the copier, Microsoft.
Also, see their press release:
http://www.zenzui.com/newsPressReleases.html
Very “questionable”.
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Did that demo actually show a user doing something useful? I know the video quality was poor, but in watching it, I had no sense that the user was doing anything other than changing a lot of images on the screen.
I think Microsoft needs a new slogan for their consumer products:
Microsoft. Wanker ready.
I don’t get it…
i don’t know. i kind of like it. seemed to open up the device to a lot of possibilities.
I think MS’s zopiers have run out of the good zoner. Call a zengineer, quick.
Microsoft sure likes the letter Z recently. If I worked for Zen Zui, I would not be able to say the name with a straight face. It’s one of the all-time worst names I have heard. Rhymes with “chop suey” and “full of phooey.”
It just seemed like a more visual realization of the horrible phone menus of today. If they were trying to make ZenZui seem like feng shui, then they sadly missed the point, no doubt due to a large chair leg embedded in their ass from one of Ballmer’s tirades. In business class, we were reading and discussing a chapter on leadership and they had a paragraph on Microsoft’s leaders (Gates and Ballmer) and some of the history of the leadership. I started laughing. My classmates looked at me funny. But it was totally worth it.
Ughhh this is a joke……. right?
What a shame – they took part of a great song and associated with a M$ spinoff.
This has been done solely to engage the iPhone in a copyright/patent fight and keep it off the market.
Lawsuits will be served.
Lawyers will get rich.
“ZenZui’s compelling platform is already creating excitement among carriers, content providers, interactive agencies and major marketers.”
What about the millions of cell/mobile users, who no one has yet given any serious consideration as to whether or not the vast majority of them will even want all this technology being thrust upon them?
Really…the single overriding feature that I constantly read/hear about over and over and over is that most people simply want a cell phone that just WORKS. As simply as possible. I know I do.
If they can’t get the basics right, who in their right mind wants to bother with the rest of this stuff?
We’re in the Model T era of cell phone/PDA/mobile devices and these guys are all trying to design and build the flying car.
The all important question:
Does it squirt?
Aren’t they even embarrassed to put out crap like this? Microsoft should stop struggling and just rename the company FRAPPLE. The “FR” would stand for Freakin’ Retards!
Man, that’s funny! When I first saw the word ZenZui, I figured it was a Chinese company, I mean, Zui (rhymes with “way), is also a chinese word. I think it means “mouth”, though it could mean several other things depending on how you say it. Only after I read the article did I realize that instead of the chinese pronunciation, this was ZUI as in GUI, not zui as in way. Pretty funny, really.
WOW,, now this is what I am talking about!!!!
I’m gonna get me one of those!!!!
Does anyone know if it will squirt with my Zune???
looks like someone at MDN hit the post article button five days early ….
almost had me.
WOW, now this is what I am talking about!!!!
I bet its got scaled down Vista!!!
I’m gonna get me one !!!
Does anyone know if it will squirt with my Zune (had since November, and havent found anyone to squirt with) I really need to get off !!
yikes, sorry bout the double post, didnt realize we were on page 2
Every time Microsoft executives move their lips, they embarrass themselves.
MW: deep, as in: We are in deep sh*t trying to compete with Apple.
Microsoft DIDNT develop this technology, they just bought a company that did.
Nothing ever changes in Redmond – they really are just fucking laughable.
ANyone can throw billions of $ buying up companies and stick their logo on a finished product saying that they developed it, when they didnt im reality.
I cannot believe the mass public believe all the is shit Microsoft is dropping – FOR GODS SAKE WORLD – WAKE UP!!!
It’s a fake. The phones’ screen never moves from the center and the images are retained between the fades.
ZenZui = Chop Suey.
ZenZui! Gesundheit!
I love it when a company as ‘small’ as Apple is seen as such a threat by everyone else. Lets face facts, Apple is in charge at the moment. Everything they do everyone copies. This is great in my opinion…
oh and that MS phone rip off still has buttons on it.
I have to admit, for a moment, I felt pity for Microsoft. Just a moment.
That is the coolest thing I have seen since the Pink Zune.
Keep it up Bill and Steve, you guys are really helping Microsoft
win the battle of who got the biggest pile of Sh@t…
Oh by the way, did you hear about the new Leopard server?
Can you say, Exchange Killer.
Back to the copy machine guys, remember, “Why make it better
when you can serve the same old sh@t”….They’ll never know the difference.
Just a Microsoft imploding thought…
You know I really wasn’t crazy about the iPhone until Microsoft showed this interface. Whoa! Thank you Bill Gates for waking me up to reality!
Apple = Geek Pr0n
Hey, ZenZui is probably developed by some Chinese…in some Chinese dialects means “Hills and Waters”, and some means “Escaping quickly to avoid being caught”.
LOL.
Does Microsoft ever get tired of its “Me Too” innovation?
I don’t think consumers are buying into their “Me Too” hype any more…..
My boy sure has come up with a great product. Stevie told me today about this ZuneZui and I cannot wait. It looks cool. All of my lady friends have iPods but Stevie got me a Zune for Christmas. I love it even though it’s kinda heavy in my purse. Steve also told me never to tell my lady friends to “google” something but to tell them to “windows live” something. I do that but they never seem to understand me. And he told me not to tell people to go to MapQuest for directions but to tell people to go to Live Local for directions. People look at me like I’m wierd. Am I doing something wrong? Stevie seems to know best.
Oh lordie, Stevie is over here and oh my did he just stink up my bathroom!!! I think he shit a Zune, for gosh sakes!! My Stevie, he really takes a huge dump!!
Stevie’s Mom
first vista and now this
the Zen Zui!
Why It’s… Crack-a-lackin!
I am betting the phone on a stick for the demo was as per uncle fester, he made several comments that the iPhone interface wasn’t good because it required 2 hands to operate. MS has solved that of course you phone has to be mounted to a stick in your desk making it a little less protable, but uncle fester says; it IS portable, you can just bring the desk with you;-)
The frightening thing is this product and demo is coming from one of the richest and most powerful hi-tech corporations on the planet. That this is the best they can do is pathetic. MS is complete a waste of what I would guess is 30-40% of the resources of the PC industry.
It’s an April Fool’s joke, boys & girls. Redmond never knows what day or time it is, they use Wondiows, remember. The ZenZui web site looks as if it is a 419 fraud scheme from Nigeria.
Yep, having watched it again its clear that the phones are mounted on poles – as they don’t move an inch when the operators hand is using them. So much for easy one hand operation.
The whole screen is a key-hole view of a virtual patchwork of frames that are navigated by touching the screen anywhere off-set from centre in the direction you want to travel – which assumes you know where the view you want is on the patch board.
My wife can’t remember her way to the shops – so this will have her ‘lost’ in seconds
This is the ZenZui site:
http://www.zenzui.com/
where it says the thing was produced through “years” of research. There’s an audio-only podcast — “pod” must really rankle — and the name rhymes with zen phooey. Keep clicking the links to the podcast, and you’ll eventually get to it. Really.
Microsoft doesn’t have leadership. They have followership. Microsoft follows what others are doing, and thus is never first-rate at anything. The people who use Windows also tend to fall into that mindset. Seems like the people that own dogs that reflect or look exactly like them (or is it the dogs who own the masters? Maybe I’m thinking of pussy again, pussy cats.)
http://arstechnica.com/news.ars/post/20070327-microsoft-spins-off-zenzui-mobile-browser.html
Basically, this ZenZui is an ad sponsored device without web access but ‘cached content’ in the form of a mobile browser. The iPhone has web access on a full browser that is non-subsidized, or ad-driven, and you go where you want to go. Apple still has no competition, these guys are mere charlatans.
I am a Microsoft user, have been all my life. Ive only recently started checking on technology updates. I seen the iPod and noticed Microsoft’s Zune, I thought well its only one thing, it might just be a coincidence, never mind….but them copying again with the sidebar on Vista being very similar to the widgets on Macs….then this…. is becoming purely embarresing for Microsoft and its users….I have been toying with the idea of getting a Mac for quite a while now….. . . .
Aren’t the words “research,” “intellectual property,” “innovation,” and “zen” mutually exclusive with “Microsoft”?