Anyone else looking forward to this coming out? The videos that have shown up in the last few days of the interface look terrific.

http://www.crunchgear.com/2009/08/11/hands-on-with-the-zune-hd/

Probably coming out in the first half of September and likely to be $220 for 16GB and $290 for 32GB.

8/11/2009 10:53:38 PM

Oh sweet. We get to watch Microsoft fail in high definition.

8/11/2009 11:15:16 PM

I'm looking forward to it, except that I'm not really looking for a new mp3 player

but Zune as an media/games player beats all of the ipod line up to the touch in my opinion, so it would come down to which is cheaper

8/11/2009 11:21:29 PM

i'm not sure I "get" (or maybe I just don't like) the deal on the Zune where buttons and headers/text hang partly or mostly off of the screen, around the edges or corners. I guess it's supposed to be edgy (haha) or cool or something, but I don't really like the look of it....

8/11/2009 11:42:08 PM

Yes, I'm looking forward to it... will probably get one to replace my 30gb Zune.

8/11/2009 11:56:39 PM

That UI is amazing.

8/11/2009 11:58:38 PM

i am more than content with my rockbox'd sansa

but then, i also still just use a razr, so i'm very much behind in the interactive tech arena

8/12/2009 9:05:04 AM

Quote :

"Oh sweet. We get to watch Microsoft fail in high definition. "

exactly

lol, what a crock

[Edited on August 12, 2009 at 9:12 AM. Reason : a]

8/12/2009 9:12:45 AM

what makes you think they're going to fail? or is that just your general opinion?

you can't just say something's going to fail just because it's Microsoft.

8/12/2009 9:38:35 AM

Quote :

"i'm not sure I "get" (or maybe I just don't like) the deal on the Zune where buttons and headers/text hang partly or mostly off of the screen, around the edges or corners. I guess it's supposed to be edgy (haha) or cool or something, but I don't really like the look of it...."

If you look at the iphone alot of that space is pretty much the same thing. Its a title bar at the top with a small button. If the bar only has one button whats the point of limiting it to a tiny corner of the bar. Make the entire bar the back button. And in the case of the zune make it the title of the last section. Makes sense to me.

I just find it funny that microsoft can obviously create a decent mobile device and UI but they just straight up refuse to overhaul windows mobile. You'd think with the success of the 360 and its integration with media center, a mobile phone with a similar embeded UI that has the same homegroup style control and media sync abilities would be an obvious next step.

8/12/2009 9:42:49 AM

Quote :

"you can't just say something's going to fail just because it's Microsoft. "

i can, actually

8/12/2009 9:44:10 AM

SO TUFF

8/12/2009 9:50:45 AM

i heard somewhere a while back that the video output isn't really HD, and the only thing HD about it was the radio. that true?

[Edited on August 12, 2009 at 9:51 AM. Reason : andwtf]

8/12/2009 9:51:25 AM

Since the screen size is only 3" or so, you won't be able to see 720p on it but if you do output it to a TV (through a dock?), it can output the video in 720p.

8/12/2009 9:55:03 AM

^correct

8/12/2009 10:45:53 AM

^^Yep.

I got a chance to play with one finally.

Few observations from 5 minutes with the device:

It is FAST. As an iPhone user, I was very startled by how consistently snappy the interface is. No lags, no delays from screen to screen, no loading lags. You can tell from a few seconds of fiddling that the hardware inside is beefy.

The OLED screen is fucking gorgeous. This honestly surprised me too, I thought it was a bunch of market jargon. The iPhone is bright, the Zune is rich. Much much better contrast (deep blacks) and less washed out colors. I did a SxS with my iPhone on a couple of flickr pictures and the difference was very noticeable (though I was very soon told to put my phone away )

The UI is leaps and bounds better for a portable media device than the iPhone/iPod Touch. The only parts that really stuck out to me are the pinning/MRU/popularity lists that sit off the left side of the home screen. After a few minutes with that feature, I want it. But the whole flow, content arrangement and menuing system is really damn nice.

The "hanging words off the screen" I really like aesthetically, and in use. Since the letters are larger, I can see where I am at a much further glance than with the iPhone, and when I'm using the device, that stuff fades into the background, rather than being a constant focal point. I think this is going to be a hate it/love it design decision, but I'm glad MS went outside the box for once HAR HAR.

720P output by HDMI is the real deal. This makes the zune a possible all in one home entertainment device (portable HTPC), but we'll see how that 720p content gets delivered.

Games are going to be fucking SWEET. This is the one area I still can't talk about, but if you like your iPhone/iPod gaming... this is gonna be like going from a super nintendo to a playstation 2.

On the downside:
The web browser is based on IE6. It's lightning fast, but, it's based on IE6.
The accelerometer is not nearly as smooth as the iPhone, much more twitchy. Hopefully they get that worked out by launch.
WiFi seems REALLY fast, like *too* fast, I have a feeling real world performance is going to be a lot less awesome. Seemed like some funny business going on with the network, but maybe that's just my skepticism.
No camera, which is really a bummer.
The "home" button isn't as easy to press, and feels a little wonky. It's not hard, but I'm really used to the bowl button on the iPhone now, and this is a different feel.
Screen isn't as big as I was hoping for... it's not mashed to the edge of the bezel, and you just kind of feel like it should be .5" bigger all the time.
No idea on battery life, I have a bad feeling all that beefy hardware is gonna suck some juice.

8/12/2009 12:02:39 PM

"SxS"? Really? Is that what we're saying now?

[Edited on August 12, 2009 at 12:10 PM. Reason : Also, "I have a bad feeling all that beefy hardware is gonna suck some juice"--SO GAY.]

8/12/2009 12:09:16 PM

hahah sorry, i have SxS ingrained in my brain from work

You know how I know you're gay?

8/12/2009 12:21:53 PM

i actually read some good things about the browser, sucks to find out its just an upgraded IE6

they need to put a cell antenna in there to make it a serious threat

8/12/2009 1:08:00 PM

from the videos i've seen i really want one, and if they turn it into a phone i will buy it

8/12/2009 1:15:33 PM

^ everything i've read says they have no plans for a zune phone which is just god damned retarded.

8/12/2009 2:08:23 PM

HAI WELCOME TO MICROSOFT

8/12/2009 2:10:43 PM

Sept. 15th looks like the release date, possible pre-order Sept. 8th or sooner.

8/12/2009 4:58:04 PM

Engadget's reporting you'll be able to pre-order one today.

8/13/2009 3:20:10 AM

pre-ordered on Amazon.com

8/13/2009 3:46:52 AM

i recently got my zune stolen so i bought a used ipod to replace it and i didn't realize how much i loved my zune. i think i'll deal w. the ipod then sel it and use the $ towards an 80 or 120 hopefully the hd will push their prices down.

8/13/2009 5:03:34 AM

imho, Apple won't budge on pricing, only if they release a new product will they do so. also if Apple were to lower their prices, what kind of signal would it send? that Zune is competition

8/13/2009 12:00:07 PM

http://www.zune.net/en-us/mp3players/zunehd/default.htm

pre-order
http://tinyurl.com/ofjgxj

8/13/2009 12:15:15 PM

fuck i wanted the 32gb in black but it's only available in platinum

let's see what happens in september - might return it if the color i want becomes available.

8/13/2009 12:25:03 PM

at least it's not brown or pink.

8/13/2009 12:44:48 PM

http://store.microsoft.com/microsoft/Zune-HD-32GB/product/41941DC9

Battery life at 24 hours for audio and 4 hours for video....isn't that less than previous Zunes and comparable media players?

8/13/2009 2:27:25 PM

^ on the audio, no, that's about par for the course (might even be on the higher end of average)...really, the video is about average, too, when you consider the size of the screen and the brightness (as well as the processing if it's downgrading 720p content...does it do that?)

8/13/2009 2:51:42 PM

meh i just canceled the pre-order

i remembered i am broke

i think i can live with divx on my creative zen until the prices for this thing come down a little bit. it's damn sexy though and the specs are really beefy.

8/13/2009 5:01:18 PM

^ samsung p3? about $130 for 8GB. no wifi though.

8/13/2009 5:07:29 PM

Quote :

"Battery life at 24 hours for audio and 4 hours for video....isn't that less than previous Zunes and comparable media players?"

Actually it's more like 33 hours of life playing music with no wireless, up to 8.5 hours of video. The numbers on the preorder specs are based off of older engineering samples.

8/13/2009 7:14:44 PM

^ win

8/13/2009 7:34:42 PM

^^ cool.

8/13/2009 8:52:53 PM

8.5 hours of video... niiiiiiiiiice.

8/14/2009 12:59:01 AM

"up to"...i would be very surprised if anyone gets more than 6

8/14/2009 8:29:41 AM

8 is if you turn the brightness all the way down and volume to 0

[Edited on August 14, 2009 at 8:41 AM. Reason : a]

8/14/2009 8:41:08 AM

I'm a 100% dedicated iphone user but the UI on the zune HD did catch my eye

8/14/2009 8:56:51 AM

Does anyone know if you will be able to use a portion of the space as a usb storage device?

8/14/2009 9:16:45 AM

^ that sounds a bit too much like microsoft giving you control over the device you paid for...i'd be surprised (not saying they won't, i just can't see them letting you use your hardware in a way that doesn't benefit them)

8/14/2009 9:37:26 AM

Quote :

"^ that sounds a bit too much like microsoft Apple giving you control over the device you paid for...i'd be surprised (not saying they won't, i just can't see them letting you use your hardware in a way that doesn't benefit them)"

FIXED THAT FOR YOU!

Simple reg hack enables disk mode for the Zune, it's no different than owning an iPod

8/14/2009 2:06:11 PM

i really wish that they would do a zune phone with this UI.

8/14/2009 2:42:47 PM

no, i know they all do it...i probably should have put in [insert company here]

but my sansa came with the ability to use it as a flash drive without any hacks (didn't stop me from rockboxing it, of course)...my point is that if you pay that much for a device, you should be able to use it, without hacks, for something as simple as mass storage

and before someone comes in here and starts ranting about how they do that so you can't put illegal things on there, or about how it increases the security risks to the device, i don't give a rat's ass

8/14/2009 3:17:00 PM

All the registry hack does is disable filtering the device from the display list in explorer. Thats a pretty far cry from the apple style of doing everything they can to break every hack that ever comes out.

8/14/2009 3:27:16 PM

I cant imagine its possibly for DRM or security reasons since its probably accessable just fine through other windows APIs. Its probably just to get most users to use the software so they buy music through it and maybe so they dont have to support direct storage. But the fact that its so easy to do and they haven't fixed it makes it seem they really dont care.

8/14/2009 3:30:39 PM

^it's a CYA thing. If you mount it as a disk, people will accidentally format it, or erase files because they "didn't look like anything i wanted". Just to protect stupid people from themselves, not for any nefarious motives.

8/14/2009 7:11:21 PM

are there any plans to add homegroup/media center support? So you can quickly do wireless transfers to/from shared libraries on your network + remote control things like a media center pc or a 360?

8/24/2009 10:27:52 AM