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

Looks like a Zune branded iPod Touch, with some nice features. OLED is good to see, not sure about throwing in HD radio though. Playback of HD movies to a TV is pretty cool, but probably going to be hampered by low storage space. Oh, and it has a browser too, Pocket IE. Lets hope it is better then this:

That link gives me a 404 error for some reason. You've given the right link as well because if you search for Zune HD on zune.net, you get a link to that same page.

http://www.engadget.com/2009/05/26/zune-hd-is-official-heading-your-way-this-fall/

The zune.net issue might be some sort of regional setup gone wrong.

The really odd thing to me is that every official shot of the device shows "Marketplace" with the e cut off.

Have they announced if it will have a hdd ? I suppose it will be flash and max at 32 gb.

Works now *shrug*


That was a bit strange. Looks ugly especially in all these marketing photos.

No idea about capacity but it will this Zune HD will be Flash based.

If the various news/rumour sites are to be believed, Microsoft are going to make another version with a HDD and keyboard later on...

The announced Zune HD will also be coming only "later on" - this fall.

That's enough time for Apple to come to market with an OLED iPhone and iPod Touch first. Whatever their configuration/specs, a new iPhone and Touch should be available by October of this year.

The Zune device won't be able to connect to MS' new marketplace so it will only have a few games that come with the device (like current Zune models).

I believe MS has the capability to create a really great portable media device. They just won't. For whatever reason, someone just won't pull the trigger on the right decisions. They're forever playing catch-up and it seems that's how they want to keep rolling.

I'm really eager to see how they handle the music playback interface on this new Zune. The older ones looked like they had already done better than the Classic iPods. It's not terribly difficult to top the iPod UI on the Touch/iPhone, so I expect we may see something quite interesting/compelling.

I really hope they're actually selling this in EU as well.

Why they did not sell current Zune here is a "mistery" to me. I tend to agree with Bruno that MS seems not to want to.

And, I hope they come out with a "high capacity" version immediately.

Here's my obvious prediction... MS will never (I mean not ever) catch Apple at the mobile media player market. MS has a higher chance of going bankrupt than they do of ever releasing any media player that even sells 1/10th of what Apple sells.

I can only imagine that the whole Zune thing is some elaborate tax scheme for them. Because while they will never (never never never) catch Apple, they can certainly catch and beat every other manufacturer if they put their minds to it. They can also produce a "better" device than Apple if they put their minds to it. FM radio is not the way to do it. It's a huge negative on a feature list if you ask me.

For some reason your post brought to mind that famous speech...

"We will fight them..." as a sort of MS mantra.

Funny you should say that, for myself it's the unique selling point.

FM Radio on the Zune, and now HD Radio on the ZuneHD, is a feature I hold in high regard. While I can listen to a number of podcasts to get my NPR fix, podcasts only go so far.

Often I am listening to a particularly interesting story in the car only to arrive at my destination before the conclusion. With the radio in the Zune I don't have to sit in my car until it's over.

There are also a bunch of other interesting uses. The RDS information is useful and the ability to tag songs played over radio for future purchase has potential.

MS claims the radio has been a significant distinguishing feature for the Zune. I would have to agree.

The one element of the ZuneHD that I find lacking is the rumored lack of HHD. I find this trend disappointing.

By "distinguishing" do they mean a feature that keeps the Zune firmly behind the competition in the marketplace even though the device's software and hardware are otherwise decent?

Different strokes for different folks, but I don't need radio at home or in the car, let alone on a portable DIGITAL MEDIA device.

I find it strange that someone putting so much emphasis on radio cares that the same product doesn't have an HD in it. Unless of course you want to record what's playing on the radio. If someone wants radio badly enough, such as someone who listens almost exclusively to the radio, then I suggest getting a radio. Not a PMP/MP3 player.

Device convergence has opened up some markets. The inclusion of radio may affect the sales pattern of literally a handful of consumers, but it's of absolutely no bearing in the grand scheme of things. Microsoft might want to look at all the other goodies like not being able to run third-party software on the device.

The inclusion of a proprietary digital radio feature ("HD Radio") is likely to bring on board another 3 consumers. Well, two more in addition to bootsy anyway.

I hope (and suspect) reports of radio support in the next generation of iPhone and iPod touch are incorrect.

Why is including radio support a bad thing? You can buy a portable radio these days for like $5, and that duplicates a lot of stuff that the iPod already has, like an amplifier and headphone jack, a case, power supply, etc. The actual radio hardware probably costs like $1.50, which is irrelevant when talking about a several hundred dollar device. So I can't imagine that cost is your issue.

How does adding a radio all of a sudden make the entire unit bad? Nothing forcing you to use that radio.

If you buy the special headphones then you can get a radio for the iPod as well.

I didn't say it makes the whole unit bad. I just consider it a negative feature mainly because I consider radio a huge negative platform. For many people it's no more of a feature than claiming the unit ships in a "box."

But to focus on the radio in place of one or more many other things they (MS) could have done with the unit, is the wrong direction to push in. Radio in any form has not helped any device significantly in the PMP/DAP market.

As far as radio in an iPhone/Touch, in a similar vein, it's just another thing to waste design cycles on that would be much better spent addressing any of the many deficiencies in the existing platform.

It's more like saying that it supports WMA.

The fact that the readio in the Zune was not a market-winning feature over the almost-radio-less iPod, is obvious, since the iPod sells quite a few more units than the Zune. The fact that it is a winning feature for some users, is just as obvious.

Having said that, I find instead that a radio a big POSITIVE on a feature list, and digital radio will be as well. I do want to listen to the radio, occasionally, and in no way I would prefer to carry a second device for that, or an external module which, to almost all practical purposes, means just that: a second device.

And noticeably, unlike many portable radio devices, I find Zune's radio an excellent one, in all regards: very clear display can be read in a glance, super quick to memorize and recall favourite (unlimited) stations, RDS, excellent sound quality, especcially compared with the iPod radio module. Zune's radio quality plays a relevant role for me in actually enjoying listening to the radio, when I do.

As far as I am concerned, radio is just one of the features that makes me prefer Zune over iPod overall, but it is there.

Possibly Microsoft will never be able to seriously compete with Apple in the iPod market, I mostly agree. I guess that's going to be true until the "I don't bother you with this if yuo don't bother me with that" kind of unofficial agreement is in place between the two companies. Because, essentially, that's the issue, I believe. Both Microsoft and Apple could easily introduce the featurs or the package of services that their device is missing versus the competitor. It's really not a metter of know how. I'd say it's just a chess game...