Over the last week there has been a ton of buzz around Microsoft's upcoming device update which we have confirmed will be labeled as the Zune HD. We've teamed up with Ryan Rea (aka volvoshine) from LiveSide.net and are going to let the world know what we do and do not know about the Zune HD. We've got the green light to go ahead and share the specs that our sources within Microsoft have confirmed to us.An overview of the Zune HD specs:
- 3.6 inchish OLED full touch screen.
- NVIDIA Tegra powered.
- 4GB, 8GB, 16GB, 32GB, and
120GBversions. - HDMI Connection to stream straight to your TV.
- HD Radio.
- Web Browser.
- WiFi compatible, with wireless marketplace.
- Released, early fall.
- International release of the Zune device itself.
- Home AV packs, Car packs, Charge packs.
- Camera?
- Company insiders tipped us off with the possibility of a limited edition dock accessory in various colors.
- 3D Xbox Game Support?
- Windows Mobile 7 preview bits included? (Maybe these reports mean an early WinMo 7 beta?)
The entire Zune platform is being completely overhauled, just as Steve Ballmer mentioned back at CES earlier this year. You've got the software division and the hardware division. There have been reports and speculation that this could possibly be the last Zune release, however I'm very confident that Microsoft is going to be competitive this time around with the Zune.
As we reported earlier this year, the Zune is here to stay. As soon as more information is available regarding the Zune HD, we'll pass it on. Remember, take the speculation and rumors with a grain of salt before getting too excited. Keep your eyes open on May 14, your Zune software might just be updating.
Re-read it, there have been rumors that this will be the last device, while we are very confident that it is not as we reported back in January. The Zune is here to stay.
Cosmetic dentists Leicester
Anyway, if anyone had doubt, the doubt is gone now, this is clearly the setup for the zune phone.
Really? I think Microsoft watch-dogs like Tom Warren, Mary J. Foley, Paul Thurrot, and myself would disagree with that statement. We all know that Project Pink has been in development for over a year, and is expected sometime in 2010
- If it supports XNA I can assure you there will be kajilion games within weeks, the community is huge !
* WiFi compatible, with wireless marketplace.
It's only compatible with the marketplace? Does this mean it has a browser, but it only goes to the marketplace?
* WiFi compatible, with wireless marketplace.
It's only compatible with the marketplace? Does this mean it has a browser, but it only goes to the marketplace?
No. Two seperate statements.
It has WiFi.
It has a (WiFi) Marketplace.
Tegra = OpenGL ES 2.0
Kind of ironic considering it's the Zune.
C# is the language of God, the universe was made with C#, I love C#, give us some C# ... C# ... return(0) ... ugh
Click on the Tegra link above and you'll see 864x480.
So in other words, the Zune HD isn't HD unless you output to a TV.
864x480 is pretty high resolution for that screen size. You probably couldn't tell the difference if they made it higher resolution. Plus, I imagine driving a HD screen would be a real engineering challenge for a device that small.
No matter how you try to spin it, 480 vertical resolution is not HD. Calling the device "Zune HD" borders on false advertizing.
No matter how you spin it HD has absolutely no technical meaning. In the early days when 1080i was considered the holy grail there were 480p tv's marketed as HD (they were later rebranded ED or enhanced definition).
I'm pretty sure the HD moniker comes from its HDMI output. How is that false advertising? If it's capable of PLAYING HD content without being forced to reencode before hand, that's good enough for me, because without a magnifying glass, there's no way I'd be able to tell either way on the device's screen, and neither would you.
What can kill this or seriously handicap the device:
- No Capacitive multitouch (Resistive sucks, end of the story)
- Poor software distribution and prices (Apple force for getting low prices)
- No OSX support (If they want to compete with Apple, go on it's own turf. Apple already do this on Windows)
- Web browser: IE Mobile cannot compete with Opera and Safari.
- No PDA features (This is why I brought the iTouch)
- No Capacitive multitouch (Resistive sucks, end of the story)
>> Not important at all for a simple MP3 device like the Zune or the Touch ( for a phone or a pda that's another story ) . Your argument is invalid.
- Poor software distribution and prices (Apple force for getting low prices)
>> I don't care about software when I buy a MP3. Argument invalid.
- No OSX support (If they want to compete with Apple, go on it's own turf.
Apple already do this on Windows)
>>LOL ! You call this a serious handicap ? *joke mode on* No OSX support is a good riddance
- Web browser: IE Mobile cannot compete with Opera and Safari.
>>I don't care about teh Int3rweb browser when I buy a MP3 player. Argument invalid.
- No PDA features (This is why I brought the iTouch)
>> For sure there's no PDA features, that a MP3 player. I never used the contacts or PDA features of the touch, they're lame ( No outlook sync - email, calendar, contacts.) and on top of that, I already have a perfect WinMo devices for my PDA needs. Argument invalid.
That is all
- Well, you know the "M" in "PMP" doesn't actually stand for "MP3" :p It stands for "Media". While multitouch, software distribution and web browsing don't play a significant role in media playback itself, they can provide the user with a better overall experience : touch allows an intuitive way to use the device, a software platform would mean flexibility and more features, and a web browser can bring an openness feeling.
If it was only about MP3 playback then all media players would be the same, actually it's all those little additions making your life easier that make you prefer a device over another.
Only few people will pay so high to get only MP3 on such devices
The ZuneHD depicted in the rumors are DEFINITELY an answer to the iPod Touch witch is NOT ONLY an MP3 player.
If you want to get a ZuneHD/iPodTouch only for MP3, that YOUR thing, but this devices aren't made for you, they are made for people that want MORE than an MP3 Player, therefore, your arguments are invalids considering that you aren't the kind of people targeted by such devices.
And seriously, you are invaliding my argument about the PDA features because YOU own a PDA? What kind of argumentation is that? What kind of senses it make?
Ahh... whatever...
- No Capacitive multitouch (Resistive sucks, end of the story)
>> Not important at all for a simple MP3 device like the Zune or the Touch ( for a phone or a pda that's another story ) . Your argument is invalid.
- Poor software distribution and prices (Apple force for getting low prices)
>> I don't care about software when I buy a MP3. Argument invalid.
Do you even understand what the term invalid means in the context of an argument? It means the structure of the argument is flawed introducing a fallacy which negates the arguments validity.
Your opinions don't invalidate his arguments. They're also self defeating. You say his argument about apps is incorrect because you don't care about apps on an mp3 player, but the player itself contradicts these arguments by playing movies, tv shows and games which by definition makes it more than an mp3 player.
Also, even if we accepted that it's only an mp3 player, why are precise controls less relevant. Why do I need precise controls when navigating a long list of contacts and not when navigating a long list of songs?
Last edited by Kushan on 15 Apr 2009 - 20:56
Cellphones are subsidized however.
If it has an OLED Screen the price will be high.
If it has an OLED Screen the price will be high.
No necessarily. It's all about scale. If you make enough of them, OLEDs are cheaper than LCDs.
/retardedness
"inch[-ish]", or "inches" I guess
I am praying that add one, **** that would make my day/year/etc
I am praying that add one, **** that would make my day/year/etc
I hope it doesn't.
PS : Zune is a GUI layer above Windows CE and since WinMo is just a "distribution" of WinCE it's very likely that this new Zune will actually be a WinMo device with a Zune layer.
-Spenser
.... and OLED will kill the price.
Going on a trip ? Just load your mega-collection of 720p episodes of Mythbusters on your Zune and you're ready for a seamless experience : on the train just start your Zune and watch the epi, and anytime you've got access to a telly, plug-in your Zune and watch your epi on "real" HD. No need for conversion, no need to have some cr**pish over-compressed videos in your Zune, your media plays everywhere ... the same way.
Also-for Australia, the radio should support DAB+.
If I was MS and if this does have the tegra inside, then I'd mold Zune marketplace and XBL marketplace into one and have the Zune HD playing XBLA games. Plus people can use XNA studio to make newer games and Silverlight to make apps instead of jscript etc.
It looks good so far.
I'm sooo looking forward to this
This has to be cheaper than the ipod touch and microsoft has the funds to take a hit (as with the original xbo
This scenario reminds me xbox vs ps2, ps2 was the undoubted king but xbox got just enough marketshare then we all saw what happened with 360 and ps3.
This zune version is NOT goign to outsell the Ipod any time soon, but it will get the foot in the door and next round i belive we will see a similar situation as with the consoles.
Im so glad its international this time, im in australia and have set aside about 400$.
People said the same sort of thing when the Zune was first released. Microsoft doesn't have the first clue about how to market the Zune. Ask the majority of consumers if they have heard of the Zune. Most of them have never even heard of it, or who makes it. Microsoft simply does not advertize them anywhere that I've ever seen. Even if they did, I doubt they could get anywhere near the brand recognition of the iPod. They are simply too far behind to ever catch up in the forseeable future.
****, no thanks zune, 32gb or less will not cut it for me and the lack of an EQ, you just lost another zune customer.
my playlists have a mix of chinese, japanese, russian, thai and a couple of english songs...
Unicode support please!
If you're going to make an excess device (seriously who needs HD at those small screen sizes), go excess with audio quality. I mean that's what Zune's all about, MUSIC. Let alone, HDD's are getting cheaper and bigger, people are downloading more. Quality is on the rise with all this HD, why not the music!
If you're going to make an excess device (seriously who needs HD at those small screen sizes), go excess with audio quality. I mean that's what Zune's all about, MUSIC. Let alone, HDD's are getting cheaper and bigger, people are downloading more. Quality is on the rise with all this HD, why not the music!
Because having FLAC support would just be a waste of time. Most people who own an MP3 player have never even heard of FLAC. Also, the only way you're gonna hear a difference between MP3 and FLAC is if you have very high-end equipment. You're not gonna hear any difference at all on an MP3 player, even if you use high-end headphones.
If you're going to make an excess device (seriously who needs HD at those small screen sizes), go excess with audio quality. I mean that's what Zune's all about, MUSIC. Let alone, HDD's are getting cheaper and bigger, people are downloading more. Quality is on the rise with all this HD, why not the music!
Because having FLAC support would just be a waste of time. Most people who own an MP3 player have never even heard of FLAC. Also, the only way you're gonna hear a difference between MP3 and FLAC is if you have very high-end equipment. You're not gonna hear any difference at all on an MP3 player, even if you use high-end headphones.
Just because someone may not necessarily hear a difference on their handheld device between FLAC and mp3 doesn't mean he/she would want to take the time to reencode FLAC rips to another format just for listening on their device...
Anyway.. What I'd love to see for the Zune is Linux support. As much as I don't like the iPod, it's versatile in the sense that you can use it with Windows, OSX, or Linux.. With third party programs nonetheless. I've got a 120GB Zune currently, but I'd buy a new one in a heartbeat if it was open to use with cross-platform third party software.
Aside from that, the only other gripe I have with the Zune is that you can't use scrobbling services (ex. Last.fm) with it. I wish they'd implement that.
Or their saviour...Linux will save their ass and they will convert their entire platform...windows, zune, windows mobile and so on all based on Linux since it is open source, essentially free and a more robust platform to begin with. So Micorosoft will have to make structural changes on a technological standpoint if they are serious about their Zune or any other platform for that matter.
Commenting has either been disabled on this article or you are not logged in. Click here to login or register, its free!
Note: Anonymous commenting is disabled in order to keep the quality of responses to a high standard.