For quite some time now we've been covering a lot of the Zune HD rumors that everyone is so keen on reporting. Some have been fake, some have been factual. One thing for sure though, with all this talk we've been asked when is this device actually going to ship? A source close to Microsoft, who wishes to remain anonymous, has confirmed that the Zune HD will be released in September. We weren't told an exact date, just that it will be shipping in September. As we mentioned back in April, the Zune HD is going to launch internationally this time around.
Microsoft has partnered with Amazon to make the launch happen, so we assume that when the device is ready for shipping from Amazon.com that it will be available in the countries we mentioned in April.
If you missed our coverage of the Zune HD, here's a recap below:
An overview of the Zune HD specs:
- 3.6 inchish OLED full touch screen.
- NVIDIA Tegra powered.
- 8GB, 16GB, 32GB
- 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.
Unconfirmed rumors (A Microsoft spokesperson declined to comment or confirm):
- 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?)
Images courtesy of Engadget.com and WMPowerUser.com:
Kudos to Paul Thurrott for the heads up.
With Zune Pass it will be the best choise.
because those are mock-ups right?
because those are mock-ups right?
They're confirmed marketing materials. The device that will ship will be extremely familiar to those pictured above.
Hmm.... No it doesn't... It makes me wonder when I can get a Zune HD
I loved my Zune before I dropped it
ill buy anything but the ipod. Well except the sony mp3's cos u have to use thier crap software
Can't, eh? Well then I guess Apple might as well close up R&D since that means even they can't beat their own iPod, and therefore it can never be improved upon.
After all, if Apple can improve on today's iPod, that means someone else can make something better than today's iPod.
*looks at you funny*
Not on the new Sony Walkmans
Then again, we all know that companies always deny the existence of something a few months before announcing it. So eh, who knows.
Sure they can do it via other companies, but same goes for MP3 players and they entered that market after people wrote them off as not being interested. I think they will have a phone out in the near future.
People always write them off as being software only but I think their push into consoles, surface PC's, MP3 players ect shows that maybe they are diverging a bit. Sure their bread and butter is still software, but what better way to integrate all those services than having their own branded phone.
That'd be like Microsoft making their own PCs. It's potentially killing their link to hardware partners, and pushing those companies to go completely open source, because there's no point in selling an OS from your competitor.
Theres no reason they cant co-exist in a market with other people selling the Same OS. Every company adds their own customizations, features and hardware.
Edit: To extend that, they aren't selling an OS from a competitor they're selling a Phone that incorporates an OS used by the competition. They can still differentiate their phone rather easily and to go with this the ecosystem would be improved due to MS's larger interest in the platform.
Last edited by Smigit on 14 May 2009 - 04:32
Oh well, at least when the HD comes out, I should be able to save some money on the 80/120.
Generic "inside source" + Amazon's always incorrect release dates = no new info.
On the road earphones are fine, at home your better off adding something that's actually decent for the playback.
Plus I would rather have a slim audio player than have it a little bulkier because of a speaker.
$300 for 16GB, $350 for 32GB, and $400 for 64GB would be great. Or even less on them since 8GB is only $220.
iPod Touch is 3.5, this is 3.6ish, so could just be 3.5 but it is supposed to have an OLED screen which will have amazing color.
I can't wait for this thing.
i see this zune getting bad reviews and bad sales just like the other zune.
Umm, the previous Zunes have had good reviews. And I wouldn't call over 3 million sales in two and a half years bad considering most of the world already have MP3 players.
Which I doubt is really that big of a deal. Apple has a strong grip on the mp3 player market, and they're not about to lose it overnight even if the Zune HD was the holy grail of mp3 players and blew away the next iPods.
Really even when ipod touch maxes out at 32GB too ?
I know the feeling. I don't miss the EQ, but what I do miss is the big storage, and the lack of physical buttons. I can't stand touchscreens.
Hopefully, when the Zune HD comes out, it'll be the only Zune they sell, which will mean then that we can pick up the 80 and the 120 for a cheaper price!
As i noted above. Not only is there a physical limitation on amount of flash chips they could put in but if they made a 64GB version it'd most likely cost $600+ USD which nobody specially at a time like this would spend on a PMP.
SSDs then.
I am with you on this. Those sizes are no where near enough for me either. I was hoping that it would have been bigger. I guess there is always next year then.
Or failing that, look to a different make. Unfortunately, there's only three makes over here that do MP3 players over 80GB: Apple, Archos, and Cowon.
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