Zune HD Hand on

The Zune HD will be the first Zune to include an Internet Explorer Web browser, complementing its other Wi-Fi features (song sharing, Channel streaming, and Zune Marketplace browsing). The Zune HD's browser is optimized for the touch screen with an onscreen keyboard, but there's no word on whether it will be capable of streaming Flash media (used by sites such as YouTube and Pandora), a capability that is currently lacking in the Safari browser for the iPhone and iPod Touch.

Microsoft also unveiled plans to dramatically beef up the video download selection of its Zune Marketplace online store, and use the improved storefront to power the movie and TV downloads available to the Xbox gaming console. No word yet on whether the new storefront will support movie rentals that can be transferred to Zune hardware (similar to iTunes movie rentals), but Microsoft has already proven very capable of managing media DRM with its Zune Pass subscription music service.

The Zune HD isn't the first MP3 player to offer a 3.3-inch touch-screen OLED display or high-definition video output, but it is one of the first portable audio devices with announced plans for an HD radio tuner. Beyond the added fidelity of HD radio, the format also lends itself well to transmitting artist and song data, which is useful for the Zune's existing FM radio song-tagging and download feature.

There's still plenty we don't know about the Zune HD, such as pricing, capacity, or color options. Given the Zune's history, it's fair to assume the Zune HD will be priced aggressively against the iPod, and include more flexibility when it comes to colors and personalization. Statements made to News.com's Ina Fried suggest that the Zune HD may be priced substantially less than the iPod Touch, as evidenced by Microsoft's plan to discontinue its current line of low-priced Flash memory-based Zunes (priced between $99-$199) while retaining its hard-drive-based model ($249). A low-cost Zune HD would also put the product on par with other non-iPod touch-screen-based MP3 players on the market, such as the Samsung P3, the Cowon S9, or the Iriver Spinn.

Category:

Science & Technology

Tags:

• Zune
• HD
• Hand
• on

[programacionviva]

ZUNE HD is Fantastic!!!

economy!

[gozxdesastros]

definitely the grown up version of the ipod touch. i already preordered mine

[mex55]

whats with people wanting apps and internet on a mp3 player~!? its not a computer... its not a smartphone

it is a portable media player for music, pictures, videos

thats all you really need for being on the go

[Satoshi321]

@bakabunneh247 go to their website theirs like 10 colors and different designs to pick from

[bakabunneh247]

can you get it in different colors? coz i only see blck ones...

[crackshotandmoe34]

But most of those features come at an additional cost

[crackshotandmoe34]

They have an app store for the Zune HD

[ali92gus]

dued go to you r zune software on your pc and go to settings you should be able to find you r way form there,. you ll have to turn the internet on from settings

[fuflang]

@AndrewsAwesome i think what hes trying to say is the "design" is better on the zune

[MexXxican1]

when i try to connect to the internet it says "could not connect to the internet ( your zune could not associate with the network) try again " can u help me with this i want to know how to fix this and wat does it mean??

[AndrewsAwesome]

my dad took his back it had a lot of glitches and the web browser was very slow! They said they are not going to bring a app store as they don't wanna fight apple.

My dad is looking at getting an iPod touch

[AndrewsAwesome]

fewer features!! have you heard of the app store that is something the zune hd lacks, it lacks tabbed web browsing, voice control. The app store brings the iPod thousands of new features!