A few months ago, we told you that Microsoft was shipping a new Zune, the HD, in Fall. Well that time is on us and it will be available Sep 15, but you can pre-order it now!
There are 2 models: a 16GB for $219.99 and a 32GB for $289.99.
Have Zune begun to copy Apple’s stylish music players with the upcoming Zune HD? We’ve got your weekly fill of format wars – this time focused on home automation and could we really be that much closer to wearable remote controls?
Father’s days coming up and, being such a caring bunch, we came up with a a really great idea! Another idea may be to get him an analog to digital converter so that he can preserve those old video and music sitting in the attic.
Are you aniPhone/iPod Touch user and also a networking maniac? Take a look at Zensify.
The week was capped off by the ever-so-geeky Mac vs. PC poster and a look at the current progress of holographic optics – manufacturer SBG has a very cool prototype of a full-color, heads-up wearable display.
While style is usually an Apple trait and is typically last on Microsoft’s mind, they seem to have got it right on this one – the Zune HD. This is the latest in the line of Zune players and is beautifully angular to fit in with the modern world. This new 3.3-inch OLED touchscreen Zune can browse the internet via WiFi, play movies and snag digital radio feeds – hang about, this is starting to sound like an iPod Touch (bar the design). The player is available in silver (pictured) and black.
When hooked up to the TV, playback can be produced at 720p for a superior high definition image and a hookup between the XBox Live Marketplace TV/video service has been confirmed. The limited announcement from Redmond has left many users wondering whether or not this is some sort of PSP rival and will support XBox games and is it going to develop into some sort of Zune phone? Let’s just wait for the release in the fall!
More info at Zune.net.
In what seems to be a strange move to me, Microsoft is going to produce original video content exclusively for Zune owners. The first series will be an 8-episode comedy called Cinemash starting in May. Each episode will be 3 to 5 minutes long.
Considering there are only 3 million Zunes but opver 170M iPods, why wouldn’t MS make this content available to everyone? After all, profit margins on content can be way better than on hardware, especially in a down economy. Yeah, we all know why – they want to sell more Zunes; can’t let Apple keep beating them there.
My prediction – this will fade quietly, and there will be no more MS video next year.
